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Rankings

25 Drunkest Cities 2012, From Milwaukee to Burlington, Vermont

With New Year’s toasts ahead, The Daily Beast calculates the cities with the highest alcohol tolerance.

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/drunk-cities-tease_o2xqmk
galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/drunk-cities-tease_w9iafm

‘Tis the season for champagne, winter ale, and eggnog. The end-of-the-year celebrations bring plenty of opportunities to indulge in alcohol, but in some parts of the country drinking is more of a everyday affair.

 

To figure out which cities imbibe the most throughout the year, The Daily Beast first reached out to market researcher Experian Marketing Services for recent data on the average number of alcoholic drinks per month per adult, in each metro area. As well, we pulled data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the percentage of residents who are binge drinkers and heavy drinkers. For the final ranking, the average drinks per month rank was weighted 50 percent; the binge-drinking and the heavy-drinking population for each metro area each got a 25 percent weighting.

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/25-Burlington-VT-drunk-cities_rwugjc

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.2

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 19.4%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 7.5%

Denis Jr. Tangney/Getty

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/24-Cleveland-OH-drunk-cities_sgcovs

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.1

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 20.4%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.5%

Mark Duncan/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/23-St-Louis-drunk-cities_u8bezp

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.4

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 18.0%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.1%

Tom Gannam/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/22-Buffalo-drunk-cities_a9cmgj

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.3

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 19.4%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 8.7%

David Duprey/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/21-Las-Vegas-drunk-cities_qjzjgh

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.5

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 17.5%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5.1%

AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/20-Fargo-ND-drunk-cities_vgodqo

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.7

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 16.6%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 3.8%

Carolyn Kaster/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/19-Philadelphia-drunk-cities_zcne4a

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 14.9

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 14.7%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 3.2%

Jacqueline Larma/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/18-San-Francisco-CA-drunk-cities_czngo2

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.3

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 14.0%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.1%

Justin Sullivan/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/17-Reno-drunk-cities_iiad8a

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.6

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 18.1%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 8.5%

David Hunter/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/16-Baton-Rouge-drunk-cities_bsrqhb

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 14.8

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 15.5%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 4.9%

Walter Bibikow/Getty

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/15-Denver-drunk-cities_l5dw1q

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 14.4

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 16.8%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5.1%

David Zalubowski/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/14-Springfield-MA-drunk-cities_nihrcw

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.6

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 19.5%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 9.2%

Nathan K. Martin/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/13-Baltimore-drunk-cities_bdlp4i

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 14.7

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 16.3%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 4.8%

Carlos Osario/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/12-Omaha-drunk-cities_pp6cos

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.6

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 19.5%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5.9%

Dave Weaver/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/11-Minneapolis-St-Paul-drunk-cities_eqjj5i

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.8

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 18.1%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 4.1%

Karen Bleier/Getty

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/10-Providence-RI-drunk-cities_gx523t

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 14.1

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 17.6%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5.7%

Matt York/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/9-Washington-DC-drunk-cities_b0zl0e

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.6

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 14.5%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5%

Ron Edmonds/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/8-Chicago-drunk-cities_uvfqye

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.0

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 17.2%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.1%

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/7-New-Orleans-drunk-cities_uclx8k

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.1

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 16.8%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5.4%

Gerald Herbert/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/6-Hartford-New_Haven-CT-drunk-cities_c5jtli

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.2

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 16.5%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 3.6%

Jessica Hill/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/5-Austin-TX-drunk-cities_v91knt

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 14.6

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 18.4%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5%

Harry Cabluck/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/4-Charleston-SC-drunk-cities_eht7dv

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.3

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 17.3%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 8.7%

Stephen Saks/Getty

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/3-Milwaukee-drunk-cities_umqngh

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.2

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 18.9%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.7%

Morry Gash/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/2-Norfolk-VA-drunk-cities_udznfc

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.1

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 19.9%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 5.2%

Steve Helber/AP

galleries/2012/12/28/25-drunkest-cities-2012-from-milwaukee-to-burlington-vermont/1-Boston-drunk-cities_xannil

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 15.6

 

Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 20.1%

 

Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 7.4%

Michael Dwyer/AP

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