6 Best North Carolina Dating Apps (2023) – Winners and Losers

When it comes to dating in North Carolina, there’s a lot to be excited about. Nightlife is pretty good in most areas, the geographical layout of the state favors mingling, and the wide social circles make for a lot of opportunities to get set up on dates.

Still, though, we think there’s a better way than just wading out into the unknown of the bar scene or hoping that the old ladies at Church are going to set you up. We’re talking about online dating. And if you’re ready to take your search for love into your own hands, the best North Carolina dating apps are ready to walk you through the process with ease.

In this article, I want to share our picks for which dating apps are best for you, talk about what it’s like to date in North Carolina (for all walks of life), and share some neat data about the single’s scene in the state that might help you understand things more clearly.

The Best Dating Apps in North Carolina

RankSiteFree Trial Link 
#1eHarmonyFree TrialeHarmony Dating App Logo
#2Elite SinglesFree TrialElite Singles Dating App Logo
#3Higher BondFree TrialHigher Bond Dating App Logo
#4ZooskFree TrialZoosk Dating App Logo
#5The LeagueFree TrialLeague Dating App Logo
#6SilverSinglesFree TrialSilver Singles Logo

eHarmony Ranks #1 Best North Carolina Dating App

eHarmony log in page screenshot with downtown Greensboro in the background

North Carolina can best be described as a very religious state that is not officially religious and still welcomes people from all faith backgrounds (or no faith background). That’s literally also the way we’d describe the dating app eHarmony. While people think it’s a religious dating app (because there are a lot of religious people on it), it’s actually an inclusive dating app open to all faith walks.

Sound like a perfect fit for singles in North Carolina? We think so! If you’re part of the 73% of residents who say you believe in God with absolute certainty, eHarmony will be great for you. If you’re part of the other one-fourth, eHarmony will still be great for you.

Having been in the business for over 20 years and having helped millions of singles find love, eHarmony is a titan of the industry that seems expertly designed for the singles of North Carolina.

eHarmony dating app logo

Additional Resources for North Carolina Singles

3 Reasons These Are The Best App Options in NC

The process of slicing and dicing the thousands of options out there in the online dating realm is an intense one—but it’s one we love. So, just how did we determine that these truly were the best of the best when it comes to dating apps in North Carolina?

Well, the full list of reasons is pretty extensive and one we’d need a lot more space to get through. Instead of trying to give you an exhaustive list, we decided it would be best to share a few of the top reasons we chose these as the best options.

1. Quality singles statewide and outside of our borders.

A dating app can have all the best features but if it lacks quality people for you to meet, it goes out the window. These North Carolina dating apps have an impressive number of quality North Carolina singles from all around the state. This includes the major cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro, but also the smaller more rural areas like Concord, High Point, Fayetteville, etc.

Additionally, you’ll find singles from the four states that border North Carolina (South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee). This is important for people who live close to the border in a state that is only 150 miles wide.

2. Mobile friendliness that matches the on-the-go mentality of most of the state.

In a state that borders the beach, has 41 beautiful state parks, and holds a lot of people who have an active lifestyle, you’re going to want to be able to keep up with your online dating life without being stuck inside with a desktop computer. This means an app that works on your mobile phone as a downloadable app or a mobile-friendly website.

3. Options for faith-based singles.

North Carolina is the 10th most religious state in the country where 73% of the people in the state say they believe in God with absolute certainty. If three-fourths on the population cares about their faith to this degree, it’s important that the dating apps we recommend have options, features, and filters to help these groups find what they want. On the same token, these filters and features should help the remaining singles who aren’t faith-focused as well.

What is Dating Like in North Carolina?

The first step in finding love is knowing where to meet people. So far, we’ve shared some great options for dating apps in North Carolina to get you headed in the right direction.

But what waits out there for you? What’s the dating scene in North Carolina really like? Is there any data or important trends to know about that could help give you some insight and an advantage? To answer these questions, we want to share some great information about the scene in the state.

  • Expect to see a lot of military singles in many areas. – There are eight different military installations across the state of North Carolina with Fort Bragg (just outside of Fayetteville) being the largest by far. Anyone living close to these areas can expect to see a lot of single soldiers (usually rotating through every four-ish years) on the dating scene. If that’s your cup of tea, awesome. If not, be prepared to use your filters and choose your stomping grounds wisely.
  • There’s a slight numbers advantage for those interested in females. – There are slightly more females than males in the state of North Carolina (51% vs. 49%). Additionally, more women than men in the state are unmarried. If you’re someone interested in women, this is a small but sizeable advantage.
  • Beach life is big, but in two different ways. – While this is purely anecdotal (but we believe it to be spot on), beach life is a pretty big trend along the coast of North Carolina, but it breaks into two groups. You have your Salt-life, surf-loving, living in flip-flops singles, and you have your upscale, loafers, sport coats, and big hat singles. Nothing wrong with either of these groups, but if you live by the beach and are looking to date, you may have to figure out which culture you click best with.
  • There’s been a sizeable increase in seniors in the state. – The number of people over the age of 60 increased from 16% in recent years to 23% of the population recently. This means that anyone interested in senior dating sites or dating people seasoned in life will have A LOT more options than they did in past years.
  • Over 73% of the people in the state believe in God with absolute certainty.– As you can imagine, this is going to have a pretty big impact on your dating life. This is a spot where filters on online dating apps can really help you to ensure you’re talking with singles who share the same faith as you do (if that’s important). As a large percentage of that group is Christianity, Christian dating sites play a big role in North Carolina.
  • Chivalry, southern hospitality, and “manners” are still a big thing. – Even if singles aren’t part of the religious majority, expect to see a lot of people who believe in southern hospitality and chivalry. This is less so in the major cities like Charlotte, but anywhere rural or smaller towns—stereotypical south does exist. We’re not saying this is a good or a bad thing, just something to be aware of.
  • North Carolina does a great job of being average. – While this sounds insulting, we don’t mean it the way it sounds. When we are looking at the dating scene in a state, we look at a lot of data to look for trends where the state rises or falls. With almost every data point we looked at, North Carolina found itself ranked right in the middle of the country. For example, adult binge drinking rate (which can signal singles who like to drink more)—24th…Average age of marriage—24th…Obesity rate—16th. These are just a few examples and may give some hope to people all the way across the spectrum that there is an eclectic group of singles in the state.

