The US States With Highest Binge Drinking: North Dakota’s Stats?

Binge Drinking in North Dakota

It has long been a problem in the Peace Garden State for as long as I can remember. North Dakotans have never needed a reason to drink before, like St. Patrick's Day. There's nothing wrong with having a beer or drink now and then (even a green beer), but that usually leads to excessive drinking with the people in our state.

Picture yourself at a local garage party, it's getting late, and you know you should leave. Before you can get out the door, how many times are you going to hear, "C'mon, have one more..." If I had a nickel for every time I heard that in my life. And, one will then turn into another one, and another, and before you know it, it's 3 am, you're loaded, and a host of bad things can follow.

This scenario plays out way too often in our state, but North Dakotans might finally be waking up and saying "NO" to binge drinking.

The Latest Binge Drinking Statistics

North Dakota still ranks high. In fact, really high. We have the 2nd-highest rate for binge drinking in America. 22.5% of the state's population drinks to excess. Trailing only Iowa by a hair, which is at 22.5%. YIKES. That's the bad news. Montana isn't too far behind us at 21.9% in 3rd place, and South Dakota checks in at #4 with 21.5%. Minnesota landed in 10th place with 18.4% of the population binge drinking. We definitely have a problem in the upper Midwest.

These stats are based on a recent study by Valley Spring Recovery Center and are based on data from the CDC.

The Good News Concerning Bing Drinking in our Area?

Just about all of the states in the top 10 with a binge drinking problem are showing slight declines from the previous survey, including North Dakota, which is down 0.29%. This coincides with the demographics that are drinking less. Millennials and Gen Z are driving a significant decline in alcohol consumption, with adult drinking rates falling to a decade low. Why the change with these groups? Health consciousness, social media, and financial constraints drive it. How low are we talking? Down 72% from the early 2000s.

We have a long way to go in North Dakota as far as binge drinking, but at least it's pointed in the right direction.