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Which Neighborhood Has the Most Singles? The Most Married?

By Lizzie Schiffman Tufano | February 14, 2013 7:44am | Updated on February 14, 2013 11:55am
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DNAinfo/Tracy Prussin and Jade Hong

CHICAGO — Looking for all the single ladies in Chicago?

They're in Woodlawn, according to a DNAinfo.com Chicago analysis of the most recent Census data.

Nearly 83 percent of women in the South Side neighborhood were single as of 2011.

"I choose to be single, or maybe it's that I choose the wrong people," Woodlawn mom Erica Johnson said. "I haven't found the right person yet."

The 40-year-old mother of two said it's hard to find a man who wants to take on the responsibility of children. 

"The men often leave," she said. "They don't want to be parents. That said, you will see some men raising kids who are not their own, so there are some good men out here."

Terrilyn Harrison, 35, said issues of poverty and a lack of education in the South Side neighborhood are factors. The mother of three works security and said she wants any man she dates to be career-driven.

"I haven't found the one," she said. "I want somebody to be educated, that has a career. I want a God-fearing man."

Single men have a different Chicago haunt: Nearly 75 percent of the men in Washington Park identified themselves as single in the 2011 American Community Survey, which surveys representative sample groups annually with more detailed questions than the short-form U.S. Census.

In this analysis, "single" included adults who've never married, as well as divorcées and those who've been widowed who may well be on the market.

Friends Pierre Williams, 23, and Robert Williams, 21, no relation, are Washington Park residents in two different kinds of relationships. They've got differing views on marriage too.

Pierre says he's looking to get engaged with his longtime girlfriend within the next month. She doesn't know yet, but that didn't keep him from professing his love to DNAinfo.com Chicago.

"Even with the arguments and fights we have, it's beautiful," Pierre said. 

Robert is living with his 1-year-old son and her mother. He says the mother thinks they are in a serious relationship that's headed for marriage, but he thinks otherwise.

"I want to get married, but it's probably not going to happen," Robert said. "I can't find anyone I can trust and I'm always seeing something else I want."

The friends say it's the youth of the neighborhood that keeps men unhitched there.

The mother of Robert's baby "is looking for something stable," Robert said. "She's 23. I'm 21. I'm young. I don't want to settle down."

Burnside may not be the best place to make a marriage work: It had the highest rate of divorced residents for both genders, with 22 percent of women and 14 percent of men who called it quits on their unions.

If you're looking for a bachelor pad, the Near West Side is the place to be, with the most men and women who were never married: about 63 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

Never-married women are also the majority in West Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Lakeview and Washington Park, all of which have more than 58 percent of the female population on the market.

Unhitched men also are scattered in Riverdale, Lakeview, Washington Park and East Garfield Park, which had the highest rates of never-married males after the Near West Side.

The neighborhoods with the high percentage of single men are Washington Park, North Lawndale, West Garfield, Englewood and Douglas, according to DNAinfo.com Chicago's analysis.

Single women are the majority in Woodlawn, followed by Washington Park, Greater Grand Crossing, Riverdale and East Garfield Park.

Forest Glen has the most married men and women, with about 60 percent of each. For women, the next most married neighborhood is Mount Greenwood, followed by the O'Hare area, Beverly and Norwood Park.

Areas with the most married men, after Forest Glen, are Beverly, Norwood Park, Edison Park and Garfield Ridge, all with more than half the population spoken for.

The neighborhoods with the most divorced women are Burnside, Woodlawn, Kenwood, Calumet Heights and Grand Boulevard. For men, it's also Burnside, followed by Douglas, Hegewisch, Roseland and Greater Grand Crossing.