Analysis of the “Perfect” Bachelorette Contestant

On the last season of The Bachelor, Becca had her heart broken by Arie when he had a change of heart and decided to rekindle things with runner-up Lauren. The footage of Arie and Becca’s breakup broke new ground on the show as it was aired unedited, providing Bachelor Nation with a brutally enthralling look at an engagement ending in real-time.

Out of that devastation came a silver lining as Becca was chosen as the titular figure on this season of The Bachelorette, giving her increased control and a second chance at finding love on national television. So far, her season has featured its fair share of memorable moments and characters, from pictures flung into pools, to bed-related medical emergencies, to one male model with an unforgettable personality we’d already like to forget.

As with every installment of reality TV pumped out by The Bachelor franchise, the Homes.com team has become heavily invested in Becca’s journey. We can’t wait to see how the second half of the season plays out with fewer than 10 contestants left vying for her affection.

During Arie’s edition of The Bachelor, we evaluated all of the contestants in show history to find out the most common traits among women competing on the show, and who the ideal contestant on The Bachelor would be. We’re all about equal opportunity here at Homes.com, so we figured it would only be fitting to conduct a similar study breaking down contestants on The Bachelorette .

We compiled biographical data on every contestant on the show from when it started through the last fully-aired season, as well as charting performances just like we did for The Bachelor. And as an added bonus, we created additional graphics comparing and contrasting our findings from both shows. So without further ado, will you accept this rose (ceremony analysis)?



Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, and Chris Evans are some of the most bankable and popular names in Hollywood. In similar fashion, the name Chris dominates when it comes to appearances on. We found that 14 different men with that first name have appeared on the show, just edging out the rhyming pair of Ryan and Brian for the top spot. Interestingly, those are the only three names with double-digit representation, as the fourth place finisher, Josh, has only appeared seven times.Once on the show, the collective Chris contestants do fairly well for themselves, garnering an average of 3.69 roses, the fourth-highest average of any name on the show. While that is a respectable number, it lags well behind the name Ben, who leads the pack with an impressive 5.33 rose average. Ben is also among the 10 most popular names for contestants overall, proving that Bens bring both quality and quantity to the proceedings!

When we compared the contestants’ ages from The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, we found some interesting results. While The Bachelor has featured many women aged 23 and younger, The Bachelorette has only had one such contestant, season 4’s resident Canadian, Paul. The producers appear to prefer men in their late 20s, as the four most common ages on the show fall in the 26-29 range.

While late 20s is the prime age range to get on the show, it is older men that find the most success. 31-year-olds lead the pack when it comes to receiving roses, garnering 3.44 of them on average. And while age 28 is second at 3.04 roses, the rest of the top five consists of ages 30 and up, proving that a little extra life experience can go a long way on The Bachelorette!

Now that we know what the top names and ages are for aspiring contestants on The Bachelorette, it’s time to look at what some of the top-performing professions are. Men that work in the insurance industry ran away with first place, earning 6 roses on average. In second place, with 4.25 roses, are our military veterans. Other jobs in the top 10 include pharmaceutical sales reps, dentists, software sales, and financial analysts. Professional athletes and personal trainers bring their athleticism to the table. Entrepreneurs have an average 3.70 roses, but the jury’s still out on what exactly they do.

We know which names and ages appear most often on the show, as well as which names, ages, and jobs earn the most roses. Now let’s look at where these men come from. Not surprisingly, the two states with the highest populations, California and Texas, finished first and second in this regard. What is a bit surprising, however, is how big the gap was between the two. California has produced 71 Bachelorette contestants, more than double Texas’ total of 31!

In terms of specific hometowns, one Texas city leads the charge in contestants on the show, with a full dozen calling Dallas home. New York and Chicago make up the rest of the top three. Given how many contestants come from California, it’s not surprising that three major west coast cities make the top ten with San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. One surprise we found is the ninth place city: Monroe, Michigan. The Wolverine state city has a population of right around 20,000 people, but has produced five contestants on The Bachelorette. Other cities these guys call home include Orlando, Boston and St. Louis.

Just like little Monroe excels at producing contestants for The Bachelorette, contestants from there excel at earning roses on the show, finishing fourth out of all hometowns with 3.25 on average. Topping the chart is Denver, a city that isn’t even among the 10 most common hometowns, which shows just how much contestants from the Mile High City make their time on the show count!

Speaking of hometowns, one of the hallmarks of any season are the hometown dates near the end of a season. This is where the final four contestants take their bachelor or bachelorette to show them where they come from, and introduce them to families and friends. We wanted to see which hometowns had hosted the most of these visits, and found that Dallas finished first with three hometown visits. As there have been 12 contestants from Dallas, the city has a 25% success rate in terms of hometown visits.

What happens when the show ends and a winner is chosen? Who moves for who? We charted the distance between The Bachelorette and their season winner’s current hometowns. We found that season winners have packed up and moved over 15,000 miles total to be with their new fiancées, while the bachelorettes themselves relocated over 11,0000 miles. The biggest single move was when season 2 winner Ian packed up his New York City home and went 4,000 miles across the country to Los Angeles to be with Meredith. They ultimately broke up, which goes to show that sometimes you can go the distance, but your relationship cannot.

Now it’s time to break down the comparisons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette contestants. One of the starkest differences between the shows lies in the ages of the contestants. When casting for The Bachelor, producers have a preference for women aged 26 and younger, with 25 being the most common age among contestants on that show. The Bachelorette features men that are primarily 26 and older, including an equal or greater number of contestants for every age after 30, sometimes featuring significantly more men than women of those ages.

In terms of most common jobs for contestants on the show, there is only one occupation that appears on both lists: real estate. It is among the five most common jobs on both shows. It’s very interesting comparing the top two professions for each show, as you find that the men are in more competitive jobs like athletes or sales, while women are more focused on education, with teachers and students dominating the top of the list.

Finally, we wanted to know what the ideal contestants for both shows would be, based on the rose-earning success of previous contestants. As we found in our earlier breakdown, a 36-year-old nurse from Atlanta named Jennifer is set up for the most success on The Bachelor, while a 31-year-old insurance professional from Denver named Ben could start a garden with all the roses he’s primed to earn on The Bachelorette.

Luckily for the other contestants this season, there was no one named Ben or anyone from Denver to steal Becca’s heart. As a result, it’s anyone’s game at this point, and we can’t wait to watch the rest of Becca’s journey and find out exactly who she chooses!

Shares 0