The Drunkest (and Driest) Cities in America

The Least Drunk Cities

20. Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL

>Pct. adults drinking to excess: 12.9%

>Pct. driving deaths involving alcohol: 25.0%

>Premature death: 521 deaths before age 75 per 100,000

>Median household income: $41,428

Only 13.9% of adults in Alabama drink to excess, a far smaller share than the corresponding 18.0% national rate. Excessive drinking is even less common in the Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville metro area, where only 12.9% of adults are either heavy or binge drinkers.

19. Gadsden, AL

>Pct. adults drinking to excess: 12.9%

>Pct. driving deaths involving alcohol: 27.4%

>Premature death: 546 deaths before age 75 per 100,000

>Median household income: $40,529

Excessive drinking is more common in relatively affluent households, and only about one in five Gadsden households earn $75,000 or more a year, one of the smallest such shares of any U.S. city. Only 12.9% of Gadsden adults report excessive drinking habits.

18. Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA

>Pct. adults drinking to excess: 12.7%

>Pct. driving deaths involving alcohol: 20.6%

>Premature death: 457 deaths before age 75 per 100,000

>Median household income: $39,213

In the Kingston-Bristol metro area, only 12.7% of adults drink excessively, one of the smallest such shares in the country. With lower-than-average excessive alcohol consumption rates, only 20.6% of fatal car accidents involve alcohol, far fewer than the 31.0% national rate.

17. Farmington, NM

>Pct. adults drinking to excess: 12.7%

>Pct. driving deaths involving alcohol: 39.4%

>Premature death: 384 deaths before age 75 per 100,000

>Median household income: $48,773

While alcohol is indisputably linked to negative health outcomes, it is only one factor that can lead to poorer health, and low binge drinking rates by no means guarantee positive health outcomes. In Farmington, a city with one of the lowest excessive drinking rates in the country, adults report an average of 4.4 physically unhealthy days a month, nearly a full day more than the typical American.

16. Rocky Mount, NC

>Pct. adults drinking to excess: 12.5%

>Pct. driving deaths involving alcohol: 31.2%

>Premature death: 444 deaths before age 75 per 100,000

>Median household income: $40,407

Heavy drinking is most common among affluent households. In Rocky Mount, only 12.5% of adults drink excessively, and only 19.4% of households earn more than $75,000 a year — each some of the smallest such shares in the country.