The 10 Drunkest States— and Their Drunkest Cities

An estimated 18% of US adults drink to excess, but those rates vary quite a bit between states and cities—from rates of less than 10% to more than 25%. The areas with populations that don't drink as heavily tend to have lower median incomes and lower education levels. In general, the South has the lowest excessive drinking rates, while the Midwest has the highest. To determine "the drunkest city in every state," 24/7 Wall St. looked at CDC data to determine the metropolitan area in each state with the highest levels of heavy drinking and binge drinking. Below are the 10 states with the highest percentage of adults binge or heavy drinking, plus their drunkest cities:

1. North Dakota: 24.7% statewide; 25.2% in Fargo
2. Wisconsin: 24.5% statewide; 26.5% in Green Bay
3. Alaska: 22.1% statewide; 22.7% in Fairbanks
4. Montana: 21.8% statewide; 24.3% in Missoula
5. Illinois: 21.2% statewide; 21.5% in Bloomington
6. Minnesota: 21.1% statewide; 23.6% in Mankato-North Mankato
7. Hawaii: 20.5% statewide; 21.8% in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina
8. Iowa: 21% statewide; 23.1% in Iowa City
9. Nebraska: 20.4% statewide; 22.7% in Lincoln
10. Michigan: 20% statewide; 21.9% in Lansing-East Lansing

Click for the complete list. (More binge drinking stories.)