This Is Where Wisconsin Ranks Among the Drunkest States in America - 24/7 Wall St.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Hristina Byrnes
Alcohol is enjoyed responsibly by millions of Americans every day, but many people also report heavy alcohol use. Approximately 19.0% of adults in the U.S. report regularly consuming unhealthy amounts of alcohol. In some states, excessive drinking rates are higher.
To identify the states with the lowest and highest adult excessive drinking rates, including binge or heavy drinking, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the adult excessive drinking rate in every state from the 2020 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
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, and heavy drinking, which is defined as eight or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more for men.
Wisconsin has the highest share of adults who report excessive drinking at 24.2% compared to 19.0% nationwide.
The metro area in Wisconsin with the highest share of the adult population reporting drinking excessively is Madison. About 27.8% of adults in the city consume unhealthy amounts of alcohol. Though this is the highest share in the state, it ranks 1 among all 384 metro areas in the U.S.
The drunkest county in Wisconsin is Pierce. About 28.6% of adults there report excessive drinking, which ranks 01 among all 3,142 counties in the country.
Roadway fatalities involving alcohol are one of the most common causes of preventable death in the United States. Nearly 28% all fatal car accidents in the U.S. involve an alcohol-impaired driver.
Not surprisingly, states with higher excessive drinking rates are more likely to have deadly roadway accidents involving alcohol. In Wisconsin, 36.2% of fatal car accidents involve alcohol. These are America's 50 worst cities to drive in.
In the short term, excessive drinking can increase the likelihood of violence, risky sexual behavior, alcohol poisoning, and injuries. The potential long-term effects of excessive alcohol consumption include alcohol dependence, heart disease, liver disease, certain types of cancer, and mental health problems, including depression. This is the least healthy county in every state.
| State | Excessive drinking rate | Alcohol-related driving deaths | Rank | Drunkest city | City excessive drinking rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 12.2% | 22.5% | 7th lowest | Salt Lake City | 15.6% |
| West Virginia | 12.3% | 27.4% | 17th lowest | Morgantown | 16.5% |
| Mississippi | 13.6% | 20.0% | 2nd lowest | Hattiesburg | 16.3% |
| Alabama | 13.9% | 27.6% | 19th lowest | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley | 18.0% |
| Oklahoma | 14.1% | 26.4% | 13th lowest | Oklahoma City | 15.4% |
| Tennessee | 14.3% | 25.1% | 9th lowest | Chattanooga | 16.9% |
| Georgia | 14.4% | 21.5% | 4th lowest | Savannah | 17.1% |
| Arkansas | 15.8% | 26.3% | 12th lowest | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | 17.2% |
| New Mexico | 16.2% | 30.5% | 20th highest | Albuquerque | 16.5% |
| Idaho | 16.6% | 30.2% | 23rd highest | Coeur d'Alene | 20.3% |
| Maryland | 16.6% | 28.9% | 20th lowest | California-Lexington Park | 19.0% |
| Arizona | 16.7% | 25.4% | 10th lowest | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | 18.0% |
| Delaware | 16.8% | 30.3% | 22nd highest | Dover | 16.6% |
| North Carolina | 16.9% | 29.5% | 23rd lowest | Jacksonville | 22.3% |
| Connecticut | 17.1% | 32.0% | 16th highest | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk | 19.4% |
| Florida | 17.1% | 23.3% | 8th lowest | Jacksonville | 19.8% |
| Kentucky | 17.3% | 26.1% | 11th lowest | Lexington-Fayette | 19.8% |
| South Carolina | 17.4% | 33.1% | 12th highest | Charleston-North Charleston | 21.0% |
| Virginia | 17.4% | 30.2% | 24th highest | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford | 19.4% |
| Washington | 17.4% | 32.1% | 15th highest | Bellingham | 22.7% |
| Indiana | 17.6% | 19.7% | the lowest | South Bend-Mishawaka | 19.8% |
| New Jersey | 18.1% | 21.9% | 6th lowest | Trenton | 19.0% |
| Oregon | 18.6% | 30.9% | 19th highest | Corvallis | 21.3% |
| Kansas | 18.7% | 21.9% | 5th lowest | Lawrence | 24.0% |
| New York | 18.8% | 20.9% | 3rd lowest | Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls | 22.2% |
| South Dakota | 19.0% | 36.7% | 4th highest | Sioux Falls | 19.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 19.2% | 26.8% | 14th lowest | State College | 24.0% |
| California | 19.2% | 29.6% | 24th lowest | Santa Cruz-Watsonville | 23.2% |
| Nevada | 19.3% | 29.4% | 22nd lowest | Reno | 24.3% |
| Vermont | 19.5% | 34.7% | 8th highest | Burlington-South Burlington | 21.5% |
| Texas | 19.5% | 26.9% | 15th lowest | Austin-Round Rock | 23.4% |
| Louisiana | 19.6% | 33.1% | 13th highest | Baton Rouge | 21.5% |
| Michigan | 19.6% | 29.0% | 21st lowest | Grand Rapids-Wyoming | 21.8% |
| Rhode Island | 19.6% | 36.2% | 7th highest | Providence-Warwick | 19.9% |
| Missouri | 19.8% | 27.4% | 18th lowest | Columbia | 24.2% |
| Wyoming | 19.8% | 34.2% | 9th highest | Casper | 18.3% |
| Ohio | 20.2% | 32.7% | 14th highest | Columbus | 20.6% |
| Maine | 20.2% | 36.7% | 5th highest | Portland-South Portland | 22.1% |
| Colorado | 20.5% | 34.1% | 10th highest | Fort Collins | 22.0% |
| New Hampshire | 20.7% | 30.5% | 21st highest | Manchester | 20.2% |
| Montana | 20.9% | 45.1% | the highest | Missoula | 25.3% |
| Hawaii | 21.1% | 31.2% | 18th highest | Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina | 21.1% |
| Alaska | 21.3% | 38.1% | 3rd highest | Fairbanks | 22.8% |
| Massachusetts | 21.3% | 30.0% | 25th lowest | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua | 22.2% |
| Illinois | 21.4% | 31.9% | 17th highest | Bloomington | 21.8% |
| Minnesota | 21.7% | 30.0% | 25th highest | Mankato-North Mankato | 24.4% |
| Nebraska | 21.7% | 34.0% | 11th highest | Lincoln | 25.0% |
| Iowa | 22.1% | 26.9% | 16th lowest | Dubuque | 24.0% |
| North Dakota | 24.1% | 43.2% | 2nd highest | Fargo | 25.1% |
| Wisconsin | 24.2% | 36.2% | 6th highest | Madison | 27.8% |
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Drunk cheeseheads, the visual is entertaining if nothing else.
