Safest and Most Dangerous States for Online Dating 2019

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Tinder, Match, Grindr, Zoosk…picking an online dating community feels like rush week of your freshman year, right? Everywhere you look, you’re ooooh so wanted.

Online dating can lead to a casual fling, a welcome flirtation, or even a serious relationship. In fact, research shows that singles in today’s dating scene are most likely to meet a future partner online.

But that doesn’t mean that finding love online can’t be dangerous.

How safe is your state for online dating?

Your risk of being a victim through online dating may be higher or lower based on where you live. Here’s how each state ranks in 2019 for online dating safety.

For the second year in a row, Vermont ranks as the safest state for online dating, and Alaska ranks as the most dangerous. The results we found in 2018 had the same findings for the top and bottom states.

Finding love is risky business.

Recently, the FBI raised awareness about swindling lovers with its study that Americans lost $230 million to catfishers in 2018. And then there are the cheaters. One study showed that around 22% of Tinder profiles are already in a committed romantic relationship.

The bottom line: online dating can be a great way to connect with new people, but keep your eyes open to warning signs. There are some creeps, predators, and scammers out there.

Online dating in Alaska is not for the faint of heart.

Based on our 2019 data, the following are the most dangerous states for online dating. You might expect that the most risky states for online dating are states with big cities notoriously high in crime like Detroit and St. Louis. But it turns out they’re not quite as dangerous for online dating as parts of the South, the Southwest, and the last frozen frontier.

Did Alaska surprise you? Anchorage is one of the most dangerous cities in the US, while the rest of the state is less infamous. Alaska also has a high rate of STDs, which doesn’t help.

Another interesting side note is that none of the safest states for online dating prefer Match. Does that mean Match is riskier than other dating apps? Not necessarily. Maybe you’re just more likely to get burned with a match than with tinder.

Looking for love online? Move to New England.

Our data from 2019 shows that three of the top five safest states are in New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine). These states all scored low in cybercrime, violent crime, and STDs.

One of the biggest surprises this year is that West Virginia catapulted to the second-safest state (up from number seven in 2018).

Guard your heart carefully.

Long story short, it’s okay to be super picky when swiping through messages and profiles on a dating app. Tell friends when you’re meeting up with someone you met online, arrange your own transportation, and go to a public place.

And if someone you’ve just met online asks for money or wants to meet for the first time at your apartment, swipe left!

Methodology

The team at HighSpeedInternet.com developed this list of the safest and most dangerous states for online dating by using recent stats on violent crime, cybercrime statistics, STD data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and sex education data.