Survey Finds Valentine’s Day Affordable, Fun For Nebraskans

While there might be advantages for single people living in larger states such as California, Florida, or Texas, Nebraska has its own perks for singles according to a recent study. Wallet Hub recently compiled its 2018 Best and Worst States For Singles study and found Nebraska ranked in the middle as the 26th best state in the country for singles. Wallet Hub analyst Jill Gonzalez says while Nebraska ranked lower in a few different categories, one area that the Cornhusker state scored highly in was the cost of living. [audio mp3="http://media3.floodradio.com/columbus/2018/02/Jill-Gonzalez-1-COST-OF-LIVING.mp3"][/audio] "So if you are dating, it's a pretty cheap place to be dating. You won't be having to deal with the cost of living or the beer and wine prices, movie costs, beauty salon or barber shop costs that you'd have to deal with in other parts of the country. That Midwest cost of living certainly comes into play here." Wallet Hub compared states on three different sets of criteria to compile their rankings, including what it calls dating economics, dating opportunities, and romance and fun. Within the three main criteria, there are 27 different metrics that are scored on a scale of 1-100 including number of people using online dating apps, number of restaurants and bars per capita, and media household income among others. One area where Nebraska lagged behind in the rankings was the amount of single adults. Gonzalez says their figures found that 46 percent of adults in Nebraska were single, a bit lower than other states. [audio mp3="http://media3.floodradio.com/columbus/2018/02/Jill-Gonzalez-2-NUMBER-OF-SINGLES.mp3"][/audio] "Usually states at the top are about 10 percent higher there. We're also seeing that the gender balance could be a bit more equal. Right now, there are more females than males in Nebraska by a pretty good amount, so that's where it didn't do as well either." Meanwhile, Omaha scored a top-25 ranking on Wallet Hub's survey for the best cities for Valentine's Day. The metrics were similar to the singles' survey, focusing on the average cost for a date on Valentine's Day but also including things such as typical weather forecasts for Valentine's Day, the amount of activities in a particular city, and the amount of jewelry and gift shops per capita. Gonzalez says Omaha has many affordable options to celebrate the day. [audio mp3="http://media3.floodradio.com/columbus/2018/02/Jill-Gonzalez-3-OMAHA.mp3"][/audio] "When we're looking at things like gifts, such as flower shops, candy shops, and gift shops per capita, Omaha does pretty well there too. The bottom line is there's no excuses to show up empty-handed this Valentine's Day." Lincoln fared a bit lower on the survey, placing 63rd. San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas were at the top of the list for best places to celebrate Valentine's Day according to Wallet Hub. You can find the full rankings and detailed metrics used for each survey here: Best States For Singles 2018 Best and Worst Cities For Valentine's Day 2018