Kansas Ranks Among the Worst States For Dating

Fact Checked by Michael Peters

When it comes to being a good place for dating, Kansans have a long way to go to be considered among the most romantic.

Using data from Google Trends, Statista, and Forbes Business, BetKansas.com took a break from sports betting in Kansas and created a way to rank states for dating metrics. BetKansas.com used Statista to find the percentage of single-person households in each state, Google Trends for the average search volumes of “date ideas,” “first date activities near me,” and “florists near me” by state, and Forbes Business for data on the average annual income for a single person in each state to create the Dating Index.

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Best and Worst States For Dating

Rank State Dating Index (51 max)
1 DC 48.33
2 ND 40.67
3 RI 37.70
4 WY 37.67
5 AL 36.33
6 OH 34.67
7 NY 33.33
8 NE 32.67
9 IL 32.33
10 MN 32.25
11 PA 32
12 VT 31.70
13 MI 31.67
14 ME 31.33
15 MA 29.33
16 NH 29.25
17 DE 29.15
18 MO 29.67
19 WV 28.33
20 AL 28.50
21 SD 28.33
22 HI 27.67
23 MD 27.33
24 OK 26.33
25 WI 26
26 CT 25.67
27 AZ 25
28 VA 24.70
29 MT 24.67
30 NC 24.33
T31 NM 24
T31 LA 24
33 WA 23.75
34 CO 23.67
35 KS 23.33
36 TN 22.67
37 UT 22
38 NJ 21.67
39 AR 21
40 GA 20.67
41 IA 19
42 ID 18.67
43 CA 18.50
44 OR 18.33
45 TX 18
46 FL 17.33
47 MS 17
48 IN 14.67
49 SC 12.67
50 KY 12.33
51 NV 11.67

Kansas Ranks in the Bottom Third

After crunching those numbers, Kansas ranks No. 35 among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. That nearly correlates exactly where Kansas ranks at No. 38 with an average salary of $52,280 per year. Washington, D.C., ranks No. 1 followed by North Dakota and Rhode Island. At least Kansas doesn’t rank among the worst with Nevada and Kentucky coming in last and next to last.

This also fits with a 2022 study conducted by Sperling’s BestPlaces that ranked Kansas City, Mo., and Wichita, Kansas, as the worst and second worst cities for dating in America. That study was based on the percentage of 18-to-24-year-olds and data venues per capita. At least Wichita has Kansas betting apps. That study ranked Austin, Texas, Colorado Springs, Colo., and San Diego as the best places in the nation for dating.

According to the study, Kansas City ranked low in money spent on flowers and gifts. Meanwhile, Wichita rated near the bottom of 80 cities for least number of coffee shops per capita. That makes it hard to just go for a coffee or to talk about your bad dates with friends. At least some of the Google Trends data shows those in the Kansas City metro area are seeking “date ideas,” as the area ranks the highest in Kansas for that online search. Topeka and the Wichita-Hutchinson metro areas rank No. 2 and No. 3 in the state for such searches. 

Must be 21+ to participate & present in the state of Kansas. T&Cs Apply. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700.

Author

Douglas Pils

Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He currently runs the Student Media Department at Baylor University.

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