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Think Dating In Jacksonville Is Hard? Study Explains Why

couple holding hands
Vincent Diamante via Flickr

Singles in Jacksonville may have a harder time finding love than their counterparts in most other cities. The River City ranks No. 123 out of 150 metropolises in WalletHub's list of 2015's best and worst places for dating

To evaluate the singles scene, the credit-score-tracking company and frequent list publisher rated each city on "dating economics" and "romance and fun."

Economic factors included the price of a single-bedroom apartment (Can I live here?); the cost of eating and drinking out in the city (Can I pick up my date's tab?); how much it costs to take a taxi (Am I getting home at the end of the night?); and the cost of beauty salon services (How good am I going to look on this date?). 

The "romance and fun" score is based on practical considerations like the number of single people who live in the city; the number of nightlife options per capita; and how many people own smartphones (Can I swipe right on people in this bar right now?). 

Jacksonville's dismal score isn't the worst among Florida cities. Port St. Lucie and Hialeah took the No. 138 and No. 149 spots, respectively. 

And sad singles tired of River City rejection might want to try their luck in nearby hook-up hotspots Orlando (No. 2), Tampa (No. 7),  Ft. Lauderdale (No. 17) or Tallahassee (No. 31).  Gainesville, while assumedly similar to Tallahassee, was not included on the WalletHub list. 

See all the results here: 

Source: WalletHub
Photo: "Hand Holding" used under Creative Commons license

Jessica Palombo supervises local news gathering and production, podcasts and web editorial content for WJCT News, ADAPT and Jacksonville Today. She is an award-winning writer and journalist with bylines including NPR, Experience Magazine, and The Gainesville Sun. She has a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and is an alumna of the University of Florida. A nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville, she considers herself lucky to be raising her own children in her hometown. Follow Jessica Palombo on Twitter: @JaxJessicaP