With romantic sights like Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, it’s no wonder that Oregon rated high in a recent survey to find states with inexpensive romantic getaways.

Just as we’re all getting used to the new year, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. You can tell by the grocery stores that have cleared out their Christmas items and loaded up shelves with Conversation Hearts, heart-shaped knick-knacks, chocolate assortments, and other dentally challenging sweet treats.

Maybe you have mixed emotions about Valentine’s Day, and dismiss it as a Hallmark holiday, an excuse for retailers to hike up the price of rose bouquets and sparkling wine. Or, maybe you’re a sucker for romance, and get all schmoopy with your loved one when Feb. 14 arrives.

But for Oregonians, Feb. 14 is significant for reasons that go beyond Valentine’s Day. That’s because, on Feb. 14, 1859, President James Buchanan signed the paperwork that admitted Oregon to the Union as a state. And so, when Feb. 14, 2025 rolls around, Oregon will be celebrating its 166th birthday.

If you’re in the mood to celebrate, a new study brings some good news. Oregon, supposedly, is the sixth best state for a romantic vacation on a budget this Valentine’s Day. What could be more romantic?

This latest bit of info comes courtesy of QR Code Generator, a site that lets you create your own QR Code. Uh, what? Well, according to their website, QR Code Generator has a team of “developers, designers and support” who “work together to offer a solid and constantly evolving platform. We focus on providing the best quality QR codes on the market, accompanied by detailed statistics to optimize marketing strategies and facilitate their effective use for companies and individuals.”

That sounds about as romantic as a spreadsheet. But, according to a release about the Valentine’s Day survey, QR Code Generator came up with their results by examining regional data on “the number, average rating, and cost of hotels categorized as romantic on Booking.com, and the number and average rating of restaurants labeled romantic on Tripadvisor. The states with the highest final index score were named in the top 10 states for a Valentine’s Day getaway.”

While Oregon may not be No. 1, in this study we did make the top 10, coming in at sixth place, because, “On average, couples will pay $193.06 for a one-night stay at a romantic hotel, which is 19.1% cheaper than average. These hotels are also rated 8.40 out of 10 on average, according to the study.”

Just warms the heart, doesn’t it? We’re romantic, and we’re cheap!

But not as cheap as the top five states listed in the study. Coming in at No. 1 is Wyoming, followed by Maine, Vermont, Hawaii and Montana. Rounding out the top 10 are Colorado, in seventh place, followed by Florida, Idaho, and South Carolina.

As for the most expensive Valentine’s Day getaways for couples, New York tops the list, followed by Oklahoma, North Dakota, New Jersey, Kansas, Minnesota, Indiana, Delaware, Maryland and Ohio.

How seriously should we take this ranking of Oregon as a relative bargain spot for Valentine’s Day canoodling? Let’s just say there are plenty of surveys out there, offering an assortment of results, including a pair of 2023 reports that found, respectively, that Oregon was the least romantic state in the country, and that Portland was the fifth-best city for Valentine’s Day.