The "best" place to be single in the UK is somewhere you might not expect. Shutterstock/Henryk Sadura

Being single can be expensive.

There's the cost of first dates, looking good, staying in shape, and, for those that can afford to, renting alone.

Thames cruise company Bateaux London has analysed data from the Office of National Statistics to establish exactly which UK city is the best place to be single.

The analysis compared the average cost of variables associated with being single.

They included the percentage of the population that is single — the higher the better — and the percentage of those aged between 20 and 30 years old — assuming a younger population is more likely to be single and not married.

In addition, the survey looked at average salary, as well as date-related costs like a three-course meal, a pint of beer, a coffee, or a cinema trip. It also factored in rents and gym membership. All the data are pinned to prices last year.

For each category all cities were ranked from best to worst and awarded a point score of between 1 and 22 for the position they finished in — the higher the better the city is considered for singletons, the lower the worse. They were all then awarded a percentage rating based on how they performed.

Scroll down to see how the UK's biggest cities rank in terms of being single, listed in ascending order from "worst" to "best."