All the single ladies: Houston is a hotspot for women on the prowl, but not so favorable for single men

Texas is home to some of the hottest spots to be a single lady, according to Nerd Wallet's recent ranking of the Best Cities for Singles.

The site looked at ratios of unmarried men and women in each city, the per-capita numbers of likely places one might meet a mate (like bars and gyms), the Walk Score of each area, plus the unemployment rates and average "cheap date" costs to determine the most heterosexual singles-friendly locales.

After San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego and Denver, Austin ranks No. 5 on the list of the Best Cities for Single Women, followed by Houston at No. 7 and Dallas at No. 10 in the ranking. About Houston, the survey says:

Houston has a great ratio of men to women (115 men for every 100 women), a low cost of living and a low unemployment rate, making it a great city for single women. Houston is known for its delicious Tex-Mex food, so the city has plenty of dinner date options."

Straight single men, however, only seem to have the odds in their favor in Fort Worth. It was the only Texas city in the Top 10 list of Best Cities for Single Men.

Fort Worth is highly affordable, with a low cost of living and low unemployment rate. The city also has more unmarried women than unmarried men, and although you’ll be fairly car-dependent here, you can explore Fort Worth’s thriving music scene and great Mexican food with your date."

The site also suggests,"If you're on the prowl for a Valentine's Day date, the problem might be your location, not you" — but we beg to differ, especially if your idea of a good, cheap date includes a movie ticket, a 12-inch Pizza Hut pie and a 6-pack of Heineken.

We think you can do better than that on a budget — penny pinchers stay tuned for CultureMap's suggestion for Valentine's Day on the cheap.

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Texas is one of the least cyclist-friendly states in the nation

Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in Houston, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Houston, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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