Chris Steele has played the roles of matchmaker and heartbreaker.

He's witnessed the lamest pick-up lines delivered and had admirers try to pick him up by leaving phone numbers on their checks.

Welcome to the life of a bartender.

Working as a server and bartender at Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub, 131 Albert Ave., during the past two years, the 23-year-old has seen the good, the bad and the just plain creepy of the East Lansing dating scene.

Along with all of the odd encounters, the Lansing Community College student said East Lansing is a great place for singles to live, no matter their dating preferences.

"We have such a diverse area here that there is someone for everyone it seems like - or more," he said.

In fact, a CNNMoney.com poll shows that 67.1 percent of East Lansing's 47,000 population is single, giving it the seventh highest percentage of singles in the country. The projected figure was derived from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, which OnBoard LLC, of New York, utilized to form the given statistics.

State College, Pa., home of Penn State University, is No. 1, with 76.5 percent of its population single.

"College towns or areas of colleges tend to rank highly because of recent graduates as well as the student body being included in the population statistics," said Peter Goldey, chief solution architect at OnBoard, which provides content to companies like CNN for a variety of purposes.

The single life

Harper's, The Riviera Cafe Restaurant & Lounge, 231 M.A.C. Ave., Lou & Harry's Five Star Deli, 245 Ann St., and The Post Bar, 213 Ann St., are a few of the many hot spots for East Lansing singles looking to have a good time and maybe meet someone along the way.

"You have a chance of meeting students, and on top of that, just people in the general area," Steele said. "I say don't rush because it's not worth it. You'd might as well have fun while you can because marriage can just be too much."

But Carrie Oliveira, 30, said the city's single appeal only hits certain demographics.

"Assuming that singles want to live in a place where they are ab le to date, I think East Lansing is a good place for singles to live, if they are between the ages of 18 and 22, and attractive," Oliveira, an MSU doctoral student in the Department of Communication and former East Lansing resident, said in an e-mail. "I think that if a person meets those characteristics, then yes, East Lansing is a great place to date and therefore live.

"For those of us who are outside the hot, underaged demographic, it's much more difficult, I think, to find dating opportunities."

Erin Williston, a sexual health educator at Olin Health Center, said academics is a major road block when it comes to making the decision to be single or to enter a committed relationship.

Data from the National College Health Assessment, evaluated at MSU in 2006, found that 16 percent of students reported relationship difficulties caused them to perform worse in the classroom.

"In terms of what students go through, and the idea of transitioning from home life to college life, you start to set your independence," Williston said.

"Many find themselves (deciding) to choose to be in a relationship or to be single in order to figure out who they really are."

Michael Rizik's favorite venues in which to experience dating in East Lansing are The Peanut Barrel Restaurant, 521 E. Grand River Ave., and Woody's Oasis Bar and Grill, 211 E. Grand River Ave.

"It's relatively easy to meet girls," the enology and viticulture senior said. "All kids our age are here."

Whether single or taken, students and residents still can enjoy living the life they choose in East Lansing.

"This is the time you meet most of the people who will be a part of your life for pretty much the rest of your life," Steele said. "It's really all about now."

The married life

Although East Lansing is rated single-friendly, Chris and Kathy Archangeli have ventured along another route.

The two, who started dating about five years ago in high school, were married in May, and the inseparable pair will have their first opportunity to juggle classes and marriage this fall.

"We don't have to split up or go hang out, so I feel like marriage should be easier," said Kathy, a nutritional sciences junior. "We can encourage each other to do our studying so then we both have the same free time."

Never experiencing single life in East Lansing, they said it doesn't mean they still can't have fun.

"It's a college mentality to say these are the years to experiment and find out who you are and establish who you are," said Chris, a physiology senior.

"We haven't lived a day in East Lansing as a single person. We can't (give advice and) say to stay single, because we don't know what's going on."

The Archangelis enjoy the married life despite the sea of singles around them.

"If marriage falls in your lap, don't worry," Chris said. "It's an OK thing."