Iowa is Apparently One of the Best States for a Night Out

I know... I'm just as surprised as you!

When I saw that 24/7 Wall Street published an article that ranks all 50 states on how great they are for a night out, I assumed Iowa wouldn't do very well. I obviously have nothing against Iowa (I mean, I actively choose to live here), but I just didn't understand how our little state could compete against places like California or Texas or New York. I'm happy to report that my assumption was wrong!

24/7 Wall Street used a study from the clothing company Nasty Gal for their article, which looked at factors like the average price of drinks, cab costs, the number of bars and clubs, and safety to determine their list. Using that data, Iowa was ranked 5th in the country!

According to the study, the average price of a cocktail in Iowa is $8, the average cost of cab fare is $16 per 5 miles, and the average cost of a fast food meal is $7.66. In addition, there are 12 bars and clubs per 100,000 residents, and Iowa has a safety score of 55.16 out of 100. The only states that are better for a night out than Iowa are North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, and Wisconsin. I guess the Midwest isn't a bad place to be when you're looking for a date night destination!

On the other end of the list are the states that I thought would rank the highest. As it turns out, Texas is actually the absolute WORST place for a night out! The average cost for a drink is $12.30, the average cab cost is $19 per 5 miles, there are only four bars and clubs per 100,000 residents, and their safety score was 34.78 out of 100. Yikes! The rest of the bottom five are Arkansas, California, Mississippi, and Missouri.

What do you think of this list? Do you think they looked at the wrong factors to determine their rankings? Let us know in the comments! You can check out the rest of the article HERE.