logo

Do Wisconsin residents report excessively drinking more alcohol than those in other states?

By Erin Gretzinger
YES

In 2022, 24/7 Wall St. ranked Wisconsin as the nation's "drunkest" state based on self-reporting, with 25.2% of Wisconsin residents drinking excessively. In 2021, 41 of the 50 most heavily drinking counties were located in Wisconsin.

The state and county rankings are based on data from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, produced by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Excessive drinking is defined as adults who reported heavy or binge drinking within the previous 30 days. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on a single occasion. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming more than one drink per day on average for a woman or consuming more than two drinks per day for a man.

Wisconsin also ranks high in total alcohol consumption per capita at 8th in the nation, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
FACT BRIEF BY
facebook
twitter
email
email