As many a rom-com will tell you, NYC is filled with unattached folks looking for love. But if there's anything that's harder to find than a soulmate, it's an apartment that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. (No wonder this is a city where "my lease is up" is a completely valid reason to move in with someone you've been on a handful of dates with.) A new report from StreetEasy, pegged to Valentine's Day, naturally, reveals some interesting facts about New York's single population—both where exactly they live and how much more it costs to rent if you're flying solo (spoiler: it's a lot).
So, on to the findings: The areas with the highest percentages of single women are Morningside Heights and neighboring Manhattanville (the Barnard effect, perhaps?), Gramercy, Midtown South and Stuy Town, while single dudes congregate in Midtown West, the West and East Villages, Bushwick and West Harlem.
It's worth noting that the numbers (gathered from U.S. Census data) don't tell the whole story: The word "single" here simply means never married—there's no control for committed but nonlegal relationships. That said, if you're looking to fall in love find someone to split the rent with, it can't hurt to take a field trip to one of the above neighborhoods, plunk down at the nearest cafe and hope for a zip code-specific meet-cute.
The other major takeaway from the report is decidedly…less fun. If you're single, you undoubtedly know it can add up (there's no anguish like shouldering the entire Time Warner bill), but the actual dollar amount that corresponds to the so-called "singles tax" is no joke. On average, New Yorkers who live alone pay $14,370 more in rent per year, based on median prices. (That number jumps to $16,500 in Manhattan.) And it doesn't help that the neighborhoods with the most studios and one-bedrooms—Midtown South, Financial District, Downtown Brooklyn, Long Island City—are also some of the most expensive. Le sigh.