Where to pursue the opposite sex - census statistics indicate that the state of Hawaii has 2.1% more men than women, that the numbers are about the same in California, and that Pennsylvania has 8% more women than men - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 1997

The Bureau of the Census recently released its annual state population projections. While people tend to pay a lot of attention to certain of the demographic trends (breaking down the population by race, poverty, age, etc.), one category you don't hear that much about is sex. Everybody knows that there are more women than men in this country, but did you know that the gender gap changes significantly by region and state?

According to the Statistical Assessment Service, Washington, D.C., single females might be delighted to learn that Hawaii is a happy hunting ground for mates, with 12,501 (2.1%) more men than women. Those looking for even better odds should try their luck with Nevada, which has 28,814 -- 3.8% -- more men or head north to Alaska, the only other state with a male surplus, with 30,663 (10.7%) more men. The most gender-balanced states (with relatively slight female majorities) are Utah (one percent more females), Idaho (0.4%), and California (with just 5,295 more women than men, a statistically insignificant 0.03%).

Bachelors reading the Census report might turn their attentions to the other side of the country. New York has 697,141 (eight percent) more women, while Pennsylvania (eight percent), Ohio (seven percent), and Florida (six percent) are loaded with extra females.

Would-be suitors had better come equipped with plenty of Geritol and Glenn Miller records, though. Sex distribution is less a matter of choice and culture than it is of actuarial tables. The states are not discriminating for or against either sex -- nature is. One of the principal measurable differences between men and women is that females live longer. Thus, the younger an over-all population is, the more equal the distribution between the sexes. As the population ages, however, there will be a proportionately higher female population as the men die off. States with younger populations -- such as Utah (big families, lots of children) and California -- exhibit more balance. States with older populations, like New York and Florida, have more older women.

What about those few states with male majorities? Is there something particularly virile in the water or is there still a wild and untamed frontier? The answer is somewhat less exciting. The "manly" states have small over-all populations that can be skewed by heavily male-dominated industries like fishing, logging, and resource extraction (Alaska) or the military (Hawaii).