Where to look
Where did all the good men go?
Mostly where the money is. The share of single men who pass a realistic list is more than twice as high in some places as in others.
If it feels like the good men have vanished, they haven't gone far. They've mostly gone where the money is. We measured how many single men pass a realistic list in every state and region the meter covers.
The list: single or divorced, straight, no criminal record, aged 27 to 37, lean to average build, at least 5'9" (175 cm), earning at least 80,000 a year in local currency. "Pass the list" is the share of single straight men aged 27 to 37 with a clean record who also meet the build, height and income rules.
The meter uses national height and body data, so the differences between places come from income and relationship status. In practice that means jobs and pay.
United States: capitals and tech hubs
The top five and bottom five states.
| Region | Pass the list | Good men | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | 10.2% | 2,720 | 1 in 10 |
| Massachusetts | 7.8% | 13,800 | 1 in 13 |
| Washington | 7.7% | 14,000 | 1 in 13 |
| Colorado | 7.7% | 10,500 | 1 in 13 |
| Maryland | 7.5% | 11,500 | 1 in 13 |
| Oklahoma | 4.6% | 3,590 | 1 in 22 |
| Kentucky | 4.4% | 3,620 | 1 in 23 |
| West Virginia | 4.2% | 1,210 | 1 in 24 |
| Arkansas | 4.1% | 2,190 | 1 in 25 |
| Mississippi | 4.0% | 2,350 | 1 in 25 |
Washington, D.C. leads by a long way: about one single man in ten passes the list, against about one in 25 in Mississippi and Arkansas. For sheer numbers, California has about 73,100 men who pass, Texas 45,200 and New York 34,300.
Australia: Canberra and mining money
| Region | Pass the list | Good men | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 8.8% | 1,150 | 1 in 11 |
| Western Australia | 8.5% | 7,020 | 1 in 12 |
| Northern Territory | 7.9% | 671 | 1 in 13 |
| New South Wales | 7.5% | 16,500 | 1 in 13 |
| Queensland | 7.3% | 9,810 | 1 in 14 |
| Victoria | 7.2% | 13,500 | 1 in 14 |
| South Australia | 6.6% | 3,080 | 1 in 15 |
| Tasmania | 6.1% | 829 | 1 in 16 |
Canberra's public-service salaries and Western Australia's mining wages put them on top. Tasmania has the lowest share. New South Wales has the most men who pass, about 16,500.
Canada: follow the oil
| Region | Pass the list | Good men | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Territories | 7.1% | 135 | 1 in 14 |
| Alberta | 6.6% | 10,100 | 1 in 15 |
| Yukon | 6.6% | 118 | 1 in 15 |
| British Columbia | 5.7% | 10,900 | 1 in 18 |
| Ontario | 5.5% | 31,000 | 1 in 18 |
| Quebec | 5.3% | 13,200 | 1 in 19 |
| Manitoba | 4.3% | 2,060 | 1 in 23 |
| New Brunswick | 4.2% | 978 | 1 in 24 |
| Prince Edward Island | 3.6% | 199 | 1 in 28 |
Alberta and the northern territories, with their resource and government jobs, beat the Maritimes. Ontario has the most good men by far: about 31,000.
New Zealand: the capital wins
| Region | Pass the list | Good men | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 8.4% | 1,000 | 1 in 12 |
| Auckland | 7.3% | 3,150 | 1 in 14 |
| Canterbury | 6.7% | 944 | 1 in 15 |
| Northland | 4.6% | 166 | 1 in 22 |
| Gisborne | 4.4% | 53 | 1 in 23 |
United Kingdom: London and the South East
| Region | Pass the list | Good men | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 2.4% | 7,760 | 1 in 41 |
| South East | 2.1% | 3,880 | 1 in 47 |
| East of England | 1.8% | 2,260 | 1 in 57 |
| Scotland | 1.1% | 1,410 | 1 in 89 |
| North East | 0.8% | 452 | 1 in 132 |
| Wales | 0.7% | 488 | 1 in 139 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.7% | 348 | 1 in 147 |
In the UK, £80,000 is a high salary, so the shares are much lower everywhere. London alone has about 39% of all the English men who pass.
So where did they go?
To the capital, the tech hubs and the resource towns, where high salaries are. Many of the rest went into relationships early: see are all the good men taken? And plenty are simply at home on an app: see why men don't approach anymore.
If you'd rather not move, the fastest fix is the income rule. Drop it to 60,000 on the meter and see how many good men your own state suddenly has.
Only selected regions are shown for the US and Canada; every state and province is on the meter. Regional income comes from each country's tax or census data by region. Height, body and orientation use national figures.
Run your own list on the meter
Estimates come from the same model as the meter: official population, census, health-survey and tax data for each country, combined age by age. Filters are treated as independent within each age, so treat the results as estimates, not a head count. The full method and sources are under "How it's calculated" on the meter.