Single in the City

Austin declared one of America's hottest cities for singles

Being single in Austin isn't so bad after all.

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Living the single life in Austin? You're living the good life, according to a new report from ValuePenguin.

Out of 200 U.S. cities, Austin-Round Rock ranks the 11th best place for singles.The personal finance company analyzed 24 metrics across four key categories — dating, cost of living, entertainment and leisure, and community — to determine the list.

Austin's best score is in the dating category, which evaluated the availability and cost of typical first date ideas. With more than 30 movie theaters, 300 bars, and 3,000 restaurants, Austin ranks a well-deserved No. 5. Bonus: the average price of a three-course meal is $50 per person, the 28th best deal in the country.

Surprisingly, Austin's next best ranking is No. 21 for cost of living, thanks to a high average income ($54,490 per year) and low unemployment rate (2.9 percent).

We have some improvements to make in the enjoyment and leisure category, as well as community. We rank No. 52 for the former and No. 87 for the latter, which analyzed the percentage of unmarried Austinites across different age groups.

The Capital City is by far the hottest spot for singles in the Lone Star State. Next is College Station at No. 97; Corpus Christi and Dallas Fort-Worth are tied at No. 125, San Antonio is No. 127, and Houston is No. 148.

Not happy with the local dating pool? The top five cities for singles are New York; San Francisco; Boston; Cleveland; and Barnstable Town, Massachusetts.

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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