10 Drunkest States In America According To Government Research

Ashley Schaeffer BMW11 years ago

Because why not use public spending to fund someone’s Ph.D. aspirations researching where the best times to be had in America are?

Thanks to the people over at Bloomberg who used data gathered by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), we now have a statistically sound list offering insight as to which states really are the drunkest. Everyone knows data like this is priceless when considering possible airport layovers or bachelor party activities, and in extreme cases, even domestic vacation planning.

While Bloomberg compiled a complete top to bottom list of all 50 states, I’ll clue you in on the top 10, because why venture too far from the high end of the bell curve when your mission is to have a good time drinking somewhere, right?

For the record, “binge drinking,” as mentioned below, consists of five or more drinks in a sitting, and the numbers regarding the economic impacts of people’s party habits represent a year’s worth of expenditures. They come from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention–that’s the CDC for you non-politifolk–and come courtesy of TheStreet.com.

So, did your state make the grade?

1. District Of Columbia

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 30.1%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $966 Million

Cost Per Capita: $1,662

There are quite a few universities and an affluent working class of government officials, politicians, financiers, and lawyers who all share a penchant for prolonged happy hours at any multitude of D.C. bars, some of which are open until 4 a.m. Talk about a perfect remedy for capturing the number one spot. If you extrapolate the numbers, does this mean the 30 percent of the people passing our nation’s legislation on the daily are drunks? Nah, no way. It has to be more than that.

2. North Dakota

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 27.9%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $419 Million

Cost Per Capita: $660

North Dakota? Who would’ve thought? But I guess there’s not much to do there aside from go to school to play hockey or be a geologist researching ancient rock layers. Everyone knows hockey players love a few post-game beers, and there’s no way that hunting for dinosaur fossils in layers of the earth wouldn’t be better with a few brews handy.

3. Rhode Island

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 27.9%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $827 Million

Cost Per Capita: $775

My guess is most of this cited revelry goes down in the summer, as Rhode Island is a great vacation getaway with quite a few reputable breweries worth checking out.

4. South Dakota

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 27.3%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $542 Million

Cost Per Capita: $693

There are so many national parks strewn throughout this state, so I imagine we can chalk this one up to people exploring America’s natural wonders and having a damn good time doing it. I mean, I’ve never been camping without a full cooler of beer present at all times–that’s all I’m saying.

5. Wisconsin

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 26.71%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $4.18 Billion

Cost Per Capita: $752

Madison, home of the University of Wisconsin, is renowned among the great places to have a bar-tour, boasting what some people claim to be the most bars per square foot in the country. Throw in Packers fans getting bombed off $7.50 beers every Sunday during home games and the $4.18 billion spent by Wisconsin residents certainly adds up.

6. Minnesota

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 25.9%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $3.54 Billion

Cost Per Capita: $687

Gordon Bombay was the “Minnesota Miracle Man” and he had a drinking problem at one time, I know that much. Again, with the frigid temperatures that the Minnesota tundra often boasts, I can’t imagine not drinking excessively–just go outside and you’ll feel like a passenger on the Titanic who knew he was going overboard, so he started chugging brandy in hopes of keeping warm.

7. Iowa

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 25.8%

Total Economic Cost of Binge Drinking: $1.85 Billion

Cost Per Capita: $622

Maintaining cornfields and Hawkeyes football! That’s what Iowa does. And since both are pretty boring, Iowans have a great excuse to get a little crazy now and then.

8. Massachusetts

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 25.05%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $5.11 Billion

Cost Per Capita: $794

Home of Samuel Adams and a ton of other notable breweries, as well as the oldest tavern in America, The Bell In Hand, Boston is undeniably a drinking city. Bostonians are virtually born with booze in their blood, and when you throw in too many recent sports championship celebrations to count and the awesomeness of vacationing on the coast, it’s pretty apparent the people of Massachusetts have a lot to raise a glass to.

9. Louisiana

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 25%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $3.40 Billion

Cost Per Capita: $794

Bourbon Street. Mardi Gras. LSU. SEC. Say no more.

10. Illinois

Percent Of Population Who Binge Drank In The Last Month: 24.9%

Total Economic Cost Of Binge Drinking: $9.33 Billion

Cost Per Capita: $728

Even when considering that Chicago is the third largest city in America, the almost $10 billion per year spent by people going on benders is still staggering. The way the Bears are playing right now, though, it seems pretty justified. Also, Patrick Kane lives there, and we’ve already established that hockey players love to drink.

For the record, the survey polled a total of 67,500 participants. It’s unclear whether Patrick Kane was actually one of them.

Cheers..

[via Bloomberg, TheStreet.com]

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