What Are The Booziest Counties In Missouri?

Many adults like to enjoy a cocktail now and then. Maybe it's a glass of beer or wine after work, shots with the fellas after hunting, or hitting some of Missouri's beautiful wineries. So, when it comes to getting boozy, which county in Missouri likes its cocktails the most?

IntoxiStates.com has published an interactive map of America's Drunkest and Driest Counties to give us a picture of how much boozing is going on and where it is happening in America.

Utah County, Utah, is home to Utah's fourth most prominent city, Provo, and the country's driest county. Only 12% of Utah's population and 9% of Utah County's residents are excess drinkers, making Utah County the driest in America.

The drunkest? Gallatin, Montana. Gallatin County is home to Bozeman and Montana's second most populated county. When your state is as empty as Montana, it's not a surprise there's some boozing going on, especially in more populated areas. About 24% of Montana's residents drink to excess, and that number is higher in Gallatin County by 2%, making it the "drunkest".

Of course, the real question is how IntoxiStates.com developed the map. The answer is simple: They looked at excessive drinking county by county, based on CDC Definitions. In case you're wondering, the CDC classifies excessive drinking as men having five or more drinks on a single occasion, women having four or more drinks on a single occasion, men having 15 or more drinks per week, or women having eight or more drinks per week. You can learn more about excessive drinking on the CDC website.

According to InoxiStates.com, around 19% of Missouri residents are excess drinkers. However, that news isn't that bad. Many Missouri counties have excess drinking numbers a couple of percentage points lower than the state average.

The Missouri county with the biggest excess boozing is Jackson County, home of Kansas City. Twenty percent of Jackson County residents are excess drinkers. The driest county in Missouri is Benton County, with its county seat in Warsaw.

Other counties in Missouri that like their booze include Clay, Warren, Boone, St. Charles, and the City of St. Louis. Drier counties include Ozark, Hickory, Oregon, Wayne, and Pemiscot.

Get our free mobile app

Locally, Johnson County and Warrensburg have about the state average of excessive drinkers, while Pettis County and Sedalia are a couple of percentage points below Missouri's state average.

The interactive map's most interesting feature is where heavier drinking and teetotaling concentrations appear. Utah, unsurprisingly, is one of the driest states, while Wisconsin lives up to its name as a state that loves beer. It's also interesting to see the pockets in the South where there isn't a lot of drinking.

Overall, for a culture that likes to party, America seems to be doing a pretty good job not going overboard, Missouri, too.