5 Cities in NC Make the List of Best Cities for Singles

Our favorite things to look at are data because it always tells the most honest picture. Recently, our team look at the 90 biggest cities in the country to see which cities were best for singles. The data study looked at five different cities in the state of North Carolina, with some ranking great—and some not so great.

  • 10th – Raleigh
  • 25th – Greensboro
  • 34th – Winston-Salem
  • 38th – Charlotte
  • 65th – Durham

The study did take into account the interest in online dating as one of the 36 different data points analyzed, which is why we feel this is certainly more relevant than just a “what city is best for singles” study that fails to include the shift towards online dating in a lot of communities in the US and more specifically in North Carolina.

North Carolina Single’s Population Stats

While on the topic of data, here are a few more points for you to look at. Consider this the macro view of dating in the city with a look at the population, demographics, and factors that may influence the quality of dating for you based on where you fall into the mix.

Total Population

  • 10,551,162

Population in North Carolina by Gender

  • 51.2% women in North Carolina
  • 48.8% men in North Carolina

Overall Singles by Gender

  • 50.1% of women in North Carolina are single
  • 47.6% of men in North Carolina are single

Population in North Carolina by Age

  • 13.1% aged from 20-29 years old
  • 13.0% aged from 30-39 years old
  • 12.7% aged from 40-49 years old
  • 13.0% aged from 50-59 years old
  • 23.6% aged 60+ years old

% Households With Internet in NC

  • 78.3% of households in North Carolina have internet access

Source(s): Census.gov

What a fun question, right? Ever wonder which cities in your state have the most interest in online dating? Heck, if it’s a city you live in or close by, that could mean an ever better shot at meeting that special lady or fella’ online.

The answer to the question lies in Google search traffic volumes. By looking at the major metro areas where online dating topics are searched the most, we can see which areas have the most interest.

The top 3 winners taking home a podium finish are Wilmington, Raleigh-Durham, and Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem!

Here’s the full breakdown of the results:

North Carolina Google Trends Data for Online Dating
  1. Wilmington NC – (100)
  2. Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem NC – (71)
  3. Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville) – (NC 68)
  4. Greenville-New Bern-Washington – (NC 52)
  5. Charlotte NC – (52)
  6. Florence-Myrtle Beach – (SC 9)
  7. Greenville-Spartanburg SC-Asheville NC-Anderson SC – (8)
  8. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News VA – (2)

Why are their South Carolina cities on the list? Remember, the data is pulled by major metropolitan areas. Sometimes, parts of one city are connected in with a major metro that is technically in another state. We just wanted to point that out for full clarity.

Getting Started With Free Dating Sites in North Carolina

Want to take things out for a test drive before you commit? We totally get that! And thankfully, the best North Carolina dating sites get it too. Each of the options we’ve recommended comes with some form of a free trial—some more robust and some more limited than others. For most of them, you’ll be able to set up your profile, upload pictures, and really get a feel for how it all works. Some may even let you start searching singles and possibly even respond to messages!

To get started, head back to the top of this guide and select one (or more) of the options you want to try. It’ll take just a few minutes to get set up and check things out for yourself!

North Carolina Dating Apps FAQ

Is dating in North Carolina hard?

While we usually have a laundry list of reasons dating in a state is hard, we actually have a very short list in the state of North Carolina. There’s a good spread of quality options across all age demographics, the state is laid out geographically in a way that supports dating, and the nightlife scene is actually quite good in a lot of areas. All of these things tell us that dating in North Carolina shouldn’t be easy, but it’s certainly not hard. The only group that may struggle some are those who aren’t religious as almost three-fourths of the population believes in God with absolute certainty.

Is online dating expensive in North Carolina?

Getting quality results from an online dating app in North Carolina is going to cost you a few bucks but it’s certainly not that expensive when you think about what you’re looking for. The average cost is around $20-$40 per month, which may seem like a lot to some people (expensive is always relative), but when you think about how important finding the right person is—that seems like a steal.


Written By: Healthy Framework Team

The Healthy Framework team has a combined 50+ years of experience in the online dating industry. Collectively, the team has reviewed over 300 dating apps and is known as one of the leaders in the relationship advice and information space. The team’s work has been featured on Zoosk, Tinder, The Economist, People Magazine, Parade, Women’s Health, Her Campus, Fox, and more.

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