Two Cities In New York Make Top 20 Loneliest Places

Many people who live in New York City describe it as a lonely place. Even though the city has a population of almost 9 million people, it can seem like you are alone in the ocean. I lived in NYC while I attended grad school and it did feel kind of lonely. I think it's in part because of the hustle and bustle. Everyone is in their own world. Plus, without a car (this was before ride-sharing), it was much more difficult to connect with people in other boroughs. I lived in Lower Manhattan and while I knew people who lived in Brooklyn or the Bronx, seeing them regularly took some real effort without access to a vehicle. But, enough about my lonely sob story, you're not here for that.

What Do The Lonely Do On Valentine's Day?

Cry, lol? With the iconic couples holiday, Valentine's Day less than a month away, the Chamber of Commerce did a recent study of the loneliest cities in the United States. Two in New York landed on the list of the top 20. Spoiler alert: neither is New York City, which has 1,149,486 single households or 34.1 percent. The list isn't as bad as it sounds, kind of. The Chamber used data based on people who live by themselves,

Whether it’s your neighbor, a relative, or a coworker, there’s a good chance you know someone who lives alone. In fact, more than 36 million Americans, or 29% of all U.S. households, are one-person households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That's not so bad, right? It's not saying you don't have friends or a social life, it just says you can afford to live by yourself. You could definitely read more into it, but we won't throw that pity party here.

Two Cities In New York State Are The Loneliest

To create the list, the Chamber of Commerce analyzed U.S. Census data from more than 170 cities that have a population of at least 150,000 people.

Neither New York city landed in the top 5, so there's some good news there.

The honor of being the loneliest city goes to Washington, D.C.

According to Census Bureau data, there are 326,970 households in Washington, D.C. Of those, nearly half (48.6%) are one-person households. Overall, 158,840 residents live alone in D.C., which is a 3% year-over-year increase from 2021. In D.C., 27.9% of males live alone, while 30% of females live alone.

When it comes to cities in NY that made the top 20 loneliest:

Buffalo, NY landed at #14

It was at #20 last year, so Buffalo has gotten lonlier. Of the total households in Buffalo, 51,052 or 41.6 percent are one-person households. Of those, 23.7 percent are males and 23.6 percent are females living solo.

Rochester, NY landed at #18

Rochester was #12 last year, so it's a bit less lonely. One-person households account for 37,775 or 40.9 percent of the total households in Rochester. Males make up 25.0 percent of single households in the city, while females make up 21.0 percent.

If you're one of the people who make Buffalo or Rochester the loneliest cities, I'll leave you with this quote from author Kim Culbertson,

People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.

You can check out the full top 20 list of the loneliest cities in America here.

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