UK cities with the most single people: Most residents of Manchester are not hitched Across the UK, as many as 1 in 3 people over the age of 16 are not married or in a civil partnership, according to data collated by Channel 4 from the most recent national census. As almost 55 per cent of Mancunians are single, more people in the metropolitan city are without a long-term partner than with. Following closely behind Manchester on the list are Oxford, Cambridge, Nottingham, and Brighton and Hove - where there are a similarly high number of unmarried people. Channel 4 released the data as it searches for participants for the third series of its show First Dates, although the success rate of its past series show that merely going on a date is not enough to secure long-lasting love. The research follows a study which showed that people who earn less are less likely to marry, and rich people are twice as likely to get married now compared with 15 years ago. Read more: Marriage needs a rebranding if it's going to appeal to more than just snobs with an inheritance to protect The UK's cities with the highest percentage of single people: Manchester (54.9 per cent) - 222,585 (Number of single people) Oxford 53.8 - 68,206 Cambridge 52.6 - 55,781 Nottingham 51.3 - 128,363 Brighton and Hove 50.1 - 114,826 Liverpool 49.7 - 193,012 Norwich 46.9 - 51,978 Newcastle upon Tyne 46.5 -108,033 Edinburgh 45.3 - 183,143 Southampton 45.3 - 88,491 Lincoln 44.0 - 34,402 Exeter 43.7 - 43,302 Portsmouth 43.5 - 72,820 Salford 43.4 - 81,837 Dundee 43.2 - 53,321 Reading 43.1 - 54,161 Aberdeen 42.7 - 56,117 Kingston upon Hull 42.1 - 87,661 Birmingham 41.6 - 344,818