BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – In recent years, millennials across the United States have become known for their tendency to either hold off on or completely nix the idea of marriage.
But what about locally? What does Louisiana’s dating scene look like?
Statistics can help paint a picture and provide a possible explanation for the scenario.
According to one source, in 2020, Louisiana’s marriage rate was 3.4 marriages per 1,000 residents, which was a significant decrease from 2019, when the marriage rate stood at 5.1.
Out of Louisiana’s 4.6 million residents, 1.34 million are unmarried, which is 28.7 % of the state’s population.
Essentially, Louisiana has a lot of single people.
In fact, an article by Wallethub listed Louisiana as the #1 state with the highest share of single adults.
Seeing as there are so many single people in Louisiana, does this mean the local dating scene is easy to access and full of positive outcomes?
Not so much.
The same Wallethub article listed Louisiana as the 16th worst state for single people. Some of the reasons for the less-than-stellar ranking were Louisiana’s economy, high rate of crime, and lack of online dating opportunities.
According to these statistics, many of Louisiana’s singles are struggling financially. So, ensuring that one’s basic bills are paid is likely to take precedence over investing in the expenses that come with dating.
There’s also the hurdle of Louisiana’s high rate of crime.
According to the 2020 FBI Uniform Crime Report, in 2020 Louisiana had the highest per-capita murder rate (15.8 per 100,000) among all U.S. states for the 32nd straight year (1989–2020).
Statistics like these can make people more wary in public, and less likely to strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger. Hence, many missed opportunities to meet “the one.”
That said, Louisiana’s singles do make some use of dating apps, and Datingnews.com claims that Tinder is the most widely used dating app in the state.
So, while statistics may paint a rather bleak picture of Louisiana’s dating scene, the truth is that singles in Louisiana are finding ways to meet.
One perk of living in the Bayou State is its wide variety of entertainment options, including bars, restaurants, and venues for concerts. These have become great places for local singles to meet, whether by happenstance or by ‘meeting’ first on an app and then planning an outing.
While statistics paint one picture, anyone who makes their way to one of Louisiana’s nearly 34,000 restaurants or bars on a Saturday night will see more than a few singles enjoying themselves on a date.