Excessive drinking is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alcohol contributes to over 140,000 lives each year between 2015 and 2019. That is more than 380 deaths a day. And those who die as the result of excessive drinking die 26 years prematurely, on average. (These are the 50 U.S. counties where people have the shortest life expectancy.)
24/7 Tempo reviewed the percentage of men and women over 18 who reported heavy or binge drinking in each state’s metro areas. Metro level data was aggregated from county data in the 2022 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program. Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont have only one metro area.
Regular and excessive consumption of alcohol can result in chronic conditions and other long-term health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and certain cancers.
On average, 20% of adult Americans report binge or heavy drinking, but the rates vary greatly from city to city and between states. For example, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, almost 27% of adults drink excessively, the highest share among all 383 U.S. metropolitan areas. In Provo-Orem, Utah, however, the rate is closer to 7%, the lowest among the nation’s metro areas.
The drunkest metro areas in six states — Kansas, Hawaii, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wyoming — have lower excessive drinking rates than their respective states, though the differences are very small. Also, the drunkest cities in 13 states have lower excessive drinking rates than the U.S. average of 19.8%. (These are the drunkest states in America.)
Click here to see the drunkest city in every state
Click here to see our detailed methodology
Alabama: Daphne-Fairhope-Foley
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 21.5% (Alabama: 14.8%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 32.2% (Alabama: 25.9%)
> Median household income: $61,756 (Alabama: $52,035)
> Metro area population: 218,289
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Alaska: Anchorage
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.8% (Alaska: 18.1%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 30.3% (Alaska: 36.9%)
> Median household income: $82,890 (Alaska: $77,790)
> Metro area population: 399,450
Arizona: Flagstaff
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.5% (Arizona: 17.4%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 22.7% (Arizona: 22.3%)
> Median household income: $59,000 (Arizona: $61,529)
> Metro area population: 142,254
Arkansas: Hot Springs
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 17.8% (Arkansas: 15.9%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 21.8% (Arkansas: 25.7%)
> Median household income: $48,150 (Arkansas: $49,475)
> Metro area population: 99,043
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California: San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 22.3% (California: 18.8%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 37.3% (California: 27.7%)
> Median household income: $77,948 (California: $78,672)
> Metro area population: 282,517
Colorado: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.2% (Colorado: 20.1%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.6% (Colorado: 34.0%)
> Median household income: $83,289 (Colorado: $75,231)
> Metro area population: 2,928,437
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Connecticut: Norwich-New London
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.6% (Connecticut: 19.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.1% (Connecticut: 30.4%)
> Median household income: $75,831 (Connecticut: $79,855)
> Metro area population: 266,868
Delaware: Dover
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 17.7% (Delaware: 20.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 28.0% (Delaware: 25.0%)
> Median household income: $60,117 (Delaware: $69,110)
> Metro area population: 179,124
Florida: North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.8% (Florida: 20.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 26.5% (Florida: 22.0%)
> Median household income: $62,438 (Florida: $57,703)
> Metro area population: 821,613
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Georgia: Augusta-Richmond County
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.1% (Georgia: 17.8%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 23.8% (Georgia: 20.7%)
> Median household income: $55,049 (Georgia: $61,224)
> Metro area population: 605,303
Hawaii: Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.4% (Hawaii: 20.7%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 44.8% (Hawaii: 31.5%)
> Median household income: $84,363 (Hawaii: $83,173)
> Metro area population: 166,657
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Idaho: Boise City
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.7% (Idaho: 19.6%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.2% (Idaho: 31.1%)
> Median household income: $64,717 (Idaho: $58,915)
> Metro area population: 730,483
Illinois: Springfield
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.8% (Illinois: 22.9%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 24.0% (Illinois: 28.8%)
> Median household income: $62,590 (Illinois: $68,428)
> Metro area population: 208,224
Indiana: Muncie
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.4% (Indiana: 17.7%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 9.6% (Indiana: 19.0%)
> Median household income: $45,910 (Indiana: $58,235)
> Metro area population: 114,461
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Iowa: Dubuque
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 25.9% (Iowa: 24.6%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 19.4% (Iowa: 26.8%)
