Study: Minnesota is super drunk, but not as drunk as neighboring states

Five typical Minnesotans, as far as we can tell. Getty Images/iStockphoto
The Midwest is drunk as hell.
That's according to a new study from 24/7 Wall St. that found seven of the 10 drunkest states in the U.S. are located in the Midwest. That includes Minnesota, the 6th drunkest state in the union. Our blotto regional brethren? North Dakota (most drunken), Wisconsin (2nd), Illinois (5th), Iowa (7th), Nebraska (9th), and Michigan (10th).
Interestingly, super-drunk Minnesota ranks as the third healthiest and one of the wealthiest states, the study found, a financial trend that's reflected throughout the drunkest states. In fact, the most-hammered states tend to have higher levels of income, while the driest states, mostly located in the Deep South, have some of the lowest.
Don't let that deliciously enabling tidbit encourage you, however. George Koob, director of the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, acknowledges the correlation to 24/7 Wall St., but reminds us that excessive drinking is still very bad for you. Richer states might be able to drink more because of the high cost of alcohol, theorizes Koob, who's apparently never heard of Hamm's.
But back to Minnesota! Mankato is the drunkest metro area in our state. It's the 10th drunkest place in the whole country according to a previous study, one that also revealed seven of the 10 drunkest U.S. cities belong to -- you guessed it -- Wisconsin.
To arrive at these finding, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps -- a joint venture from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin -- plus info from the U.S. Census Bureau and CDC.
Crack an early weekend beer and drink in the state-by-state rankings:
50. Tennessee
Adults who drink excessively: 11.2 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 28 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 19.9 percent
Drunkest metro location: Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin
49. West Virginia
Adults who drink excessively: 11.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 23.7 percent
Drunkest metro location: Morgantown
48. Utah
Adults who drink excessively: 12.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 19.7 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 12.9 percent
Drunkest metro location: Salt Lake City
47. Alabama
Adults who drink excessively: 13 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 29.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 21.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Auburn-Opelika
46. Mississippi
Adults who drink excessively: 13.3 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 23.3 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 22.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula
45. New Mexico
Adults who drink excessively: 13.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.1 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 20.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Santa Fe
44. Oklahoma
Adults who drink excessively: 13.9 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 29.9 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 20.9 percent
Drunkest metro location: Lawton
43. North Carolina
Adults who drink excessively: 14.9 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.3percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 18.5percent
Drunkest metro location: Jacksonville
42. Arkansas
Adults who drink excessively: 15.3 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 28.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 22.7 percent
Drunkest metro location: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
41. Idaho
Adults who drink excessively: 15.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.1 percent
Drunkest metro location: Coeur d’Alene
40. Maryland
Adults who drink excessively: 15.5 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 13.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: California-Lexington Park
39. Nevada
Adults who drink excessively: 15.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 17.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Reno
38. Arizona
Adults who drink excessively: 16 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 27.6 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 18.5 percent
Drunkest metro location: Flagstaff
37. Kentucky
Adults who drink excessively: 16.3 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 28.5 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 20.9 percent
Drunkest metro location: Louisville/Jefferson County
36. South Carolina
Adults who drink excessively: 16.6 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 37.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 17 percent
Drunkest metro location: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort
35. Delaware
Adults who drink excessively: 16.6 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 37.9 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 16.7 percent
Drunkest metro location: Dover
34. Indiana
Adults who drink excessively: 16.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 23.6 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 18 percent
Drunkest metro location: Bloomington
33. Georgia
Adults who drink excessively: 16.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 23.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 17.5 percent
Drunkest metro location: Athens-Clarke County
32. Kansas
Adults who drink excessively: 16.9 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 27.3 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 15.1 percent
Drunkest metro location: Lawrence
31. Texas
Adults who drink excessively: 17.3 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 29.9 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 19.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: Austin-Round Rock
30. Virginia
Adults who drink excessively: 17.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 30.5 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.6 percent
Drunkest metro location: Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
29. Florida
Adults who drink excessively: 17.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 28.2 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 17.1 percent
Drunkest metro location: Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
28. Wyoming
Adults who drink excessively: 17.5 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 35.3 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.4 percent
Drunkest metro location: Casper
27. New Jersey
Adults who drink excessively: 17.6 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 24.3 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 15.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Ocean City
26. Missouri
Adults who drink excessively: 17.7 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 31.7 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 16.6 percent
Drunkest metro location: Columbia
25. South Dakota
Adults who drink excessively: 17.7 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 35.2 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 12.8 percent
Drunkest metro location: Sioux Falls
24. Washington
Adults who drink excessively: 17.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 35 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
23. Rhode Island
Adults who drink excessively: 17.9 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 40.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 15.8 percent
Drunkest metro location: Providence-Warwick
22. California
Adults who drink excessively: 18 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 29 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 17.8 percent
Drunkest metro location: Chico
21. Pennsylvania
Adults who drink excessively: 18.1 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 15.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: State College
20. New York
Adults who drink excessively: 18.2 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 23 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 16.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Watertown-Fort Drum
19. New Hampshire
Adults who drink excessively: 18.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 31.2 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 11.5 percent
Drunkest metro location: Manchester-Nashua
18. Connecticut
Adults who drink excessively: 18.6 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 33.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk
17. Louisiana
Adults who drink excessively: 18.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.6 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 21 percent
Drunkest metro location: Houma-Thibodaux
16. Oregon
Adults who drink excessively: 18.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 32.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 18.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro
15. Colorado
Adults who drink excessively: 19.1 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 34.7 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 13.7 percent
Drunkest metro location: Fort Collins
14. Ohio
Adults who drink excessively: 19.2 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 34.3 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 15.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: Columbus
13. Massachusetts
Adults who drink excessively: 19.5 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 27.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Barnstable Town
12. Vermont
Adults who drink excessively: 19.6 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 33.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 11.4 percent
Drunkest metro location: Burlington-South Burlington
11. Maine
Adults who drink excessively: 19.6 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 39.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.9 percent
Drunkest metro location: Portland-South Portland
10. Michigan
Adults who drink excessively: 20 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 29.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 16.8 percent
Drunkest metro location: Lansing-East Lansing
9. Nebraska
Adults who drink excessively: 20.4 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 35.6 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 13.4 percent
Drunkest metro location: Lincoln
8. Hawaii
Adults who drink excessively: 20.5 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 38 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 13.1 percent
Drunkest metro location: Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina
7. Iowa
Adults who drink excessively: 21 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 25.4 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 12.3 percent
Drunkest metro location: Iowa City
6. Minnesota
Adults who drink excessively: 21.1 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 30.9 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 11.9 percent
Drunkest metro location: Mankato-North Mankato
5. Illinois
Adults who drink excessively: 21.2 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 34.2 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 15.6 percent
Drunkest metro location: Bloomington
4. Montana
Adults who drink excessively: 21.8 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 46.3 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.2 percent
Drunkest metro location: Missoula
3. Alaska
Adults who drink excessively: 22.1 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 33.8 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 13.7 percent
Drunkest metro location: Fairbanks
2. Wisconsin
Adults who drink excessively: 24.5 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 36.9 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 14.0 percent
Drunkest metro location: Green Bay
1. North Dakota
Adults who drink excessively: 24.7 percent
Driving deaths related to alcohol: 46.7 percent
Adults in fair or poor health: 13.4 percent
Drunkest metro location: Fargo