20 Drunkest Cities in America – It’s Not Easy Being Green…Bay
Each day on the Good Morning Rodeo, I check in with meteorologist Karl Klopotic to get the Tri-States' most comprehensive forecast.
Following the weather update, we discuss the National Days of the Week. As it goes, some days are more interesting than others. Today the three choices are National North Carolina Day, Good Neighbor Day, and Drink Beer Day.
I think highly of the Tar-Heel state and find its history as one of the 12 first states to join the Union impressive. Similarly, I appreciate good neighbors, but Karl and I both found Drink Beer Day to be most compelling.
That also set me off on a mission to incorporate Drink Beer Day into the Rodeo Really Tough Trivia Question. It's a fun exercise; more often than not, that rabbit hole leads me to some exciting insights.
Such as it was this morning. Beer has been a part of life for as long as history can remember, and its popularity has grown. But, if anything, craft beer's resurgence is more popular than ever!
Today, there are many types of beers, including lager, stout, IPA, and many more.
During my trivia research, I learned that Bud Light from Anheuser-Busch is America's best-selling beer brand. Additionally, Portland, Oregon, boasts more breweries (52) than any city in the world.
While those facts illuminate, I found a Wall Street Journal review and USA Today Story of the adult excessive drinking rate in 381 U.S. metro areas quite telling. It identifies the 20 drunkest cities in America.
And that leads to this morning's Rodeo Really Tough Trivia Question:
Q: What Is the Drunkest City In The United States?
- Madison, WI
- Fargo, ND
- Green Bay, WI
- Dubuque, Iowa
A: The drunkest city in the United States is Green Bay, Wisconsin. Approximately 26.5% of adults drink to excess.
Of course, beer brewing and drinking are often synonymous with Wisconsin. Brewing has been a Wisconsin tradition since the Territorial era, with records of the state's earliest breweries dating back to the 1830s. Breweries in Wisconsin are often traced to the state's large settlements of German immigrants.
Regarding Green Bay and the state of Wisconsin, what pairs better with football than a tailgate party of grilled sausages, cheese curds, and beer?
University of Wisconsin Marching Band sings In Heaven There is No Beer...
What's most interesting is that Wisconsin has ten cities in the 20 drunkest cities list, with four making the top five!
Iowa landed three cities in the Top 20, including Iowa City (13), Dubuque (14), and Ames (19).
With significant university student populations, places like Iowa City, Ames, Madison, Lincoln, and Missoula make sense as places with excessive drinking by college kids.
Although Dubuque's blue-collar roots have established it as having a reputation as a hard-drinking town, much has changed over the past several decades.
Perhaps some hardcore drinking remains part of the upper-midwestern culture. Especially with long cold winters, people seek something to do, so they visit the town taproom to drink. While that's speculation, here's the Wall Street Journal's Top 20 Drunkest American cities for you to ponder. Cheers!
Top 20 Drunkest Cities in America
- Green Bay, WI
- Eau Claire, WI
- Appleton, WI
- Madison, WI
- Fargo, ND/MN
- Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
- Missoula, MT
- Grand Forks, ND/MN
- Wausau, WI
- La Crosse-Onalaska, WI/MN
- Mankato/North Mankato, MN
- Fond du Lac, WI
- Iowa City, IA
- Dubuque, IA
- Sheboygan, WI
- Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
- Lincoln, NE
- Fairbanks, AK
- Ames, IA
- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI