When it comes to overall alcohol consumption, South Carolina drinks like an average American according to data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Looking a little deeper into the liquor cabinet, beer fridge and wine chiller finds that South Carolinians are heavier into beer than the country as a whole.
Both South Carolina and the nation as a whole have seen major shifts in drinking habits over the past 40 years.
In 1977, Americans drank an average of 2.6 gallons of ethanol (converted based on the type of drink). In 2016, that figure was 2.35, a 9.6 percent drop.
Americans are drinking more alcohol than they should. The Healthy People 2020 government initiative set the target for alcohol consumption per capita at 2.1 gallons or less per year.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found the national per capita annual alcohol consumption in 2016 exceeded this goal for most states. The overall per capita alcohol consumption was as much as 10 percent above target in 29 states and the District of Columbia.
The national average for alcohol consumption is 1.08 gallons of beer per person per year; .44 gallons of wine per person per year; and .83 gallons of spirits per person per year for a total national average of 2.36 gallons of alcohol per year, per person.
South Carolina exceeds the average when it comes to beer, with 1.18 gallons, falls below with wine at .25 gallons and is about average with spirits at .79 gallons for a total of 2.22 gallons of alcohol per person per year.
Wine drinking in the Palmetto State, while increasing over the past several decades, still trails the national average by some 25 percent.
Don’t worry through, even though we love our beer we’re in the middle of the pack of beer loving states. Lots of states love beer more, on average, than does S.C.
New Hampshire, by far the state that drinks the most, was No. 1 for beer drinking at 1.87 gallons per year, per adult, its wine consumption is 0.88 gallons, twice the national average ranking it third in the nation and its spirits consumption of 2 gallons per person was tops out of all 50 states.
The 10 states that consume the most alcohol:
1. New Hampshire
2. Delaware
3. Nevada
4. North Dakota
5. Montana
6. Vermont
7. Wisconsin
8. Alaska
9. Idaho
10. South Dakota
