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The 10 states that drink the most beer in America per capita

06 January 2023 By Christian Smith

It is no secret that America loves its beer, but this list of the 10 states that drink the most beer certainly throws up a few curveballs.

Beer with American flag - states that drink the most beer

All of the data in this list comes courtesy of home-brew and beer resource Learning to Homebrew. The data was compiled by founder and CEO Joshua Bartlett, who examined criteria including population density, gallons of beer consumed per capita, barrel production and revenue, and number of breweries.

Here are the top 10 states that drink the most beer in America:

Montana – perhaps a surprising first place, but Montana consumes 40.8 units of beer consumed per capita and has 92 active breweries.
New Hampshire – this relatively small state packs a punch, consuming 39.8 units of beer per capita and boasting 91 breweries.
North Dakota – a smaller state still, but North Dakota drinks 38.2 units of beer per capita.
South Dakota – though South Dakota has a population of less than one million and only 22 breweries, it drinks 38.2 units of beer per capita.
Maine – Maine has an impressive 133 active breweries and consumes 33.8 units of beer per capita.
Vermont – With a population of just over 600,000, Maine still boasts 68 breweries and 33.3 units of beer consumed per capita.
Texas – this huge state, with a population of just under 30 million, boasts 344 active breweries and consumes 30.9 units of beer per capita.
Wisconsin – Wisconsin has 205 breweries but actually drinks more per capita than Texas, at 33.6 units of beer.
Nebraska – Nebraska has 55 breweries and consumes 32.5 units of beer per capita.
Nevada – and finally, Nevada makes 10th place thanks to its 33.2 units of beer consumed per capita.

Commenting on the findings, Bartlett said:

“While I don’t think that it’ll exactly be a surprise that Utah has the smallest number of beer devotees in the US, it was a shock to discover that Montana was the thirstiest state for a number of reasons, the most obvious of which is that it isn’t the first place that anyone thinks about when they’re drinking an ice cold beer.

Some of the most obvious factors that should have seen the centers of the craft beer revolution and more established brewing industries didn’t even make the list, and the number of rural rather than urban states that favor beer over more traditional non-alcoholic drinks was a revelation, and changed my perception of the way that America views beer”.