Mobile ranks 2nd in U.S. for single women outnumbering men

If you’re single in Alabama, the numbers say the odds may already be in your favor — especially if you’re looking for a girlfriend.

A 2026 nationwide study from SmartAsset puts two Alabama cities among the top five U.S. cities where single women outnumber single men, a trend that runs opposite most of the country.

Birmingham + Mobile rank among top U.S. cities for single women

SmartAsset’s “Where Most People Are Single or Married” report looked at marital status in 115 U.S. cities with populations of at least 100,000, using 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Across those cities, the average actually skews the opposite way, toward more single men than women, at roughly 107 unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women. Birmingham and Mobile are among the exceptions.

Mobile lands at No. 2 nationally, trailing only Washington, D.C., with just 89.1 unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women. Birmingham sits at No. 5, with 89.8 unmarried men per 100 unmarried women.

The top 10 cities with the largest proportion of single women to men are:

1. Washington, D.C. — 84.5 men to 100 women
2. Mobile, Alabama — 89.1 : 100
3. Baltimore, Maryland — 89.6 : 100
4. New Orleans, Louisiana — 89.7 : 100
5. Birmingham, Alabama — 89.8 : 100
6. Orlando, Florida — 90.4 : 100
7. Milwaukee, Wisconsin — 90.9 : 100
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — 91.6 : 100
9. Memphis, Tennessee — 92.7 : 100
10. Boston, Massachusetts — 93.4 : 100

How many people are single in Birmingham and Mobile?

Birmingham also stands out for sheer volume of singles: 49.2% of adults there have never been married, the 16th-highest rate among the 115 cities studied and well above the multi-city average of about 42.5%.

Only 28.1% of Birmingham adults are currently married, the report shows.

Mobile tells a slightly different story. Its never-married rate sits at 42.0%, close to the middle of the pack, while 35.6% of adults are married — still below the roughly 40.1% average, but a larger share than Birmingham’s.

Compare this to the city with the most married people, Fremont, California, with a whopping 63.8% of adults currently married.

The 10 cities with the lowest percentage of married people are:

1. Detroit, Michigan — 23%
2. Cleveland, Ohio — 24.5%
3. Rochester, New York — 25%
4. Birmingham, Alabama — 28.1%
5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin — 28.3%
6. Cincinnati, Ohio — 28.7%
7. Baltimore, Maryland — 29.8%
8. Boston, Massachusetts — 30.3%
9. Newark, New Jersey — 30.9%
10. Memphis, Tennessee — 30.9%

Birmingham + Mobile divorce rates compared to the U.S. average

Both cities edge past the national divorce average of 10.6%.

Mobile’s divorce rate checks in at 13.0%, with Birmingham close behind at 12.7%. Neither cracks the top 10 nationally for divorce — Spokane, Washington, tops that list at 15% — but both are a step above a typical big city.

Fremont, California, the city with the highest percentage of married people, also happens to have the lowest divorce rate at just 4.8%.

What do you think of this data? Does it seem like there are more single women than men in your community? Let us know on Facebook and Instagram @mobilebaynow!