It sounds like a Merle Haggard song: blue collars, beer, and bad decisions. But that's business as usual in Bakersfield, California, home of great country music—and a collective boozy breath that blows it to the top of America's most dangerously drunk cities. The locals work hard and party harder, says longtime resident Randal Beeman, Ph.D., a professor of history at Bakersfield College. "People tend to reward hard work with a drink at the end of the day," he explains. "But one beer can turn into 10, and unfortunately, people often don't think about the ultimate consequences of their behavior."

STONE-COLD SOBER

1. Salt Lake City, UT

2. Jersey City, NJ

3. New York, NY

4. Plano, TX

5. Chicago, IL

6. Miami, FL

7. Boston, MA

8. Virginia Beach, VA

9. Newark, NJ

10. Bridgeport, CT

11. Baton Rouge, LA

12. Raleigh, NC

13. Atlanta, GA

14. Manchester, NH

15. New Orleans, LA

16. Dallas, TX

17. St. Paul, MN

18. Philadelphia, PA

19. Honolulu, HI

20. Burlington, VT

21. Memphis, TN

22. Birmingham, AL

23. Charlotte, NC

24. Baltimore, MD

25. Portland, ME

26. Laredo, TX

27. Seattle, WA

28. Little Rock, AR

29. Oakland, CA

30. Durham, NC

31. Wilmington, DE

32. Kansas City, MO

33. Orlando, FL

34. Fort Wayne, IN

35. San Francisco, CA

36. Wichita, KS

37. Norfolk, VA

38. Chesapeake, VA

39. Detroit, MI

40. Minneapolis, MN

41. Los Angeles, CA

42. Charleston, WV

43. Madison, WI

44. Omaha, NE

45. Louisville, KY

46. San Jose, CA

47. Jackson, MS

48. Pittsburgh, PA

49. Aurora, CO

50. Houston, TX

51. Lincoln, NE

52. Portland, OR

53. Boise City, ID

54. Anaheim, CA

55. Providence, RI

56. Buffalo, NY

57. Greensboro, NC

58. Indianapolis, IN

59. Washington, DC

60. Milwaukee, WI

61. Anchorage, AK

62. Albuquerque, NM

63. Winston-Salem, NC

64. Columbus, OH

65. Jacksonville, FL

66. Sioux Falls, SD

67. Cleveland, OH

68. Cincinnati, OH

69. Lubbock, TX

70. Sacramento, CA

71. Des Moines, IA

72. Las Vegas, NV

73. Tampa, FL

74. Fort Worth, TX

75. Columbia, SC

76. Colorado Springs, CO

77. Fargo, ND

78. Oklahoma City, OK

79. Tucson, AZ

80. Riverside, CA

81. Phoenix, AZ

82. St. Petersburg, FL

83. Denver, CO

84. El Paso, TX

85. Tulsa, OK

86. Lexington, KY

87. Nashville, TN

88. Corpus Christi, TX

89. San Diego, CA

90. Toledo, OH

OVER THE LIMIT

91. Reno, NV

92. St. Louis, MO

93. Austin, TX

94. Billings, MT

95. Fresno, CA

96. San Bernardino, CA

97. Cheyenne, WY

98. Stockton, CA

99. San Antonio, TX

100. Bakersfield, CA

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