Idaho Has a New #1 Drunkest City for 2023

We just made it through the holiday season...and you probably indulged a bit!

Whether it’s raising a champagne toast during a holiday dinner, enjoying wine during a fancy holiday fundraising gala, having beers with old friends who are back in town to visit or doing shots with your co-workers at the company party, for many alcohol is part of the holiday “celebration.” 

Idaho’s home to a booming beer and wine scene. There are also some incredible distilleries like 44 North, Koenig Distillery and Bardenay based in the Gem State. It’s great to see that business is booming, but on the consumer’s end? You want to enjoy those products in moderation. When it comes to binge drinking, one city in Idaho takes things a little too far. 

Get our free mobile app

A few months ago, we were able to find data ranking which Idaho counties had the highest number of residents who drink heavily or routinely binge drink. The CDC defines heavy drinking as eight or more drinks per week for a woman and 15 or more for a man. Binge drinking has more to do with the number of drinks you have during one occasion. For women, it’s four drinks per occasion. For men, it’s five. Both of these contribute to excessive drinking. 

Here’s a look at what we discovered. Another source was able to break the data down further and pinpoint, the drunkest city in Idaho. 

Idaho Has a New Drunkest City

24/7 Wall Street took a deeper dive into the numbers and included a look at the number of alcohol-related driving deaths in each state’s major metro areas. They recently updated their list of the drunkest city in every state and Idaho has a new #1. 

With 20.3% of adults admitting that they binge or heaving drink and 28.2% or driving deaths involving alcohol, Lewiston now sits at #1. While the number of adults who drink excessively is greater than the state average, the number of alcohol-related deaths is lower. (The state average is 31.1%.) 

How Have the Rankings Changed Over the Years?

Here’s a look back at the cities that have struggled with their alcohol use over the last few years. 

• 2022: Boise (20.7% of adults drink excessively, 34.2% of driving deaths involved alcohol) 
• 2021: Pocatello (19.5% of adults drink excessively, 28.6% of driving deaths involved alcohol)
• 2020: Couer d’Alene (20.3% of adults drink excessively, 37.7% of driving deaths involved alcohol) 
• 2019: Couer d’Alene (18.9% of adults drink excessively, 41.5% of driving deaths involved alcohol) 

If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol addiction, you can find resources to get help on the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s website by clicking HERE.