Where the Singles Are

Need a date for New Year's? Find out where you'll have your best chance of snagging one.

Around 7 on Friday nights, The Butcher Shop turns into a meat market. (Photgraph by Essdras M. Suarez)

With 313,000 single adults in Boston alone (and another 50,000 in Cambridge and 43,000 in Somerville), why do so many people complain they can't meet anyone? Maybe they're just hanging out in the wrong places. There is some truth, however, to every single woman's single biggest gripe -- there are definitely more of them than there are single men. Except in a few neighborhoods, but those guys aren't all looking for women, are they? These five neighborhoods have the city's highest concentration of singles.

Fenway and Kenmore

Of all Boston's neighborhoods, the one that's home to Harvard Medical School, several world-class museums, and -- oh, yeah -- the greatest ballpark in the country is the most densely populated with singles.

Total number of single adults: 29,200

Singles as a percentage of the population: 80

Females as a percentage of singles: 52

Males: 48

Median age of all residents: 21 (Fenway's singles are young, with 63 percent of residents between the ages of 18 and 24.)

Habits and hangouts: A 20-something crowd hangs in neighborhood restaurants on Peterborough Street, such as El Pelon. You'll find unmarried grad students at Audubon Circle, especially on Thursday and Saturday nights, milling around the bar, and if you seek the elusive over-30 singles in Fenway, Eastern Standard is your oyster -- sit at the bar and order a dozen. Find music-minded hipsters waiting in line for one of the concerts in the Museum of Fine Arts.

Allston and Brighton

Total number of single adults: 45,300

Singles as a percentage of the population: 65

Females as a percentage of singles: 53

Males: 47

Median age of all residents: 28

Habits and hangouts: Two-thirds of the residents in the student-heavy Allston and Brighton neighborhoods are single; these brainiacs live near Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard Business School. Though students dominate the social scene, Allston-Brighton residents aren't quite as young as their Fenway counterparts. There is a density of dive bars here. To escape the grunge and barely-21 vibe, go to Deep Ellum for a Manhattan or hit the White Horse Tavern for a pubbier pint and ambience.

Beacon Hill and Back Bay

Total number of single adults: 16,500

Singles as a percentage of the population: 62

Females as a percentage of singles: 52

Males: 48

Median age of all residents: 32

Habits and hangouts: Harvard Gardens remains a hot spot for 30-plus prowlers, even during the week (especially on Thursday nights), but might soon be edged out by Alibi. In Back Bay, Community Boating on the Esplanade is also known as Community Dating. For dancing, try Saint; for drinking, head to the Cactus Club; and for a younger crowd, try the Pour House. One Friday night each month, the Jewish singles scene heats up the Vilna Shul on Phillips Street.

Downtown and Waterfront (includes North End and Chinatown)

Total number of single adults: 14,800

Singles as a percentage of the population: 58

Females as a percentage of singles: 53

Males: 47

Median age of all residents: 35

Habits and hangouts: You'll find plenty of singles at Felt -- what's sexier than a challenging game of pool? -- and the Vault, which, appropriately, reeks of moneyed revelers. Have lunch in Post Office Square to view some of the city's most eligible and attractive singles, spot the fittest segment after work at The Sports Club/LA's bar, blu, and on Friday nights, Houston's in the otherwise touristy Faneuil Hall Marketplace is prime prowling ground.

South End

Total number of single adults: 16,600

Singles as a percentage of the population: 58

Females as a percentage of singles: 42

Males: 58

Median age of all residents: 34

Habits and hangouts: Less gay-centric than it once was, the South End social scene attracts locals and visitors with its ever-growing roster of restaurants and bars. At the Beehive, folks line up on weekend nights to wait for great music and amazing mint juleps (the bar crowd is always several people deep). The coupled-off populate the dog parks, but at around 7 on Friday nights, the communal butcher block at The Butcher Shop turns into a meat market.

Janice O'Leary, a frequent contributor to the Globe Magazine, is an editor at Body+Soul. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.