I guess this is kind of like a follow-up to my post the other day about “The Surprising Truth About Online Dating Apps“; you might call this one “The Surprising Truth About the Cost of Going on a Date”.
Match.com released the results of a nationwide survey that compared the average cost of a date in each of the 50 states of the U.S.
In order to best compare apples to apples, the hypothetical date consisted of a dinner for two, a bottle of wine, and two movie tickets.
The overall average for all 50 states was $102.32, but as you might imagine, there were tremendous disparities across the 50 states.
Not surprisingly, New York was the highest state, with the cost of a date working out to $297.27. The lowest was South Dakota, at a cost of only $38.27. That means a couple could go out every night for a week in South Dakota, and still spend less than a couple that goes out for one night in New York.
The survey also noted that the average single American spent $1,596 on dating per year.
If you assume that the cost of a date was split, then the national average cost of a date is $51.16 per person, which would mean the average person goes on about 31 dates per year.
For a New Yorker, that would result in spending $4,607 per year on dating.
That seems like a lot of money, but it could turn out to be the best money ever spent.
*image from Yahoo Finance
Borden's Blather 
I’ll take this as a sign, Jim. My wife and I are flying from California to South Dakota tomorrow. One of her favorite expressions is, “Good thing you’ve got a cheap date.” Ha-ha!
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Quite the coincidence! You can really splurge while you’re there, and still come out ahead. Enjoy your trip, Pete!
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Wow! I would say my husband and I have cheap dates compared to NY prices for sure! 🙂
Thinking the gas money to get to South Dakota would not make the date cheap anymore! 😄
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As do my wife and I; I don’t know if that makes us cheap or fiscally sound! 🙂
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I will go with fiscally sound. 🙂
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if you say so 🙂
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Funny! Is it just the beer’s cheaper there, or people prefer a ramble in the woods to an expensive restaurant?
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I think they tried to make the comparison similar – dinner, bottle of wine, and a movie – no matter where the date was. I guess dinner is really cheap in South Dakota!
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This is why I get them to split the bill with me lmao
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good plan!
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I have never been to the US, Jim. But if I am ever looking for a date there, this will be invaluable. 🙂
Thanks very much for following my blog.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Hi Pete. Thanks for your comment. Yes, it’s always good to know where you can go for a cheap date.:) Look forward to reading your blog posts. Discovered you through the Smorgasbord site.
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Interesting data! Did you notice how the cheapest dates surrounded South Dakota from other adjoining states from Montana down to Kansas?
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I guess the Midwest is the place to be if you’re going to be dating!
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In many of these small towns, just having a girl to date may be a major accomplishment.
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Just dating any girl, anywhere, was a major accomplishment for me!
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