Powys is ‘best place in Wales to be single’!

Powys is the best place in Wales to be single in 2026, according to new research by an ‘adult services site’.

We even ranked third out of all 346 local authorities in the UK in a new index commissioned by Adult Work, which scored England, Wales and Scotland on five weighted measures.

The key considerations for a single person, they said, are: the size of the local dating pool (30%), the affordability of a one-bedroom rental against local wages (20%), dining and daytime venues per 10,000 adults (15%), nightlife venues per 10,000 adults (20%), and safety (15%).

Each area received a freedom index score out of 100.

And this is why Powys ranked first:

Powys performs particularly well on affordability, dining opportunities and nightlife, ranking in the top 20 for all three metrics on its way to an overall score of 61.59 out of 100.

The county has the cheapest one-bedroom rent of any area in Wales at just £5,556 a year - 17.9% of the local median wage, ranking 12th in the UK overall - while its ratio of pubs and bars to people is the second-highest of all 346 areas studied, with 280 venues equating to 24.9 per 10,000 adults.

Its 654 cafes and restaurants also give it the 19th-best dining ratio in the country.

Second place went to Gwynedd and Blaenau Gwent was ranked third in Wales with Ceredigion fourth and Pembrokeshire fifth.

Cardiff, meanwhile, offers the biggest dating pool in Wales - 172,455 single adults, with the capital’s 58.2% share the 29th-highest in the study - though it sits 99th overall in the UK.

Wales emerges as a standout performer in the study: it has more areas in the UK’s top 10 than any other region or nation, and eight of its 20 local authorities make the national top 50, the highest proportion of any region. Nationally, the title went to Norwich, which scored 63.78 out of 100, followed by Liverpool in second.

Source: AdultWork UK Freedom Index, 2026.

Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for Adult Work, said: “This index challenges the idea that single life in Britain happens mainly in London. The capital still offers a huge dating pool, but the cost of living there means most single people end up paying half their wages in rent before they even think about going out. Smaller cities like Norwich, Liverpool, Lincoln and Dundee offer a much better balance of affordability, social infrastructure and a substantial single population, while Powys and Gwynedd show that rural Wales is genuinely competitive too. Wherever someone chooses to live as a single adult in 2026, the data suggests their money goes a lot further outside the South East.”