Arlington is moving up in the ranks of havens for the rich and single.

A new Bloomberg list of “large U.S. cities with wealthy one-person households” ranks Arlington as No. 2, second only to Hoboken, New Jersey. (Twenty-five percent of workers in Hoboken are employed in finance, insurance or real estate.)

To compile the list, Bloomberg examined U.S. Census data from 2006 to 2010 and identified cities of at least 50,000 people where men and women ages 15-64 “lived alone and had median incomes greater than national averages.”

In Hoboken, 53 percent of the population fell into that category. In Arlington, 43 percent of the population was classified as wealthy and living alone.

In August, Arlington ranked No. 4 on a CNN Money list of “Best Places for the Rich and Single.” According to figures cited by CNN Money, Arlington’s population is 41.5 percent single and has a median family income of $132,580.

Arlington is moving up in the rankings of places for the single and wealthy.

The county has ranked #4 on CNN Money’s 2012 list of “Best Places for the Rich and Single.” That’s up from our #7 ranking last year.

Also on this year’s list were Alexandria, at #12, and Towson, Md., at #8. Newton, Mass. ranked #1 on the list, which takes into consideration a place’s percentage of single people and the median family income.

According to figures cited by CNN Money, Arlington’s population is 41.5 percent single and has a median family income of $132,580. In writing about Arlington’s well-to-do single scene, the publication observed:

When the sun goes down, it’s time to turn the BlackBerry off and move and shake to a different groove. With its namesake Ballroom, the Clarendon neighborhood is the area’s hub for singles-spotting. Still, Arlington’s other “urban villages” are catching up. Head to Restaurant Row in Crystal City or Shirlington’s burgeoning nightlife scene to engage in a little bipartisan congress.

No Homicides in 2011 — It’s official: for the first time since at least the 1950s, Arlington County did not record a single homicide in 2011.

Another Book Dating Session — The Shirlington Branch Library is holding another Book Dating for Singles session, after the inaugural book dating event in October was deemed a success. This month’s book dating session will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15. Using books as conversation starters, participants will have three-minute “dates” moderated by library staff.

Arlington to Install Real-Time Traffic System — Arlington County is planning to install a real-time traffic system along Route 50. The system will track anonymous Bluetooth information from drivers’ cell phones in order to calculate the time it would take drivers to get from one point to another. [Washington Business Journal]

Single? Enjoy reading books? Want to meet other single people who enjoy reading books?

If the answer to all three of those questions is ‘yes,’ then the Arlington Public Library has just the event for you this weekend.

On Sunday evening, the Shirlington Branch Library (4200 Campbell Avenue) will be hosting the library’s first-ever ‘Book Dating’ event. Library officials are billing the event as a “novel” way to help the literary-minded find love.

To participate, think about a couple of books you’d like to share: favorites, disappointments, readings-in-progress, etc. Bring them from home or pick them up at the library. Then head over to the event (from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.) and library staff will set you up on a series of 3 minute mini-dates with each of the other participants.

There will be “no fines for overdue romances,” library spokesman Peter Golkin noted.

Refreshments will be provided by Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Do you have a boatload of money but no mate?  If so, you’re apparently not alone.

Arlington has placed seventh in this year’s Money magazine ‘Best Places for the Rich and Single’ list.

“Home to the Pentagon and several other government agencies, Arlington is filled with policy wonks, analysts and researchers,” the magazine said of dating scene in the county. “Bar hop in the Clarendon-Court House neighborhood, where happy hour, pub quizzes and karaoke nights make playing the field fun and easy.”

Manhattan Beach, Calif. placed first on this year’s list, Tyson’s Corner placed second, Herndon placed 20th and Alexandria placed 23rd. The list was published in the September 2011 issue of Money.

Last year Arlington placed 11th.

Flickr pool photo by Michael T. Ruhl

Arlington-based women’s shelter Doorways for Women and Families is celebrating a new state law that went into effect on Friday.

Until the legislature acted earlier this year, Virginia was one of only six states that did not offer protective orders — a legal means of preventing contact with abusive partners — to men and women in dating situations. Now, as of July 1, the state allows individuals who are not married and not living with their partner to obtain a protective order.

Yesterday, Doorways issued the following press release about the new law.

Women ages 16 to 24 are at the greatest risk of experiencing an abusive relationship. Yet for the vast majority of those women — specifically those in dating relationships — the legal system offered little defense. That is because protective orders, a civil order issued by a judge to protect one person from another’s threatening behavior, were previously only available to those in a “domestic” situation — married, living together or having a child together.

July 1st marks a historic day for the protection of those previously unprotected as a bill passed in the Virginia legislature goes into effect, allowing survivors of dating abuse to be eligible for protective orders against their abusers. Until the beginning of this month, Virginia was one of only six states that did not afford this legal protection to dating partners. Doorways for Women and Families, one of Arlington’s leading providers of services to women and families experiencing homelessness and abuse, encourages all in our community to spread the word that help is now available to survivors of dating abuse.

“This is a huge step forward in protecting our community from intimate partner violence” explained Caroline Jones, Executive Director of Doorways. “ Given the incidence of violence in younger relationships, Doorways has been actively partnering with schools, universities and community partners to bring greater education and prevention strategies to our youth. The toll of violence in relationships is far too great to become complacent in our efforts.”

[ … ] With the implementation of the new protective order law, a whole new segment of the population should know that there is help available. One in five teens in a serious relationship has experienced physical abuse with an estimated 33% of high school students having been a survivor of dating abuse.

Doorways encourages any survivor of dating abuse to call their 24-Domestic Violence Hotline at 703-237-0881 to find the help they need to be safe. Any survivor seeking a protective order can speak with Doorways’ Court Advocate by calling 703-244-5165 and be guided through the legal process.

“We want everyone to know that they are not alone in the pathway to safety,” Jones concluded.