We’ve seen all sorts of finance-based top 10 cities lists that either state the obvious or seem oblivious. No doubt you’ve seen them, too, and perhaps rolled your eyes: the 10 best places to get a job, own a home, start a family, hit the lottery … and of course, to buy and raise boa constrictors.

Now, it’s time for a list that really matters —especially to our under 30 readers. We present to you our first-ever “Best Cities in America to be Young, Broke and Single.”

How does a city make the cut, you might wonder? We compiled our roll call using metrics that matter to young professionals trying to simultaneously launch a career, find love, and stretch a still-meager paycheck: cheap food, cheap beer and cheap thrills, for starters. We looked at a city’s number of bars (after downing a microbrew, of course). Then we hit the lows (unemployment, cost of living) and the highs (numbers of fellow singles and young(er) adults, ages 18-44).