We’re months past hot girl summer and by social media standards, and we’ve officially entered cuffing season – the time of year situationships become official and couples pair up ahead of the holidays.

It isn’t always so easy. Walking into a coffee shop and stumbling upon the love of your life is what Hallmark movies are made of. Dating in the real world isn’t as picture perfect, but in 2023 there’s an app for everything, so many turn online to find a partner. About three in 10 U.S. adults have tried online dating, about half of which are under the age of 30, according to Pew Research Center.

“For younger generations and those in rural areas, online dating might’ve been the sole option since many of those other physical spaces were closed, destroyed, or simply don’t exist,” said Dr. Lourdes Dolores Follins, relationship therapist and owner of Meliora Consulting LLC, pointing out the popularity of classified ads in local newspapers, or meeting at in-person social settings as a popular means of dating in the past.

As modern dating has shifted to platforms like Bumble and Tinder, new data released by sexual wellness site Bedbible is providing insight on which parts of the country are the most eager to find a date.

Bedbible’s research looked into how many times people in each state searched 42 keywords related to dating, including “free dating sites,” “pick up line ideas,” “lesbian dating apps,” “how to date,” “online dating,” and more, finding that across all 50 states, Americans are Googling an average of 9,464,952 dating terms per month.

Maine was ranked the state most eager to date, with an average of 59,240 dating-related terms and 4,276 per 100,000 residents. Top searches in this state were “tinder,” “match,” and “facebook dating.”

Based on Bedbible’s findings, these are the top 10 states looking to date online:

1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. Rhode Island
4. North Dakota
5. Vermont
6. Massachusetts
7. Wisconsin
8. Pennsylvania
9. Florida
10. Montana

Is cuffing season real?

Hormonally, yes.

Psychology Today suggests the notion to find partners to spend the winter months with dates back to an ancestral survival instinct to keep warm and have the advantage over predators who could attack during the dark.

A pair of researchers from the University of Wroclaw in Poland, also found evidence that male attractiveness to female bodies changes seasonally, finding them most attractive during winter months. Men also experience an increase in testosterone during the winter, reports Psychology Today.

Relationship coach and licensed marriage and family therapist Beverley Andre took to TikTok to share her take on why we crave a partner during this season.

“When temperatures start to drop come September, October-ish, and we have less daylight hours, that reduced exposure to sunlight lowers your serotonin and melatonin levels in the brain, which both affect mood, which also leads to an increased desire for emotional connection,” she said.

Even though cuffing season is the unofficial time to settle down, some experts say summer is actually the hottest season to date. Matchmaker Noreen Rochester, founder of Cara Matchmaking, told News Center Maine – Bedbible’s top state looking to date online – that summer is actually her busiest season.

Dr. Follins specializes in working with QTIPOC individuals. In her experience summertime, specifically the month of June, is when most of her clients look for partners.

“I have actually never seen people go out of their way to get in relationships around the traditional, end-of-year holidays. If anything, I’ve seen the queer and trans people of color that I work with [and] know personally seek relationships before or during Queer Pride season,” she said. “That might be because, as I refer to it, Pride is like a family reunion, no one wants to attend, but everyone goes to see who’s with whom and how people look post-break-up.”

Online dating has created a unique set of challenges, especially tied to looks and attractiveness.

“With online dating, theoretically, you have a larger pool of people to choose from and because of the focus on having photos, we’ve become conditioned to look at those more than at their words or how they treat you in person. Also, there’s no one to vouch for whether they could be a good fit for you or if they’re problematic,” said Dr. Follins.

Singles say that dating has become increasingly difficult after the COVID-19 pandemic, but numbers suggest that online dating is working. In August 2023, Forbes reported that 70% of people who met someone on a dating app said it led to an exclusive, romantic relationship.