AUSTIN is now under coverage.
Local dating, modeled. Every signal in Austin, converted into a tactical roadmap.
Greater Austin is open as a field office. The headline reads:
An estimated 500,000 Greater Austin adults ages 22 to 50 are single, a young and fast-growing market.
A market-rate one-bedroom in Austin asks about $1,300 a month, and asking rents have fallen roughly 13% in a year as a glut of new apartments hit the market.
Greater Austin is notably male-heavy: about 56% of single adults are men, roughly five single men for every four single women, one of the most male-skewed markets in the country.
The balance isn't uniform across the metro: Zilker (54% women) and Hyde Park (51% women) are among its most female-leaning corners.
The shape of the market
- Singles, 22 to 50
500,639
- Gender balance
56%
Among Austin couples, about 15% live together unmarried rather than married, above the national 13%.
The 22-to-34 core holds about 369,000 single adults across the metro, the engine of Austin's market.
Downtown's singles are unusually high-earning: a median individual income around $113,000, more than double the metro figure.
It is not universal. Zilker and Hyde Park both tilt female, the rare Austin zones where single women outnumber single men.
The imbalance is the market's defining feature: single men outnumber women in almost every core neighborhood, peaking at The Domain (about 60% male) and across East Austin and Mueller (58%).
About 56% of Austin households are couple households — married or living together — above the national 54%; the rest are people living alone or with roommates.
How dating actually happens
Only about 14% of matches on curated apps like Hinge turn into a first date.
Roughly 1 in 10 partnered adults met their partner online, and the share climbs sharply for younger and LGB couples.
One in four matches never gets a reply.
53% of online daters say their overall experience has been positive.
The figures above are national benchmarks. In Austin, date-spot density is thickest in The Domain, Rainey Street, and South Congress — the most reliable neighborhoods to take the dating offline.
Dating safety in Austin
78% of active dating-app users report burnout: 80% of women (driven by message volume) and 74% of men (driven by a lack of responses).
60% of Americans support requiring a background check before someone can create a dating profile.
An estimated 26% of men have received unsolicited explicit content, far below the rate for women.
56% of women under 50 have been sent unsolicited explicit images while dating online.
48% of online daters have faced at least one form of harassing behavior on a dating platform.
43% of women under 50 say a match kept contacting them after they said no.
52% of online daters say a scammer or bot has contacted them.
63% of men under 50 say a scammer or bot has contacted them, the highest of any group.
11% of women under 50 have been physically threatened on a dating platform.
40% of daters say platforms do a bad job removing fake and bot accounts; only 20% say they do well.
These are national safety benchmarks. The practical local move is the same everywhere — meet first in a busy, public place; in Austin the highest-traffic date districts are The Domain, Rainey Street, and South Congress.
The LGBTQ+ landscape
53% of LGB adults have used a dating app, far more than straight adults.
About 24% of LGB couples met online, roughly three times the straight rate.
About 70% of LGB adults under 30 have used a dating app, the highest-adoption cohort anywhere.
7.6% of U.S. adults now identify as LGBTQ+, up from 3.5% in 2012.
22.3% of adults aged 18 to 34 identify as LGBTQ+.
Political alignment
24% of Americans say they could never date someone who disagrees with them on abortion, a sharper line in a state with a near-total ban.
Texas does not register voters by party, so the 2024 presidential vote stands in as a proxy: Travis County, the Austin core, backed Harris over Trump 69% to 29%, one of the most Democratic large counties in the state.
The suburbs lean the other way: Williamson County, home to Round Rock and Cedar Park, flipped to Trump in 2024, about 50% to 48%, while Hays County stayed narrowly Democratic.
47% of single daters would not seriously date a Trump voter; among Democratic women that rises to 79%.
69% of Americans would not date someone who is unemployed, rising to 81% of women.
The cost of dating
- Median income
$50,165
- 1-bedroom rent
$1,302
A single adult in Travis County needs about $49,300 a year just to cover the basics.
Austin is the rare market where dating just got cheaper: a one-bedroom now asks about $1,300, down roughly 13% in a year, as a record wave of new apartments pushed vacancy toward 14% and landlords started offering months free.
Americans reported $1.3 billion in romance-scam losses in a single year, a tax on every crowded market.
A local CapMetro bus ride costs $1.25, the cheapest date logistics in the city.
Neighborhood intelligence
| Round Rock | 23,273 | 54 / 46 | $48,957 | $1,713 |
| Bouldin Creek | 19,252 | 55 / 45 | $71,974 | $1,801 |
| West Campus | 17,965 | 55 / 45 | $12,533 | $1,571 |
| Cedar Park | 10,932 | 54 / 46 | $57,877 | $1,753 |
| East Austin | 8,844 | 58 / 42 | $48,326 | $1,897 |
| South Congress | 7,889 | 58 / 42 | $76,058 | $1,664 |
| The Domain | 7,114 | 60 / 40 | $64,241 | $1,755 |
| Rainey Street | 6,223 | 55 / 45 | $86,750 | $1,930 |
| Mueller | 5,558 | 58 / 42 | $55,279 | $1,526 |
| Allandale | 5,141 | 54 / 46 | $61,755 | $1,723 |
| Clarksville | 4,978 | 51 / 49 | $82,778 | $2,181 |
| Downtown Austin | 4,320 | 56 / 44 | $112,957 | $2,272 |
| Zilker | 4,047 | 46 / 54 | $66,944 | $2,043 |
| Westlake | 3,061 | 53 / 47 | $88,250 | $2,136 |
| Cherrywood | 2,335 | 57 / 43 | $68,504 | $2,034 |
| Hyde Park | 1,572 | 49 / 51 | $49,767 | $1,688 |
Local date spots
- Downtown AustinActivity
The Escape Game Austin
LGBTQ+ friendlyWheelchair access - South CongressDining
Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse
- Rainey StreetDining
Zanzibar
- East AustinDining
Aba Austin
- West CampusActivity
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Wheelchair access - Rainey StreetDrinks
Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden
- Downtown AustinDrinks
Upstairs at Caroline
- Round RockDining
Jack Allen's Kitchen
- Cedar ParkActivity
Main Event Austin
Good for groupsWheelchair access - Round RockActivity
Austin’s
LGBTQ+ friendlyWheelchair access - ZilkerActivity
Zilker Botanical Garden
Wheelchair access - The DomainDining
Casa do Brasil
- West CampusDining
Steiner Ranch Steakhouse
Outdoor seatingGood for groups - Downtown AustinDrinks
Edge Rooftop
- Round RockDining
Salt Traders Coastal Cooking
- The DomainDining
Maggiano's Little Italy
- Hyde ParkDining
Roaring Fork
- South CongressDining
Odd Duck
- AllandaleDining
Fonda San Miguel
Good for groupsWheelchair access - West CampusActivity
Blanton Museum of Art
LGBTQ+ friendlyWheelchair access - The DomainDrinks
Doc B's Restaurant
- The DomainDining
Punch Bowl Social
- South CongressDining
Uchi Austin
- Bouldin CreekDining
Dean's Italian Steakhouse
Outdoor seatingLGBTQ+ friendly - East AustinDining
Dean's Italian Steakhouse
- MuellerDining
Salty Sow
- The DomainActivity
The Original Pinballz Arcade
Wheelchair access - The DomainDining
North Italia
- The DomainDining
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
- Bouldin CreekDining
Perla's
Outdoor seatingLGBTQ+ friendly - South CongressDining
Perla's
- Bouldin CreekActivity
Peter Pan Mini-Golf
- Cedar ParkDining
Soto
- ZilkerDining
El Alma
- The DomainDining
Ema - Austin
- Rainey StreetActivity
Cidercade Austin
Wheelchair access - The DomainActivity
Pins & Wheels At Playland
Wheelchair access - East AustinDining
Ember Kitchen
- Hyde ParkDining
Quince Lakehouse
- ZilkerDining
Juliet Italian Kitchen- Barton Springs
- The DomainActivity
Cap City Comedy Club
Good for groupsWheelchair access - Hyde ParkCafés
Epoch Coffee
Outdoor seatingLGBTQ+ friendly - Rainey StreetDining
Acre 41
- South CongressDining
Red Ash
- Rainey StreetDining
The Guest House Austin
- Rainey StreetActivity
Emo's Austin
Wheelchair access - Rainey StreetDining
The Roosevelt Room
- East AustinDining
Launderette
- Downtown AustinDining
Péché
LGBTQ+ friendlyGood for groups - Downtown AustinDining
Péché
- South CongressDining
Roaring Fork
- Cedar ParkDining
The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen - Cedar Park
- Round RockDining
URBAN Eat.Drink
- MuellerDrinks
B.D. Riley's Irish Pub at Mueller
- Rainey StreetDining
Fixe Southern House
- Rainey StreetDining
Geraldine's
- The DomainActivity
Escape Hour Austin
Wheelchair access - Round RockDining
Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar
- Round RockDining
Double Cut Steak House
- The DomainDining
Taverna