> Median household income: $64,493 (Iowa: $61,836)
> Metro area population: 97,193
Kansas: Lawrence
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.9% (Kansas: 20.0%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 33.3% (Kansas: 19.4%)
> Median household income: $61,020 (Kansas: $61,091)
> Metro area population: 121,304
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Kentucky: Louisville/Jefferson County
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.0% (Kentucky: 18.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 24.4% (Kentucky: 25.5%)
> Median household income: $60,891 (Kentucky: $52,238)
> Metro area population: 1,262,287
Louisiana: Baton Rouge
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.5% (Louisiana: 21.9%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 35.1% (Louisiana: 31.2%)
> Median household income: $60,043 (Louisiana: $50,800)
> Metro area population: 856,779
Maine: Portland-South Portland
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 25.4% (Maine: 22.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 28.2% (Maine: 34.4%)
> Median household income: $72,552 (Maine: $59,489)
> Metro area population: 536,314
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Maryland: California-Lexington Park
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.7% (Maryland: 16.0%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 41.9% (Maryland: 28.3%)
> Median household income: $95,864 (Maryland: $87,063)
> Metro area population: 113,182
Massachusetts: Barnstable Town
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 25.4% (Massachusetts: 22.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 38.8% (Massachusetts: 30.5%)
> Median household income: $76,863 (Massachusetts: $84,385)
> Metro area population: 213,505
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Michigan: Monroe
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.5% (Michigan: 20.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 42.6% (Michigan: 29.2%)
> Median household income: $65,453 (Michigan: $59,234)
> Metro area population: 150,000
24/7 Wall St.
Minnesota: St. Cloud
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 26.9% (Minnesota: 23.4%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 27.4% (Minnesota: 29.9%)
> Median household income: $64,118 (Minnesota: $73,382)
> Metro area population: 200,264
Mississippi: Gulfport-Biloxi
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 16.1% (Mississippi: 15.9%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 21.1% (Mississippi: 18.5%)
> Median household income: $51,058 (Mississippi: $46,511)
> Metro area population: 414,662
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Missouri: St. Louis
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.3% (Missouri: 19.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 30.4% (Missouri: 27.6%)
> Median household income: $65,725 (Missouri: $57,290)
> Metro area population: 2,806,349
Montana: Missoula
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 26.9% (Montana: 24.3%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.3% (Montana: 46.4%)
> Median household income: $56,247 (Montana: $56,539)
> Metro area population: 119,062
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Nebraska: Lincoln
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.6% (Nebraska: 23.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 33.9% (Nebraska: 33.2%)
> Median household income: $62,883 (Nebraska: $63,015)
> Metro area population: 333,193
Nevada: Carson City
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 22.2% (Nevada: 19.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 5.0% (Nevada: 27.3%)
> Median household income: $58,305 (Nevada: $62,043)
> Metro area population: 55,244
New Hampshire: Manchester-Nashua
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.4% (New Hampshire: 20.8%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 33.6% (New Hampshire: 33.1%)
> Median household income: $82,099 (New Hampshire: $77,923)
> Metro area population: 415,305
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New Jersey: Ocean City
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 21.4% (New Jersey: 16.0%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 31.7% (New Jersey: 22.8%)
> Median household income: $72,385 (New Jersey: $85,245)
> Metro area population: 92,701
New Mexico: Santa Fe
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 18.5% (New Mexico: 17.4%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 33.6% (New Mexico: 29.4%)
> Median household income: $60,668 (New Mexico: $51,243)
> Metro area population: 150,319
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New York: Syracuse
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.5% (New York: 19.0%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 28.6% (New York: 20.2%)
> Median household income: $61,890 (New York: $71,117)
> Metro area population: 650,211
North Carolina: Raleigh-Cary
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.0% (North Carolina: 16.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 28.9% (North Carolina: 25.9%)
> Median household income: $78,706 (North Carolina: $56,642)
> Metro area population: 1,362,997
North Dakota: Grand Forks
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.9% (North Dakota: 24.1%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.0% (North Dakota: 41.4%)
> Median household income: $55,122 (North Dakota: $65,315)
> Metro area population: 101,627
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Ohio: Cincinnati
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.7% (Ohio: 20.7%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 30.6% (Ohio: 32.5%)
