Cold Nights & Empty Bottles: Northern Cities Top Most Drunken List

By Lisa Cannon Green

Are the people of your city filled with the Spirit—or are they filling up on spirits?

The bottled variety ranks high in Wisconsin, home to seven of the 10 most drunken cities in America, according to a study by 24/7 Wall Street.

At the top of the list is Green Bay, Wisconsin, where 26.5 percent of adults drink to excess, the study shows.

Biblical warnings against drunkenness are many. In Proverbs 20:1, the Bible says, “Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler; whoever goes astray because of them is not wise.”

Americans seem to agree. Most say alcohol is a bigger danger than marijuana to people’s health (69 percent) and to society (63 percent), according to Pew Research.

Yet despite Wisconsin’s fondness for alcohol, the state ranks around the middle of the pack in the share of its residents who are “very religious,” a Gallup survey shows.

More than a third of Wisconsin residents (35 percent) say religion is important to them and attend services frequently, Gallup says.

“In Wisconsin, alcohol consumption is, for many, an integral part of the state’s culture,” says 24/7 Wall Street.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, only 8.5 percent of adults drink to excess in Mormon-heavy Provo, Utah, 24/7 Wall Street says. Mormons believe in abstaining from alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco.

Other than Utah, the least drunken cities fall in the Bible Belt region, led by Tennessee with six of the 15 most sober cities.

Nationwide, the study finds 18 percent of adults are excessive drinkers.

The most drunken cities and the percentage of adults who drink to excess, according to 24/7 Wall Street:

1. Green Bay, Wisconsin – 26.5 percent
2. Eau Claire, Wisconsin – 26.2 percent
3. Appleton, Wisconsin – 26.2 percent
4. Madison, Wisconsin – 25.9 percent
5. Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota – 25.2 percent
6. Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin – 24.5 percent
7. Missoula, Montana – 24.3 percent
8. Grand Forks, North Dakota-Minnesota – 24.2 percent
9. Wausau, Wisconsin – 24.2 percent
10. La Crosse-Onalaska, Wisconsin-Minnesota – 23.8 percent
11. Mankato-North Mankato, Minnesota – 23.6 percent
12. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin – 23.5 percent
13. Iowa City, Iowa – 23.1 percent
14. Dubuque, Iowa – 23 percent
15. Sheboygan, Wisconsin – 23 percent
16. Watertown-Fort Drum, New York – 22.9 percent
17. Lincoln, Nebraska – 22.7 percent
18. Fairbanks, Alaska – 22.7 percent
19. Ames, Iowa – 22.7 percent
20. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin – 22.5 percent

And the least drunken:

1. Provo-Orem, Utah – 8.5 percent
2. St. George, Utah – 10.8 percent
3. Beckley, West Virginia – 10.8 percent
4. Jackson, Tennessee – 10.9 percent
5. Charleston, West Virginia – 11.1 percent
6. Logan, Utah-Idaho – 11.6 percent
7. Morristown, Tennessee – 11.9 percent
8. Parkersburg-Vienna, West Virginia – 12.2 percent
9. Pine Bluff, Arkansas – 12.2 percent
10. Cleveland, Tennessee – 12.2 percent
11. Johnson City, Tennessee – 12.3 percent
12. Knoxville, Tennessee – 12.3 percent
13. Gadsden, Alabama – 12.4 percent
14. Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia-Kentucky-Ohio – 12.6 percent
15. Kingsport-Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia – 12.7 percent
16. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas – 12.8 percent
17. Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma – 12.9 percent
18. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah – 12.9 percent
19. Rocky Mount, North Carolina – 12.9 percent
20. Dothan, Alabama – 13 percent

Related:

• Which States are Most Sinful?
• America’s Largest Cities Skew Less Christian
• Which States are Most Religious?

LISA CANNON GREEN (@lisaccgreen) is senior editor of Facts & Trends.