CLEVELAND is now under coverage.
Local dating, modeled. Every signal in Cleveland, converted into a tactical roadmap.
Greater Cleveland is open as a field office. The headline numbers, each sourced and confidence-flagged:
- $1,195 per month Zumper Rent Research, June 2026
- $40,082 per year Census ACS 5-yr, 2019–2023
- 52% Census ACS 5-yr, 2019–2023
By the numbers
11 sourced, confidence-flagged metrics for Cleveland — gender, money, neighborhoods, and political lean. The deep dive, with charts, is in the console below.
- Singles, 22 to 50
408,692
- Gender balance
52%
- Male skew
52%
- Median income
$40,082
- 1-bedroom rent
$1,195
- Living wage
$43,534
- Transit fare
$3
- Rent trend
$1,195
- Most female-leaning zone
43%
- Democratic
65%
- Island
34%
The shape of the market
Shaker Heights and Collinwood tilt female, around 43 to 45% male.
Cleveland runs about 52% male, sharpest downtown (65%) around the Warehouse District and Flats.
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.
Dating safety in Cleveland
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.
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.
Ohio does not register voters by party; as a 2024 proxy, Cuyahoga County voted about 65% Harris to 34% Trump.
Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County is one of the most Democratic large counties in the Midwest, a deep-blue island in a Republican state.
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
A single adult in Cuyahoga County needs about $43,500 a year just to cover the basics.
Cleveland is one of the more affordable big markets, with one-bedroom rents around $1,200 and roughly flat year over year.
Americans reported $1.3 billion in romance-scam losses in a single year, a tax on every crowded market.
A GCRTA fare is $2.50 one way on buses and the rapid rail, with daily fare-capping.
Neighborhood intelligence
| Neighborhood | Singles | M / F | Income | 1BR rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood | 16,612 | 52 / 48 | $48,684 | $1,070 |
| Gordon Square | 12,660 | 51 / 49 | $29,193 | $982 |
| Old Brooklyn | 10,622 | 54 / 46 | $29,633 | $905 |
| West Park | 10,491 | 52 / 48 | $36,433 | $969 |
| Ohio City | 9,930 | 53 / 47 | $56,808 | $1,476 |
| University Circle | 9,293 | 49 / 51 | $24,420 | $1,073 |
| Cleveland Heights | 8,876 | 51 / 49 | $41,765 | $1,305 |
| Shaker Heights | 7,454 | 43 / 57 | $31,945 | $931 |
| Downtown | 3,818 | 65 / 35 | $26,080 | $1,323 |
| Collinwood | 2,890 | 45 / 55 | $31,312 | $931 |
Local date spots
Real venues across Cleveland, scraped from Google Maps and filterable by neighborhood. Ratings and review counts are live Google data — never paid placement.
- Gordon Square
The Bourbon Street Barrel Room
- Lakewood
Pier W
- Gordon Square
Marble Room Steaks and Raw Bar
- Ohio City
Shooters Cleveland
- Gordon Square
Blue Point Grille
- University Circle
Mia Bella Restaurant
- University Circle
L'Albatros
- University Circle
Trattoria Roman Garden
- Gordon Square
Cleveland Chop
- University Circle
Guarino's Restaurant | Italian
- Downtown
Alley Cat Oyster Bar
- Old Brooklyn
Don's Lighthouse Grille
- Lakewood
Summer Place
- Ohio City
Le Petit Triangle Cafe
- Ohio City
Pickwick & Frolic Restaurant and Club
- Gordon Square
Fahrenheit Cleveland
- Shaker Heights
Brassica in Shaker Heights
- West Park
West Park Station
- Gordon Square
Porco Lounge & Tiki Room
- Ohio City
RED the Steakhouse Downtown
- Gordon Square
Lago East Bank
- Lakewood
Around the Corner Saloon & Cafe
- Lakewood
Forage Public House
- University Circle
The Fairmount Cocktail Bar
- Lakewood
Amazonia
- University Circle
The Treehouse
- University Circle
The Jolly Scholar
- Downtown
Society Lounge
- Cleveland Heights
EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute
- Lakewood
sarita a restaurant