I saw there was a list of the drunkest states in America and I honestly couldn’t guess where New Jersey would rank. Sure, we have a lot of bars and drunken revelry on the Coast it’s not exactly a secret, but I also realize that it only represents a small percentage of the population.
Spoiler alert: Compared to other states, we’re pretty sedated; we rank 43rd out of fifty states for drunkenness, according to 24/7 Wall Street.
Young handsome man enjoying beer at beach bar
To identify the states with the highest rates of binge drinking, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the percentage of adults age 18 and older who reported binge drinking or binge drinking in a 30-day period in all metropolitan areas across the nation. Based on the 2023 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, a joint program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Institute for Population Health.
According to his research, adults binge drink at a national average rate of 19.8%, and exactly half of the states drink that amount or more. New Jersey’s rate is 16.1%; we have the ninth-lowest rate of alcohol-related driving deaths, and our median household income (which apparently matters) is the third-highest.
Serving cold beer at a street food market
I may have buried the lede by not starting by telling them which New Jersey town they considered the “drunkenest.”
Ready?
It’s Ocean City, yes, Ocean City, which is a dry city. Turns out it’s not that dry. According to 24/7 Wall Street, 21.4% of OC residents drink to excess.
By the way, Wisconsin is the most drunk state and Utah is the least drunk.
What are the exclusive drinks of each state?
Offbeat Adventures: Journey to the coolest hidden wonders in every US state.
[WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter private or abandoned property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing.]
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The opinions expressed in the above post are solely those of New Jersey’s 101.5 talk show host, Bill Doyle.
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