Red state heartlands put a ring on young love while progressive blue cities lag on early marriage

Young people looking to tie the knot in their twenties may want to rethink where they live.

Moving to big coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles could mean lowering the odds of getting married— and living in an area with a high concentration of singles may not lead to more marriages.

According to a new study from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) , early-marriage rates are lower in many urban hubs and higher in parts of the heartland.

The findings point to a geographical divide in family formation, with young adults in places like Tennessee, Indiana and Utah marrying at higher rates than their coastal big-city peers.

"For singles, your best odds of finding love and getting married aren’t in big coastal cities where most singles live, but in middle America, where more marriage‑minded singles are," Wendy Wang, senior researcher at the Institute for Family Studies, told Fox News Digital .

THE STATES REVEALED AS BEST TO START A FAMILY AMID CRATERING BELIEF IN THE AMERICAN DREAM The research is part of the IFS’s "Get Married Maps," which provides young people with information about regional marriage trends and examines factors associated with marriage rates.

Those factors include employment, religion and recent presidential election results, among others.

"Given the many benefits of marriage, a city where more young people are tying the knot might ultimately provide a more fulfilling life than one with just excellent entertainment and tasty food—but few weddings," the study explains.

For adults ages 22-29, regions with the highest marriage rates include Provo, Utah, as well as parts of Tennessee, Indiana, Nebraska, Kentucky, Idaho, North Carolina, Kansas and Georgia.

In contrast, eight of the ten regions with the lowest early-marriage rates are concentrated in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.

NORTH TEXAS DOMINATES IN POPULATION GROWTH AS BIG BLUE CITIES FAIL TO RECOVER TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS "These findings demonstrate that, for young adults, the ‘best place’ to get married may depend largely on when they hope to marry.

Those who are committed to marrying in their twenties may want to think carefully about moving to a major coastal city; meanwhile, those same cities could be an excellent option—though not the only choice—for marriage-minded adults in their thirties," the study notes.

While coastal cities have lower marriage rates for 20-somethings, the picture changes for singles in their thirties.

For adults ages 30 to 39, regions with the highest marriage rates include portions of the New York, San Jose, Los Angeles and Chicago metropolitan areas, along with suburbs in Texas and Indiana.