Minnesota Is Now Home to One of the Drunkest Cities in the U.S.
The numbers are in and when it comes to tipping one (or several) back, one of the Drunkest Cities in America in 2024 can be found right here in Minnesota.
Minnesotans have been known to raise a pint or two, but one city here in the Gopher State apparently does it way more than any other city in in our fine state. In fact, it just landed on this new list of the Drunkest Cities in America for 2024.
That's the word from the number-crunchers over at the World Population Review. They reviewed the excessive drinking rates in 381 metro areas in the United States to identify the 20 drunkest cities for 2024.
First a little background. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the definition of excessive drinking (also often referred to as binge or heavy drinking) is 'consuming 5 or more drinks on an occasion for men or 4 or more drinks on an occasion for women,' the survey noted.
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And just what is a 'drink,' you might ask? The definition is one you've likely heard before, and according to the World Population Review story, here's how a 'drink' is defined:
- 12 ounces of beer
- 8 ounces of malt liquor
- 5 ounces of wine
- 1.5 ounces of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor
So which Minnesota city is one of the drunkest in the U.S. here in 2024? That would be... Mankato! Mankato is located in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties, and has a population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census. It's the 5th-largest city in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, outside the Twin Cities metro.
Mankato is also home to Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) which I'm guessing explains its #12 ranking on this year's list of Drunkest Cities in America. After all, over 14,000 students are enrolled there, and we all know how much college students like to enjoy a beverage, right?
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Mankato is the only Minnesota city to make the list the year, which is a far cry from our neighbors to the east over in Wisconsin-- where America's Dairyland placed a whopping 9 cities on the list, in addition to being home to the Drunkest City in America.
Here's the list of the 20 Drunkest Cities in America in 2024 per World Population Review
- 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
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Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins