The Best & Worst Cities for Marriageable Men

Yesterday, Pew Research Center published its findings for the best and worst cities to find marriageable men, and there's good and bad news. The good news is that over half of never-married Americans (53 percent) see marriage in their future. The bad is that not all of these Americans are necessarily employed, and those who are employed are more likely to be female. According to the center's findings, the overall male-to-female ratio of single adults ages 25-34 in America is 115:100. When you factor out the number of unemployed singles, however, the ratio drops to 84:100. This seems less than favorable for the single women of America, who have statistically expressed a strong desire to marry someone who is at the very least financially stable. And in a nation where it is estimated that 25 percent of millennials will never get married, the stakes are even higher to find a man among the small subset of them who are actually willing to settle down.

The bright side is that some cities are better than others for finding that much-desired bachelor who's single, employed, and looking for marriage. Here are the top three large metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios of single, employed men to single, employed women (good news, New Yorkers, your city's not the worst):

THE BEST

1. San Jose, CA

For every 100 women, 114 San Jose men are employed and looking for that forever kind of love. Whether or not these men are open-minded daters, however, is another story. Research from the online dating site Zoosk shows that San Jose ranks as the second-least open-minded city for dating. Daters in this city tend to skew conservative when it comes to education and drinking habits, and purportedly are less tolerant of imperfect body types. Ugh, San Jose, just when I was starting to like you...

2. Denver, CO

Coming in at number two with a ratio of 101:100, Denver men are nearly just as eligible as those in San Jose. And they're active in more ways than one! According to a Men's Health study from a few years back, Denver is one of the most physically active cities in the U.S. Quality Health also ranks Denver as this year's number one most sexually active city in America.

3. San Diego, CA

Apparently California is the place to be for unmarried singles, taking two of the top three spots. San Diego boasts a ratio of 99:100, meaning that there's pretty much an even playing field for the unmarried and employed. Of course, there's another catch — San Diego also ranks among the top 10 least open-minded cities in America. That being said, how bad can a date really be if it takes place on the beach?

THE WORST

1. Memphis, TN

With a ratio of 59:100, Memphis may be the worst city for finding marriageable men, but residents shouldn't give up hope just yet. It's also one of Zoosk's most open-minded cities for dating.

2. Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville residents also happen to be very open-minded, despite a ratio of 79 unmarried, employed men for every 100 women (I'm starting to sense a pattern here). Still, considering it has the most square-mileage of any city, it can be hard to locate your perfect match among a sea of undesirables.

3. Detroit, MI

Finally, Detroit natives can take comfort in the fact that, even though their city has a ratio of 71:100, at least it's not the worst city in America. And, surprise, surprise, it's the number two most open-minded city for dating! Plus, as the Motor City of America, it's more than likely that your date will pick you up in a cool car.

Although Pew Research Center ranks these cities in terms of places to find marriage-worthy men, this doesn't necessarily mean that these cities have the best or worst quality of men. In fact, it seems as if the majority of Pew's "worst" cities for marriageable men actually have the most open-minded daters in the country. So before you go writing off Detroit, Jacksonville, and Memphis, try and consider which city best fits your lifestyle and the type of man you might be looking for. After all, it doesn't matter whether a man is marriage material if he doesn't respect you or your beliefs.

P.S. If your city didn't make the list, check out Pew Research Center's "Mapping the Marriage Market," which displays the ratios of employed men and women in all available U.S. metro areas (can also be found here online).

Images: Fotolia