Austin has all the single ladies flocking to its Sixth Street nightlife, its single men and its creative, quirky atmosphere, according to data released last week by CBS.

Based on data collected by Rent.com, CBS ranked Austin as the third-biggest city for single women in America. Rent.com surveyed single female renters and homeowners to create a rating scale based on factors including the number of single men in the city, night life, cost of living and low divorce rates. Phoenix came in first and Seattle finished second.

The city of Austin has 120.5 single men for every 100 single women, and 31.5 percent of women ages 15 and up have never been married, according to census data provided by city demographer Ryan Robinson.

The numbers of single women and households headed by single women may be higher in Austin because of the number of college students and recent college graduates, Robinson said. Austin has one of the lowest median ages in the country and one of the highest inward migration rates of college educated people, he said.

“Austin is a very open city,” Robinson said. “People come to Austin to be themselves. That might sound corny but people move to New York to make it big, or to L.A. to be famous or to Boston to be smart. Those are generalizations but people come to Austin so they can really let it hang out. Regardless of who’s here, it’s a great place to be a young adult.”

Reagan Noble, the manager of J. Black’s Feel Good Lounge on West Sixth Street, said many of his patrons are single women. The city is an easy choice for single people of both sexes because of its relaxed quality, Noble said.

“Austin is more genuine than in other places I’ve lived around the country,” he said. “I think that makes it an easier place for single people to be. There’s less pretentious behavior to sort through.”

Austin is easily the best place to be single in Texas, said corporate communications senior Jennifer Hass. Although she plans to go to California after graduation, she said she would recommend Austin to single women looking for a place to call home.

“There’s enough to do to have fun by yourself as well as with a group of people,” she said. “At the same time, it’s never thrown in your face that you have to conform to be in a
relationship.”

The laid-back, no-pressure atmosphere of Austin and the lack of relationship worries that come with single life makes the city ideal for single women looking to have fun and just be single, Hass said.

“It’s really easy to be liberal and free with your time and not have to worry about someone else,” she said. “Not that it’s a bad thing to be with someone else, but at the same time you don’t have to worry about hurting someone else’s feelings by contributing time to spending with yourself or other friends.” 

Printed on Friday, August 26, 2011 as: Liberal lifestyle, festive nightlife attract single women to Austin.