It’s summer, which means we’re re-downloading every dating app that we swore off in efforts to find our rom-com worthy summer romance. With online dating being as sketchy as it is, it’s important to know what you might get into before swiping any direction.
Thankfully, the team at HighSpeedInternet.com did all of the hard work for us and got together with SafeWise to create their annual list of the safest and most dangerous states for online dating in the U.S.
The states are ranked based off of the most recent STD rates for gonorrhea and chlamydia from the CDC for 2016, the FBI’s cybercrime and violent crime data from 2016, and the population estimate of each state in the 2016 US Census.
The top 5 safest states for your Tinder meet-ups to take place are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Idaho, and Utah. The only problem? Your Tinder matches might be a bit, well, older than your usual due to Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire also being the top three states with the oldest residents.
The top dangerous states are somewhat surprising, with Alaska being the most dangerous followed by New Mexico, Louisiana, Nevada, and Arkansas.
“The most dangerous states have changed a bit from last year’s study,” said Rachel Oaks at HighSpeedInternet.com. “In addition to most moving up a spot due to the absence of Washington, DC, from this year’s data, New Mexico climbed a spot due to its increase in violent crime and STDs.”
This years report also features a chart that helps visualize the STD rate of each state as per capita compared to the national average.
The reasoning behind the top-rated states having the lowest rates of contracting STDs varies. According to HighSpeedInternet, the thorough sex education system in Vermont and Maine could be responsible, along with being the least religiously-involved states in the U.S.
Online dating can be convenient, fun and, at times, thrilling — but it’s important to be aware of what you could encounter along the way. Understanding the averages of your environment will help you see what’s in store for you and push you closer to that Patrick Swayze and Demi More Ghost moment of your own.
Scope out all of the details in the full 2018 study or compare it with the data from the 2017 study.