You want a man? Come to Salt Lake City.
The city's got 'em in spades. They're educated, make good money and the ratio is 1 1/2 guys to every girl ... right?
According to a recent survey, it's the truth. According to some single women, that's a "no."
Although some dispute it, the survey named Salt Lake City the second-best city to meet single men over 35.
Men's Health Magazine and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" joined forces to find the top 20 cities in America to meet single men in that age group, and the topic was the focus of Winfrey's talk show Friday.
According to the survey, Salt Lake is a "stunningly beautiful city, rich with culture and full of educated men." It also said the ratio of men to women was 1.5 to 1.
The Men's Health article described Salt Lake men as "creative daters" and more laid back and relaxed. Also, the city can boast a number of recreational activities that lend themselves to dating.
Although most people concur that single men are more educated here than in other cities, some Salt Lake single women dispute both the ratio and the high ranking of Salt Lake as the place to land a man.
"Well, if that's the case, where have I been? I don't share that sentiment," said Carol Cabanillas, who coaches running in Salt Lake City. "Utah has an overabundance of beautiful females that want to get married — so men here don't take the initiative."
"If Oprah thinks this is a great place to meet single men, then I have yet to have visited the places she's been," Cabanillas said.
Last summer, Forbes.com ranked Salt Lake City 36th out of 40 of the "best cities for singles." The lack of a thriving night-life brought the rankings down.
Many women also said they don't believe there are more males than females in Salt Lake City.
"My experience is the exact opposite. Everywhere you go, it is usually predominantly women with a smattering of guys — it's really a good place to be a single man, but not the opposite," said Rebekah Belnap, a high school assistant principal who is single.
"It's fertile ground for men to meet women here. Here, women compete, guys kick back and reap the benefits," she said.
But some women agree that the LDS Church's influence most likely has something to do with the higher number of men with wedding bells on the brain than in other states, since the church encourages marriage. Some singles who are church members move to Salt Lake City specifically to find a sweetheart of the same faith.
Moreover, Salt Lake has a major research university, along with one of the largest community colleges in the nation, so it came as no surprise to most people that there are educated single men here.
"It's probably true about being educated, but on the weekends, those guys are pretty hard to find," said Wendy Parker, a speech pathologist from Holladay.
Clint Stallings, a sales partner in Salt Lake, said some single guys here are more well-rounded, since the city has "hordes of 20-somethings and 30-somethings who have been around the world on church missions, making them well-traveled and often multilingual."
Based on the survey, the only place that tops Salt Lake City in single men is San Jose, Calif. Those men are said to be healthy, wealthy and ethnically diverse.
Arlington, Texas, and Raleigh, N.C., fall right behind Salt Lake City. But those cities don't have the winter activities that Salt Lake does — or the looks — according to Stallings.
"Well, what can we say? There are just a lot of handsome guys here. It's ridiculous," Stallings said.
E-mail: terickson@desnews.com