In this article, we are going to discuss the 5 states that drink the least alcohol per capita. If you want to check out our detailed analysis of the economic cost of excessive drinking, a new pharmaceutical breakthrough that could help reduce alcohol abuse, and a company promoting sobriety as part of its workplace culture, head to 20 States that Drink the Least Alcohol per Capita.
5. Arkansas
Ethanol Consumption per Capita: 1.96 gallons
Arkansas laws are strict and uncompromising when it comes to liquor, and more than half of the state’s counties are dry. In these dry counties, there’s no legal sale of alcohol in bars or stores and only licensed restaurants can serve alcoholic beverages.
Although it has a low rate of alcohol consumption per capita, the Natural State has more alcohol-related deaths per capita than a majority of states and a higher rate of underage drinking. Arkansas taxpayers spent $2.073 billion as a result of excessive alcohol use in 2010 – adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to $2.799 billion in 2022.
4. Georgia
Ethanol Consumption per Capita: 1.91 gallons
Georgia has a lower rate of binge drinking as compared to the national average – 6.9% against the country’s average of 8.2%. Still, approximately 2,400 deaths occur annually in the state that are linked to excessive alcohol use. The economic cost of alcohol abuse in the Peach State is around $700 per person.
Started in 2011, Georgia’s Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention Project uses the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and a public health approach to tackle Georgia’s leading substances of abuse and misuse issues.
3. Oklahoma
Ethanol Consumption per Capita: 1.87 gallons
The Sooner State is reported to have some of the strictest laws in the country concerning the sale of alcoholic beverages. Until 2018, Oklahoma allowed the sale of beer with only a 3.2% alcohol content by weight in grocery stores. Beer with any more alcohol than that – called ‘high-point beer’ – was only to be sold in liquor stores.
Noticing the ‘sober curious’ trend popular in Oklahoma, the state’s Stonecloud Brewery has decided to launch a number of non-alcohol offerings this year, including Fuzzy Rabbit – a sparkling water drink infused with hops.
2. West Virginia
Ethanol Consumption per Capita: 1.82 gallons
A major reason why West Virginia has such low alcohol consumption is the predominant religious sentiment in the state. Even though the Mountain State reported a below-average rate of adults drinking excessively (14%), the state still reported 26% of motor vehicle crash deaths involving alcohol between 2016 and 2020. There have been improvements, however. The number of West Virginia students who reported recently driving with someone who had been drinking decreased from 39% in 1993 to 13% in 2017.
1. Utah
Ethanol Consumption per Capita: 1.3 gallons
Most people know Mormons are supposed to be teetotalers, so the fact that Utah doesn’t drink much isn’t surprising. Over half of the state’s population identifies as Mormon, a religion that explicitly forbids alcohol consumption. Utah was the first state in the union to lower the blood alcohol limit to 0.05, just as it was the first to lower the limit from 0.10 to 0.08 back in 1983.
Though despite its stigma against booze, the Beehive State has seen an increase in alcohol sales over the last five years. The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverages reported revenue of $557.6 million from the fiscal year of July 2021 to June 2022. The almost 8% rise is more than double the increase from 2020 to 2021.
Utah is the State with the Lowest Rate of Alcoholism in America.
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