It's National Singles Week.

And it's again official that the Pittsburgh area still stinks for singles.

It's so malodorous, in fact, that Pittsburgh -- long known as one of the worst metro areas for singles -- ranked 35th out of the country's 40 largest urban areas for singles, according to the annual Forbes.com ranking.

However, the Steel City is slightly better for younger singles, ranking 21st out the 40 largest urban areas nationwide this year for young professionals. Older singles have a tougher time.

There also is little consolation in the fact that overall Pittsburgh is ranked a better city for singles than Salt Lake City, Cleveland, Kansas City, Mo., Cincinnati and Providence, R.I., but worse than Columbus, St. Louis and Buffalo. That's right, Buffalo!

Nationwide, there were more than 96 million single adults -- 52 million women and 44 million men, according to 2006 U.S. Census data. In the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, there were more than 129,000 men living alone and more than 186,000 women living alone.

Forbes.com named Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger the city's most eligible bachelor and Michele Fabrizi, chief executive officer of Marc USA advertising firm, the city's most eligible bachelorette.

"It was very flattering," Ms. Fabrizi says of the Forbes.com honor. "It's especially nice to know that wisdom and age don't rule one out."

The singles scene in Pittsburgh is what people make of it, she says.

"We have such a vibrant cultural scene and amazing outdoor recreation," says Ms. Fabrizi, whom Forbes.com lauded for her work with local arts and charitable organizations as well as her "fabulous fashion sense."

Big Ben declined to comment on his most eligible bachelor honor. But how hard could it be for an attractive, wealthy and seemingly nice NFL star to find a date or two around Pittsburgh or Hamburg? And however single he is, this spring he reportedly was dating actress Missy Peregrym.

Now, Big Ben is 25. Ms. Fabrizi is 54.

Hmmm, is a trend emerging? The city is better for young professionals than it is for singles overall and the most eligible bachelor is in his mid-20s while the most eligible bachelorette is in her mid-50s.

Well, fair readers, when we asked you -- regular Jills and Joes -- to tell us about the Pittsburgh-area singles scene, we didn't receive a lot of phone calls and e-mails or hear a lot of gnashing of teeth from 20-somethings. They have their Strip District, South Side and Station Square clubs, their Oakland-area college hangouts, their numerous First Fridays. They don't need any stinkin' eHarmony.com or Chemistry.com.

No, it largely was the 30-and-up crowd, older singles -- some of whom may be a bit longer in tooth and less lean of flank -- who decried the singles scene here.

In her youth, Evelyn Strazza loved to go to over-21 dances in big ballrooms, from the William Penn Hotel to Roseland in New York City.

"When I was younger, I danced like crazy, very popular on the dance floor, never had to sit out," says Miss Strazza of Mount Washington. "That was my biggest social life and I met a lot of guys, but I never had a chance to get married."

She was a recording secretary for a singles club two or three decades ago, but even then, the women always outnumbered the men.

"I don't know, now, where to turn," she says. "At my age, [75 years plus] it's hard to find active people. I have arthritis, but I'm still active, still trying to get around and meet people."

At the other end of the age spectrum is Monique Schneider. At 20, the under-21 clubs are too young for her because most of their patrons are in their mid-teens, she says.

"There's like nothing to do around here," says Ms. Schneider of Baldwin.

She recently broke up with a boyfriend, and she's eight months away from turning 21 and being able to take advantage of the South Side/Station Square/Strip District night life. But that's not really her scene.

"I don't want to go to a bar to meet someone," she says. "A lot of clubs people just go to and drink, and I don't want to be with someone who just drinks all the time."

Elizabeth Currid -- a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, where she was a research assistant to author and former CMU professor Richard Florida -- created a bit of a stir in 2002 when she wrote an op-ed piece in the Post-Gazette explaining why she, then 24, was leaving the 'Burgh. ("First Person: Why this 24-year-old is leaving town"

"[Pittsburgh] looks great on paper and has tremendous potential, but there is this sort of inertia and a real defensiveness to possible change," says Dr. Currid, now an assistant professor at the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning and Development. "I remember when I wrote that op-ed piece, I never had any intention of trashing the city. My interest, when I wrote it, was to say, 'Look at all these great things Pittsburgh had, but doesn't capitalize on,' and the response was vitriolic."

She wrote back in 2002: "Pittsburgh is a city that takes for granted the human talent from its universities, the edgy, authentic, creative underground culture of its artistic and music scenes, and the economic and innovative assets of its world-class universities. Pittsburgh is still building stadiums for a population that is no longer the future of tomorrow. Future generations want open communities and vibrant neighborhoods, not just Downtown malls and new sports facilities."

A city has to offer opportunities, amenities and activities for all of its populations -- the young, the old and the in-between, black, white, Asian, Latino and Native American, gay and straight -- to remain vibrant and to retain and attract human capital, says Dr. Currid, author of "The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art & Music Drive New York City."

"It's not that stadiums aren't important, but they're not the only thing that's important," she says. "Everyone has to feel it's their city."

For more information about the Forbes.com rankings visit: www.forbes.com