This Is The State That Drinks The Most Alcohol

Drinking habits can vary quite a bit by state (we particularly love this tidbit about every state's favorite drinking games), and it's hard not to be especially curious about the leaders of the pack. According to a report written by VinePair earlier this year, one state of ours in particular loves enjoying its alcohol — and it's probably one that's a lot smaller than you might imagine. Give up? It's New Hampshire. 

It turns out New Hampshire residents down 4.43 gallons per capita per year, with Delaware at a close second, coming in with 4.4 gallons per capita. Citizens of Washington, D.C. take third place, drinking 4.07 gallons of booze per capita per year. Bringing up the way bottom is Utah, which isn't surprising considering the state's strict rules on alcohol sales. The people of Utah only imbibe 1.3 gallons per capita per year. On the surface, these numbers might make it seem like New Hampshirites are big partiers, but there's a subtle fact that might be skewing those numbers a bit, and it all comes down to a slight detail involving taxes.

One little tidbit that might be driving higher booze sales in New Hampshire is that there's no sales tax on alcohol. That means it's very possible that people are crossing state lines in order to save some money on their purchases. Delaware, the state that came in such a close run-up for second, has no state sales tax at all. This means temporary visitors from the neighboring states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland could possibly be coming in across the border for a quick bar cart fill-up.

In terms of total alcohol volume consumed, however, it makes sense that the states with large populations, like California, Texas, and Florida, came in at first, second, and third places, respectively. Wyoming came in at the bottom rung of alcohol volume sold. As of 2020s national United States Census date reports, its state population size was under 600,000 people, so that makes sense in terms of overall numbers. But when it comes down to per capita drinking, who knows? 'New Hampshirites' could just be really passionate at throwing parties.