The Drunkest States in America

Photo by wickenden

 Can YOUR State Hold it's Liquor??
 
 This fall, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) released a comprehensive study of alcohol consumption per capita for every state in the U.S. as of 2007. Essentially, the NIAAA gathered up data on alcohol sales for each state and then divided it by census population numbers, including any person 14 or older (can’t forget all those underage drinkers). The results are broken down into consumption of beer, wine and spirits, so you can learn if people in different states are more likely to be beer guzzlers or wine snobs.

Keep in mind that these numbers are based on alcohol sales in each state, so we can’t say for sure who is drinking what, just what people are buying. The original study listed alcohol consumption in terms of ethanol (or pure alcohol). So we crunched some numbers to get you data in terms you can drop in to cocktail party conversations. Here you’ll find how many gallons of alcohol are consumed by the average person in each state, and how many cans of beer (16 oz.) and bottles of wine (25 oz.) that translates to.

America Gets Its Drink On

In 2007, the average American bought 31.6 gallons of alcoholic beverages. This amount has been rising gradually since the start of the decade, with the biggest growth occurring in the amount of wine and spirits being purchased. In 2000, for example, the average American purchased just more than 12

bottles of wine, while in 2007, they purchased 15 bottles.

Still, the majority of alcohol consumption is from beer. The average Americans bought 26.9 gallons of beer in 2007, which works out to be about 215 cans (if each cans was 16 oz, or one pint).

10 MOST SOBER STATES:

10th Least Drunk State: Ohio

Ohioans may have one of the best party schools in their state and love their college football, but apparently they are better at moderating the amount of alcohol they drink than most other states in the country. Way to go, Ohio. You've got class.

Total Alcohol Consumed: 32.6 gallons per person

Beer: 236 cans per person

Wine: 9.9 bottles per person

Spirits: 1.1 gallons per person