Houston metro ranks 42nd as one of the worst cities to fall in love based on a new study.

For people in the dating market, the years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit have been tough.

Many of the places where people usually socialize and meet partners, like entertainment venues, bars and restaurants, or even get-togethers with friends, were unavailable or limited during the pandemic. Figuring out where and how to meet up safely with a date posed logistical challenges, with many people turning to video calls as a substitute. And while online dating and apps have been common for years, usage and engagement skyrocketed on these platforms during the pandemic with few alternatives available.

Today, nearly two-thirds of people who are single and looking for a partner report that dating has become harder since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And while the share of adults looking for a relationship has not changed significantly in that time, nearly one-third of those who have stopped dating recently cite COVID-related concerns as a reason why. At a time when loneliness and isolation were high, romantic companionship became harder to come by.

COVID-related challenges in the dating scene have come in an era when more people are delaying or forgoing marriage. The percentage of people who have never been married rose steadily over the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st. In 1950, 20% of women and 26.4% of men had never been married, and today those figures are 30.6% and 36.6%, respectively. Over time, increases in women’s educational attainment and labor force participation rates have made marriage less of an economic imperative, while liberalizing social attitudes have made other romantic and family arrangements more acceptable.

Marriage and long-term commitments remain a goal for many single adults, however. For these individuals, the difficulties in finding a partner extend beyond the disruptions to dating in COVID and the long-term changes in attitudes toward marriage. For people in many parts of the country, the pool of available mates is limited by demographic factors.

For example, different states have wide variation in the share of adults who are single—defined here as neither married nor living with an unmarried partner. Utah has the lowest percentage of single adults in the U.S. at 25.2%, while Southern states like Mississippi (40.1%), Louisiana (39.1%), and Alabama (37.1%) have the highest. Some states are also imbalanced by gender. The Northeast and Southeast have a higher share of female residents, while states in the Upper Plains and Mountain West tend to skew more male. In states where the single population is low and gender is unevenly distributed, many singles will find a shallower dating pool.

People seeking the best locations to meet a romantic match should seek out high numbers of singles and a balance in gender. Singles may also want to look for a high concentration of food and entertainment businesses to meet others and go on dates, and low divorce rates may signal good prospects for a successful relationship. On these combined measures, California and New York offer many of the best big cities to fall in love. The two states together have seven of the top 10 cities for falling in love, with California being home to each of the top four.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau. To determine the best locations to move to if you want to fall in love, researchers at Porch calculated a composite score based on the percentage of adults that are single, the gender balance of single adults, the divorce rate, and the number of food and entertainment businesses per capita.

Here is a summary of the data for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX metro area:

Composite score: 44.6

Percentage of adults that are single: 29.6%

Male share of the adult single population: 44.6%

Divorce rate: 9.5%

Food and entertainment businesses per 10k: 22.5

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

Composite score: N/A

Percentage of adults that are single: 33.2%

Male share of the adult single population: 44.8%

Divorce rate: 11.1%

Food and entertainment businesses per 10k: 53.4

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Porch’s website: https://porch.com/advice/best-cities-to-fall-in-love/