USA, the Drunkest States

America is a huge country, and thus it’s only reasonable to note that drinking rates across the nation vary considerably. A new study has revealed the drunkest states in America, based on a number of factors including binge drinking rates and alcohol-related deaths.

Many people, however, also report heavy use of alcohol. Approximately 19.0% of adults in the U.S. report regularly consuming unhealthy amounts of alcohol. In some states, excessive drinking rates are higher.

24/7 Tempo reviewed the adult excessive drinking rate in every state from the 2020 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program, to identify the states with the lowest and highest shares of people reporting binge or heavy drinking.

Excessive drinking, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes binge drinking, which is defined as four or more drinks on a single occasion for women and five or more for men. Excessive drinking also includes heavy drinking, which is defined as eight or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more for men.

The states with the highest excessive drinking rates are concentrated in the Midwest, while those with the lowest rates are mostly Southern states. For example, 10 of the 15 states with the highest excessive rates are in the Midwest, including all of the top six. Seven of the 10 states with the lowest rates of excessive drinking are in the South.

While there are some surprise states high up the list, the lowest-ranked state, Utah, will not come as a shock to many. Utah has the reputation of being a “dry state”, largely due to its restrictive and somewhat complicated liquor laws, and comes out as the least-drunk state.

While Utah came out as the least-drunk state in America, with just 12.2% of its population drinking excessively, Wisconsin was ranked as the drunkest state, with a whopping 24.2% of its population drinking excessively – five percent higher than the national average.

Here is the ranking from drunkest to least drunk in full:

1. Wisconsin
2. North Dakota
3. Iowa
4. Nebraska
5. Minnesota
6. Illinois
7. Massachusetts
8. Alaska
9. Hawaii
10. Montana
11. New Hampshire
12. Colorado
13. Maine
14. Ohio
15. Wyoming
16. Missouri
17. Rhode Island
18. Michigan
19. Louisiana
20. Texas
21. Vermont
22. Nevada
23. California
24. Pennsylvania
25. South Dakota
26. New York
27. Kansas
28. Oregon
29. New Jersey
30. Indiana
31. Washington
32. Virginia
33. South Carolina
34. Kentucky
35. Florida
36. Connecticut
37. North Carolina
38. Delaware
39. Arizona
40. Maryland
41. Idaho
42. New Mexico
43. Arkansas
44. Georgia
45. Tennessee
46. Oklahoma
47. Alabama
48. Mississippi
49. West Virginia
50. Utah