Austin Is Nation's Best City For Dating Amid Pandemic: Report

AUSTIN, TX — Austin is the nation's best city for pandemic dating, according to a new study.

Researchers at Apartment List set out to assess the nation's best and worst metros for pandemic-era dating in its latest study. Forty U.S. cities were ranked by a weighted score based on the following metrics: satisfaction with local dating opportunities, satisfaction with outdoors opportunities yielding coronavirus-friendly dates and the percentage of singles in the metro.

The upshot: Austin emerged as the safest city in which to date despite the pandemic, researchers found. Among the respondents, 35 percent of Austin singles are satisfied with local dating opportunities while 90 percent are satisfied with outdoors opportunities.

Conversely, Jacksonville, Florida, came in dead last, with a mere 15 percent of singles expressing satisfaction with local dating opportunities and 36 percent content with outdoor dating venues.

"Despite all the changes that have taken place this year, one thing remains the same: Austin, Texas, is still the best city for dating," researchers wrote in the study. "The city, which secured our #1 spot in our 2019 list, is the prime spot for pandemic dating, with its ample outdoor opportunities and prolonged summers and temperate winters. In fact, Austin had the highest outdoor satisfaction score on our list."

Among the pandemic-friendly date ideas for Austin are taking in a drive-in movie or picnic at the bucolic Zilker Park. Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio and Houston also made the top ten list in the sixth and eighth rankings, respectively. The top ten best cities for pandemic-era dating are:

1. Austin.

2. Boston.

3. Virginia Beach, Virginia.

4. Miami.

5. Las Vegas.

6. San Antonio, Texas.

7. San Diego, California.

8. Houston.

9. Detroit.

10. Milwaukee.

For more details, read the full Best Cities for Dating During the Pandemic study.