Only One MN County is on the 2022 List of Drunkest U.S. Counties

Get our free mobile app

The 2022 list of the drunkest counties in the U.S. is out-- and only one county here in Minnesota made the list this year. Do you know which one it is?

Being that I'm a Wisconsin native, these drunk county lists always catch my attention-- because usually, the list is pretty much made up of ONLY Wisconsin counties. And, that's pretty much the case again this year, though ONE Minnesota county also made the list.

You might be wondering just how one goes about determining which counties are, in fact, the 'drunkest.' Well, the crew over at 24/7 Wall Street, which has compiled the list over the last several years, describes their criteria like this:

Using data from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 24/7 Wall St. identified the U.S. counties with the highest excessive drinking rates. In every county on this list, more than one in every four adults drink excessively, while nationwide, fewer than one in five do.

Which sounds like a LOT of Wisconsin counties I know. And, in fact, 41 out of the 50 drunkest counties this year once again ARE in Wisconsin, along with 6 in Iowa, and one each in North and South Dakota, as well as here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

So which Minnesota county is one of the 50 drunkest in the country this year?

That would be... Le Seuer County.

Yep, the county in south-central Minnesota (about 100 northwest of Rochester), whose county seat is Le Center, is the only Minnesota county to make the list. 24/7 Wall Street says 27.2% of adults in Le Seuer County binge-drink or drink heavily, which (along with a few other factors) landed it at #38 on the list this year.

I'm only guessing, but Le Seuer County's location just north of Minnesota State University - Mankato might have had a little to do with its inclusion on the list-- because we all know college kids like to get their drink on, right? That's just a guess, though.

Speaking of drinking and states, a new list of the Best Beers in Every State is out too, can you guess which Minnesota brews made the list? Keep scrolling to find out!

Listen to Curt St. John in the Morning
Weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5