Find Out Which Ohio City is the Drunkest

COLUMBUS, OH — Alcohol abuse not only causes social and health issues, it also costs a lot of money. According to a 2010 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expenses associated with the abuse of alcohol cost the United States $250 billion. Health care expenses and estimated lost productivity were figured into the study.

Binge drinking was a significant factor in the total cost. Numbers can vary from state to state and city to city with regard to drinking habits.

The definition of binge drinking, according to the CDC, is four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men during a single occasion. Fifteen or more drinks per week and around eight or more for women is considered heavy drinking.

• Click here to see the drunkest city in each state.

The website 247wallst.com analyzed metropolitan areas reporting the highest levels of binge and heavy drinking in each state. How did Ohio cities rank? In the Buckeye State, Columbus takes the title for drunkest city. Here's how Cbus measured up on 247wallst.com:

Ohio

> Drunkest city: Columbus
> Pct. of MSA adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.2%
> Pct. of state adults binge or heavy drinking: 19.1%
> Pct. of alcohol related driving deaths: 30.6%
Adults in Ohio are slightly more likely to have unhealthy drinking habits than adults across the country. In the Columbus metro area, 19.2% of adults drink excessively — the largest share of the state’s 11 metro areas. Excessive drinking is more common in high income areas, and the typical Columbus household earns $58,192 a year, more than in any other metro area in the state.

While binge and heavy drinking are relatively common in Columbus, other unhealthy habits are not. Only 18.3% of area adults smoke, and only 24.5% are not physically active — smaller shares than the corresponding 21.0% and 26.3% statewide shares.

Nationwide, 87.6 percent of adults have drank alcohol at some point in their lives, 71 percent consumed alcohol in the past year, 56.9 percent say they drank in the past month and 18 percent of adults report excessive drinking.

Appleton, the drunkest city in Wisconsin, leads the nation with 26.8 percent of adults reporting excessive drinking in the metropolitan area.

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