The States That Drink the Most Liquor in America (2024) [MAP]

Americans sure love to drink, as evidenced by the almost 8 billion gallons of alcohol consumed in the United States every year. And while beer and wine may be the most consumed categories in terms of volume, spirits have been on an upward trajectory since the late 1990s, with periods of sharp growth following the cocktail revolution and the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, Americans downed 715.2 million gallons of spirits according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), an increase of roughly 35 million gallons year-over-year.

But not every region in the U.S. drinks the same. For example, while the South drinks the most liquor by volume (259.1 million gallons), the region actually drinks the least per capita with just 1.00 gallon per person. Conversely, the Northeast drinks 128.8 million gallons of liquor per year, the least of any region, but reports 1.10 gallons of per capita consumption — second only to the West.

Curious to see how much liquor your fellow citizens consume every year? Check out our maps below to discover how much liquor your state drinks by volume and per capita.

The States That Drink the Most Ethanol Per Capita

While Delaware and New Hampshire drink the most liquor per capita, with 2.34 and 2.02 gallons consumed, respectively, it’s important to note that neither state has a sales tax on alcohol. As such, numbers are likely inflated by drinkers coming in from neighboring states to buy booze. Rounding out the top three is Washington, D.C. with 1.92 gallons consumed per person per year. On the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia and Utah are tied for the least liquor consumed per capita, followed by Ohio.

The States That Drink the Most Alcohol in Ethanol

As expected, the nation’s most populous states are the ones that consume the most liquor by volume. Leading the pack is California, followed by Florida and Texas. Naturally, Vermont, South Dakota, and Wyoming, three of the least populated states in America, consume the least by volume.

Ranking the States

Gallons Per Capita

Rank
State
Gallons of Ethanol Per Capita*

1
Delaware
2.34

2
New Hampshire
2.02

3
Washington, D.C.
1.92

4
Nevada
1.78

5
North Dakota
1.62

6
Wisconsin
1.59

7
Rhode Island
1.53

8
Colorado
1.48

9
Massachusetts
1.45

10
Wyoming
1.44

11
Minnesota
1.40

12
Florida
1.36

13
Missouri
1.35

14
Alaska
1.29

15
New Jersey
1.28

16
Louisiana
1.20

17
Maine
1.18

18
California
1.16

19
Connecticut
1.15

20
Montana
1.14

21
Maryland
1.12

22
Tennessee
1.07

23
Kentucky
1.06

24
Michigan
1.06

25
Oregon
1.02

26
Indiana
1.00

27
Arizona
0.99

28
Iowa
0.99

29
Kansas
0.99

30
New York
0.96

31
Illinois
0.93

32
New Mexico
0.92

33
Mississippi
0.91

34
South Carolina
0.89

35
Washington
0.89

36
Hawaii
0.88

37
Idaho
0.88

38
Texas
0.88

39
Nebraska
0.86

40
Georgia
0.83

41
Pennsylvania
0.83

42
North Carolina
0.82

43
Alabama
0.81

44
South Dakota
0.81

45
Vermont
0.80

46
Arkansas
0.79

47
Virginia
0.78

48
Oklahoma
0.76

49
Ohio
0.71

50
Utah
0.57

51
West Virginia
0.57

Gallons Overall

Rank
State
Gallons Overall

1
California
92.1M

2
Florida
62.9M

3
Texas
52.3M

4
New York
38.8M

5
New Jersey
24.2M

6
Illinois
23.9M

7
Pennsylvania
22.2M

8
Michigan
21.8M

9
Massachusetts
21.1M

10
Wisconsin
19.1M

11
Georgia
18.2M

12
North Carolina
17.9M

13
Colorado
17.7M

14
Ohio
17.0M

15
Missouri
16.9M

16
Minnesota
16.1M

17
Tennessee
15.2M

18
Arizona
14.9M

19
Washington
14.2M

20
Maryland
14.0M

21
Indiana
13.8M

22
Virginia
13.7M

23
Nevada
11.5M

24
Louisiana
11.0M

25
Kentucky
9.7M

26
South Carolina
9.6M

27
Oregon
8.9M

28
Connecticut
8.6M

29
Alabama
8.4M

30
Iowa
6.4M

31
Oklahoma
6.1M

32
New Hampshire
5.9M

33
Kansas
5.8M

34
Mississippi
5.4M

35
Delaware
4.9M

36
Arkansas
4.8M

37
New Mexico
3.9M

38
Utah
3.6M

39
Rhode Island
3.5M

40
Maine
3.4M

41
Idaho
3.4M

42
Nebraska
3.4M

43
Washington, D.C.
2.7M

44
Montana
2.6M

45
Hawaii
2.6M

46
North Dakota
2.5M

47
West Virginia
2.1M

48
Alaska
1.9M

49
Wyoming
1.7M

50
South Dakota
1.5M

51
Vermont
1.1M

*This data uses an estimate of average ethanol content of sold or shipped beer into gallons of ethanol (pure alcohol) before calculating per capita consumption estimates. For this data, the alcohol by volume value for spirits is 0.411.

**Image retrieved from Neuroshock via stock.adobe.com 

The article The States That Drink the Most Liquor in America (2024) [MAP] appeared first on VinePair.