Which cities have the most career-minded singles?

Trends are a’changin’. The traditional family model consisting of the working father and stay-at-home mother has evolved as more and more singles are choosing to postpone their family plans in favor of getting ahead in the workplace. We decided to look into which cities contain the most career-minded singles and came up with some surprising results.

The EliteSingles research team culled data from 50,000 singles aged 18 to 45 across the US to uncover the priorities of the top US cities concerning cultivating a career versus starting a family. The large-scale study, based on anonymous user data, focused on the following criteria: education level, how important education level of partner is, and how important it was to find someone with similar family plans. Furthermore, particular attention was focused on how each member ranked the following statement: Marriage is important to me and should also be a priority for my partner. EliteSingles then cross-checked the data against gender and location to determine the facts about which US cities are most career-driven.

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Boston singles want to get ahead in their career the most

Research shows that having two working parents is beneficial to children¹, so it’s no surprise that many are placing a priority on getting ahead in the workplace before deciding to have kids of their own. The study revealed that singles who live in Boston are the most likely to place the strongest importance on striving to excel in their careers, which we suspect might have something to do with the close proximity to Harvard University. Interestingly, and perhaps coincidentally, cities on the coast rank higher on career-orientation than landlocked cities, with seven cities in the top ten having access to the sea. Could the metaphor of looking out to the horizon to reference thinking about the future actually affect the priorities of those living on the coast?

The cities with the most family-oriented singles

Of course, even professionally-minded singles agree that career isn’t everything, and not everyone agrees that a job should be any more than a steady paycheck. Singles living in Baltimore don’t want to waste any time when it comes to starting a loving family, the study shows. Those in the South prioritize future generations over the future of their careers, with nine out of the top ten cities located in the Southern states. Perhaps this is proof that there is truth to the “Southern hospitality” stereotype after all.

Los Angeles sends mixed signals, while Seattle plays it cool

The study also revealed that singles in Los Angeles simultaneously ranked highest for the most satisfaction and for feeling the most anxious about the future, for both males and females. Hardly surprising for the city people are known to flock to in order to pursue a career in entertainment? Contrary to this, Seattle’s singles rank as the male and female singles least anxious about the future and ranks average for being career- and family-oriented, making it possibly the best city for singles who want the best of both worlds.

Want to see where your city ranks? Check out the top 50 cities below ranked according to career-minded and family-oriented singles.

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Study published October 2016, updated March 2018

*Sourced from anonymous data

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