I think I've had one glass of wine and one margarita in the last 13 years or so. it doesn't mix well with my meds, plus I'm too cheap to spend money to feel like shit the next morning. I think it's more fun to prank the intoxicated.
LOL, I'll bet on that.
Hey! I resemble that remark... I'll have more to say after my liquid lunch.
I knew that I could expect a comment from you, EG...LOL
It's BEER:30 somewhere. Hahaha!
Every time I have gone to Wisconsin I have enjoyed it. Much of the state is quite beautiful. And they are midwesterners, which is always a point in one's favor. Door County in the fall is special.
Wisconsinites are generally resentful and jealous of Chicago though.
Good that you enjoy cavorting around with drunks, JR.
I've known quite a few, so I feel at home.
Back in the day I used to know guys that would be in the bar until 1 or 2 in the morning, even on week nights. If you're in a bar at one o clock in the morning you are getting drunk.
The key thing to not regarding oneself as an alcoholic though was getting up and going to work the next morning. As long as you could make it to work and not pussy out with a hangover you could convince yourself you were normal.
With enough alcohol you can convince yourself of anything, JR.
lol, you're right
Fun lakes too!
Waterskiing would be tough on this lake in WI. I suppose that if you're drunk everything looks great.
That's a pond. Or in Alaska a slough
I just spent a week in Wisconsin. I don't think they have any dry counties. And I very much doubt they will ever legalize MMF. The Miller-Coors company is probably spending lots of money to keep it out
Just a week? I went to school here in 2003 and 20 years later I'm still living here.
We went to visit my son in law's aunts and uncles. Wisconsin is very beautiful. We stayed at a rental house on Lake Ripley outside of Cambridge.
Hayward, Wisconsin home of the very first ''Famous Dave's BBQ" and of course Famous Dave himself.
We just opened a new office in Hayward. I've made 5 trips back and forth getting IT stuff setup and ironed out. And Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy BBQ sauce is really good! I also like New Glarus' Two Women Lager.
Cambridge is all the way across the state from me. I'm up next to Lake Superior.
That's pretty. I thought we were going to Lake Superior but we were only 40-45 minutes from Madison
Famous Dave is really quite the character. He started Famous Dave after a successful career in business and politics.
DAVE ANDERSON
Choctaw / Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe
2021 – Business
“Famous Dave” Anderson , Lac Courte Oreilles Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe & Choctaw Nation, MPA Harvard University, created Famous Dave’s Legendary Real Pit Barbecue – America’s Best Loved BBQ Joint, Presidential Appointment – Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, U.S. Dept. of The Interior, CEO of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe tribal enterprises, served on the Wisconsin Council on Tourism, Wisconsin’s Council on Minority Business Development, the National Task Force on Reservation Gaming, Co-Founder of Grand Casinos, In 2002, Oprah Winfrey recognized Anderson’s LifeSkills Center for Leadership, an organization dedicated to supporting at-risk Indian youth with her Angel Network Award. Anderson was named a Bush Leadership Fellow, Minnesota and Dakota’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, NASDAQ, and USA Today, and was named Restaurateur of the Year in 1988 by Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine. National Barbecue Hall of Fame 2017.
> Interview with “Famous Dave” Anderson at the 2021 Induction Ceremony:
That is not one of the states on my bucket list.
I've already decided that if the family wants to make that trip again I'm staying home. We right next to a beach and I got to enjoy it one day
I have so many states that I would love to visit. WI is way down the list.
visit canada instead. it looks like wisconsin without all the maga trash strewn about...
Areas of Canada are also on my bucket list.
That is not one of the states on my bucket list
Yes, its horrible. Under now circumstances go to Wisconsin. Spread the word. Keep the tourists out. Way too many.
There are no houses to rent in Tuscany, or Wisconsin!
I'm sure that the Wisconsin Tourist Board will support you in sending tourists elsewhere.
That's okay. I'll be moving back to MN sometime in the not too distant future. Come one up and I'll show you and your husband the North Shore.
You'll be moving over the bridge to the land of the Golden Gophers, Good on ya, EG.
I was briefly in MN when I accompanied my daughter to the Mayo Clinic. I wish we would have had more time to explore. I would love to see the North Shore.