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The Street
The Street
Samanda Dorger

The States That Drink the Most Beer

Beer sales took a hit during the pandemic. Even though you may remember drinking lots of it at home in 2020, closures of restaurants, bars and sports venues were rough for the suds industry. People lost their jobs, unsold beer ended up spoiled.

But in 2021, overall U.S. beer volume sales rebounded, and today America’s beer industry contributes more than $331 billion to the U.S. economy and supports more than two million jobs, according to the Beer Institute.

The number of breweries in the U.S. has increased five-fold since 2010, thanks to an increase in the popularity of craft breweries, according to the Brewers Association.

It’s kind of a “golden age” for beer in the U.S., with more choices than ever before, the Beer Institute says. California alone has 1,466 breweries, more than twice any other state. New York has 680, Pennsylvania has 642, and Washington state has 633. But even with all those breweries, California isn’t even one of the 30 biggest drinkers of beer (and the most popular beer in the Golden State is Budweiser.)

So which states drink the most beer? Here’s the per-capita consumption of the 30 biggest beer-drinking states, according to 2020 data from the Beer Institute.

1. New Hampshire

Annual gallons per capita: 41.5

Favorite beer: Budweiser

2. Montana

Annual gallons per capita: 41.1

Favorite beer: Budweiser

3. North Dakota

Annual gallons per capita: 37.5

Favorite beer: Fargo

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4. South Dakota

Annual gallons per capita: 37.3

Favorite beer: Budweiser

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5. Vermont

Annual gallons per capita: 34.0

Favorite beer: Bud Light

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6. Wisconsin

Annual gallons per capita: 33.7

Favorite beer: Spotted Cow

7. Maine

Annual gallons per capita: 32.5

Favorite beer: Budweiser

8. South Carolina

Annual gallons per capita: 32.5

Favorite beer: Budweiser

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9. Texas

Annual gallons per capita: 31.9

Favorite beer: Lone Star

10. Mississippi

Annual gallons per capita: 31.6

Favorite beer: Lazy Magnolia

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11. Nebraska

Annual gallons per capita: 31.6

Favorite beer: Nebraska Black Betty

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12. Iowa

Annual gallons per capita: 31.0

Favorite beer: Budweiser

13. Wyoming

Annual gallons per capita: 29.8

Favorite beer: Snake River

14. Alabama

Annual gallons per capita: 29.1

Favorite beer: Budweiser

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15. Nevada

Annual gallons per capita: 29.0

Favorite beer: Coors Light

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16. Louisiana

Annual gallons per capita: 28.4

Favorite beer: Abita

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17. Colorado

Annual gallons per capita: 28.1

Favorite beer: Denver Beer Co.

18. Delaware

Annual gallons per capita: 27.9

Favorite beer: Dogfish Head

19. Kansas

Annual gallons per capita: 27.8

Favorite beer: Coors Light

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20. West Virginia

Annual gallons per capita: 27.8

Favorite beer: Budweiser

21. New Mexico

Annual gallons per capita: 27.7

Favorite beer: La Cumbre

22. Oregon

Annual gallons per capita: 27.7

Favorite beer: Budweiser

Joshua Rainey Photography / Shutterstock

23. Minnesota

Annual gallons per capita: 27.1

Favorite beer: Budweiser

24. Arizona

Annual gallons per capita: 27.0

Favorite beer: Dos Equis

25. Missouri

Annual gallons per capita: 26.9

Favorite beer: Budweiser

26. Oklahoma

Annual gallons per capita: 26.8

Favorite beer: Budweiser

27. Hawaii

Annual gallons per capita: 26.7

Favorite beer: N/A

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28. Alaska

Annual gallons per capita: 26.1

Favorite beer: N/A

Paolo Trovo / Shutterstock

29. Illinois

Annual gallons per capita: 25.9

Favorite beer: Goose Island

James Kirkikis / Shutterstock

30. North Carolina

Annual gallons per capita: 25.8

Favorite beer: Bud Light

Sources: The Beer Institute, The Brewers Association, Visual Capitalist

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