Autor: Heather Porter
Let’s face it: dating is a gamble, no matter how you do it. Seriously, who wants a first date with someone who looks nothing like their pictures or won’t stop talking about their video game collection while picking their nose?
But in the age of online dating, there is a lot of extra risk – because after all, how do you really know if a stranger is being honest with you? When you first meet someone online and outside the context of their regular life, they can appear to be anyone, and quite frankly, that’s frightening.
We asked 2,000 Gen Z and millennial women to identify which cities have the worst dating pools in the United States. They spilled the tea on just how dishonest some men can be when wearing a digital mask. In short, these bros ain’t loyal.
Key Takeaways
Nearly 4 out of every 5 women have come across completely false or highly misleading profiles throughout the course of their online dating endeavors. On average, the honesty of individuals met through online dating platforms is rated at 4.9 out of 10, raising red flags.
In New Orleans (49%) and Raleigh (48%), nearly half of the dating profiles respondents came across were categorized as 'very often' misleading.
The quality of dating experiences is influencing relocation decisions, with 24% of women considering moving to a different city or state to find a better dating pool.
The US Cities with the Worst Dating Pools
It might be shocking to hear (or not at all) that a significant number of women have encountered two-timing behavior in their online dating experiences. Specifically, cities like Atlanta (47%), and San Antonio, Texas (43%) have reported the highest percentages of online daters dating multiple people simultaneously. Las Vegas is close behind at 40%.
Ever swiped right only to eventually find out the person on the other end is as real as a unicorn?
A staggering 56% of women encounter misleading or completely false profiles, and New Orleans takes the cake with 49% of women saying they come across them "very often." Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jacksonville aren't far behind at 48% and 45%, with men likely weaving stories about beach houses with endless Mai Tais that don’t exist.
In the midst of all of these online falsehoods, where are women supposed to find their happily ever after? Nearly a quarter – 24% – of surveyed women have considered packing up their bags and moving to a new city for a better dating scene.
Phoenix, AZ, seems to be the land of heartbreak, with 60% of women saying they'd relocate for love. Las Vegas, NV, isn't far behind at 55%, and San Diego, CA, rounds out the top three at 43%.
The Truth About Online Dating in America
There are already way too many unsolicited pics being sent to women by men who think showing the size of their member will easily secure them a date or four – but what if those same pictures were sent to multiple women?
Enter: "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" Facebook groups. Yes, they really exist, and 26% of women surveyed have peeked into these digital gossip circles to see if they were being played. It's like a real-life soap opera where you're both the main character and the detective, but with so many fish in the sea, it's good to have a net to catch these dating criminals, right?
In that vein, what if there were something like Yelp for online dating, where you could read prior reviews about your potential matches? Sounds pretty dreamy to 59% of respondents who are all for it! Just imagine the possibilities – "Five stars for his dad jokes but deducted one for excessive gym selfies.”
If You See Something, Say Something
No, this isn’t an advertisement on a bus in NYC – but it’s a phrase to bear in mind when it comes to keeping other women safe from falsified dating identities. Perhaps the most heartening number amidst the rampant deceit of online dating is that 18% of women have taken an active role in warning others about questionable individuals they’ve encountered.
Almost one in six women (16%) have had a friend or even a concerned stranger slide into their DMs with a cautionary tale about “Jeremy” from “Miami.” As insidious as this trend of deception is, at least there are women out there trying to protect other women from this perpetration. Let’s raise that number, ladies!
And the shadiest dating platforms? Drumroll, please: Tinder takes the crown with 44% of women dubbing it the sketchiest of them all (and we have a hunch we don’t need to explain why, considering it started out as more of a hookup app rather than a place to find love).
Bumble follows at a distance with 23%, while Christian Mingle surprisingly makes the list at 11%. It’s okay if he doesn’t look a thing like Jesus as long as he talks like a gentleman, right?
Swipe Him Away, Swipe Him Away, Swipe Him Away, Now
We aren’t going to pretend that all of the above data isn’t, well, disturbing, but the good news is that there are some cities out there with men who don’t go by Slim Pickens.
The US cities with the BEST dating experiences (a.k.a. the most likely to answer “no” to the question, “have you ever considered relocating for a better dating scene?”) are the following: San Francisco, CA (92%), Austin, TX (90%), Louisville, KY (89%), Philadelphia, PA (86%), Houston, TX (83%).
While 43% of women surveyed say they use online dating in hopes of finding a serious relationship, 49% also say they do so with utmost caution – which sounds about right considering safety and sanity are more important than sex (trust us).
Regardless of how you decide to navigate the digital dating maze, remember to trust your gut (and your best girlfriends), and always, always swipe responsibly. Your safety may depend on it.
Methodology
We surveyed 2,000 millennial and Gen Z women aged 18-43 in April 2024.
We also studied Google Trends to determine which states had the highest search term volume for fetish keywords and to see which kinks were most popular in each state.
Fair Use
The data and infographic in this article is fair use, but please link back to this page to credit the authors and artists.