> Median household income: $66,435 (Ohio: $58,116)
> Metro area population: 2,214,265
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 15.5% (Oklahoma: 14.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 27.8% (Oklahoma: 26.8%)
> Median household income: $60,476 (Oklahoma: $53,840)
> Metro area population: 1,397,040
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Oregon: Bend
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.8% (Oregon: 21.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 27.0% (Oregon: 27.9%)
> Median household income: $68,937 (Oregon: $65,667)
> Metro area population: 191,749
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 22.1% (Pennsylvania: 19.8%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 28.4% (Pennsylvania: 25.4%)
> Median household income: $61,969 (Pennsylvania: $63,627)
> Metro area population: 2,324,447
Rhode Island: Providence-Warwick
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.8% (Rhode Island: 21.7%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 36.2% (Rhode Island: 40.3%)
> Median household income: $70,676 (Rhode Island: $70,305)
> Metro area population: 1,621,099
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South Carolina: Charleston-North Charleston
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 26.3% (South Carolina: 21.7%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.4% (South Carolina: 32.8%)
> Median household income: $65,894 (South Carolina: $54,864)
> Metro area population: 790,955
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 22.6% (South Dakota: 24.4%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 28.9% (South Dakota: 36.1%)
> Median household income: $67,713 (South Dakota: $59,896)
> Metro area population: 264,437
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Tennessee: Chattanooga
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 18.5% (Tennessee: 17.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 27.2% (Tennessee: 23.5%)
> Median household income: $54,425 (Tennessee: $54,833)
> Metro area population: 561,055
Texas: Corpus Christi
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 21.6% (Texas: 19.6%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 20.7% (Texas: 25.4%)
> Median household income: $56,714 (Texas: $63,826)
> Metro area population: 429,120
Utah: Salt Lake City
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 14.1% (Utah: 11.9%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 27.0% (Utah: 21.7%)
> Median household income: $77,102 (Utah: $74,197)
> Metro area population: 1,215,955
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Vermont: Burlington-South Burlington
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 23.3% (Vermont: 23.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 35.3% (Vermont: 35.4%)
> Median household income: $73,447 (Vermont: $63,477)
> Metro area population: 219,764
Virginia: Charlottesville
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 20.0% (Virginia: 17.3%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 26.4% (Virginia: 30.3%)
> Median household income: $75,176 (Virginia: $76,398)
> Metro area population: 217,455
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Washington: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 18.7% (Washington: 16.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 31.7% (Washington: 32.7%)
> Median household income: $90,790 (Washington: $77,006)
> Metro area population: 3,928,498
West Virginia: Weirton-Steubenville
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 17.8% (West Virginia: 15.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 38.2% (West Virginia: 26.1%)
> Median household income: $47,525 (West Virginia: $48,037)
> Metro area population: 117,223
Wisconsin: Eau Claire
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 26.4% (Wisconsin: 25.2%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 37.8% (Wisconsin: 35.6%)
> Median household income: $62,031 (Wisconsin: $63,293)
> Metro area population: 168,307
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Wyoming: Casper
> Adults binge or heavy drinking: 18.5% (Wyoming: 20.5%)
> Driving deaths involving alcohol: 34.1% (Wyoming: 31.8%)
> Median household income: $62,168 (Wyoming: $65,304)
> Metro area population: 80,067
Methodology
To identify the drunkest city in every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the percentage of adults in each of the country’s 383 metropolitan statistical areas who reported drinking excessively in the past 30 days. Metro level data was aggregated from county level data assembled in 2022 by County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program.
Excessive drinking includes both binge and heavy drinking. CHR’s excessive drinking estimates are derived from 2019 survey data.
According to the CDC, heavy drinking is defined as consuming at least 15 drinks a week or averaging two or more drinks a day for men. For women, heavy drinking is defined as consuming eight drinks or more per week or more than one drink on average a day. The CDC defines binge drinking as a pattern of alcohol consumption that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration level to 0.08% or higher, which takes about five or more drinks within two hours for men and four or more drinks for women.
Health outcomes, including the number of alcohol-related driving deaths, also came from county-level data obtained from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. Driving fatalities involving alcohol are for the years 2016-2020.
Social and economic factors such as median household income came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 1-year American Community Survey.
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