Historians agree that bars in Massachusetts are about as old as the state itself. Early settlers wasted no time setting up local taverns before schoolhouses in some cases.

In fact, Massachusetts is home to what are believed to be the oldest bars in the United States like the Green Dragon Tavern which dates back to 1654, or Warren Tavern in Charlestown which was the first building to be erected in Charlestown after the British burned the whole town during the Battle of Bunker Hill in June of 1775.

In 2019, Massachusetts was home to 828 bars and 1,645 beer, wine, and liquor stores. That's a lot of drunk people. And don't forget to add in the 114 colleges and beer-guzzling Boston sports fans.

So, Just How Drunk is Massachusetts?

A recent study reported by 24/7 Wallstreet says that Massachusetts is the seventh drunkest state in the U.S. finishing just behind Illinois. Check out the complete list below and then we'll get into what that actually means.

What is the Drunkest State in the U.S.?

  1. Wisconsin
  2. North Dakota
  3. Iowa
  4. Nebraska
  5. Minnesota
  6. Illinois
  7. Massachusetts
  8. Alaska
  9. Hawaii
  10. Montana
  11. New Hampshire
  12. Colorado
  13. Maine
  14. Ohio
  15. Wyoming
  16. Missouri
  17. Rhode Island
  18. Michigan
  19. Louisiana
  20. Texas
  21. Vermont
  22. Nevada
  23. California
  24. Pennsylvania
  25. South Dakota
  26. New York
  27. Kansas
  28. Oregon
  29. New Jersey
  30. Indiana
  31. Washington
  32. Virginia
  33. South Carolina
  34. Kentucky
  35. Florida
  36. Connecticut
  37. North Carolina
  38. Delaware
  39. Arizona
  40. Maryland
  41. Idaho
  42. New Mexico
  43. Arkansas
  44. Georgia
  45. Tennessee
  46. Oklahoma
  47. Alabama
  48. Mississippi
  49. West Virginia
  50. Utah

24/7 Wall Street says the study is "based on a number of factors including binge drinking rates and alcohol-related deaths" using statics compiled in 2020 by County Health Rankings.

So Massachusetts cracked the top ten for the entire county and now holds the title of the drunkest state in New England. Proud of us.

On a serious note, the Food and Drug Administration reports about 60% of men and 51% of women drink regularly, while at the same time 19 % of adults in the U.S. report regularly consuming unhealthy amounts of alcohol. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines "Binge Drinking" as four or more drinks on a single occasion for women, and five or more for men. "Heavy Drinking" is defined as at least eight drinks per week for women and 15 for men.

 

What Are the Signature Drinks From Every State?

 

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

 

 

 

More From WUPE