Wine gets more popular all the time in the U.S. and craft cocktails are everywhere (even in cans), but the most popular alcoholic beverage in America is beer. The category (including hard seltzers and flavored malt offerings like Twisted Tea) accounted for 54% of all retail alcohol purchases in 2022, adding up to sales of about $115 billion.
The Brewers Association counted some 9,709 U.S. breweries in operation last year, a 3.5% increase over 2021. We obviously need that many, because according to the Beer Institute, a national trade association, overall adult (over 21) consumption across the country is about 28.2 gallons per person every year, which breaks down to about 10 ounces a day – equivalent to about one six-pack a week. (These are the drunkest states in America.)
Consumption rates vary widely from state to state, however. The Beer Institute computes that North Dakotan adults quaff 45.8 gallons annually, while those in Utah – which has a large population of Mormons, who are not supposed to drink alcohol – manages a measly 20.2 gallons, followed by Connecticut drinkers at 22.1 gallons. (Here’s a listing of the best local beer from every state.)
Just as the amount of beer consumed varies, so does what the citizens of each state pay for it. To determine the average price of a 24-can or -bottle case of beer in every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a report on the subject by the Australia-based e-commerce site Alcohol Delivered.
The site collected prices for a 24-pack of both Bud Light (until recently the best-selling beer in America) and Miller Lite from retailers in up to 10 zip codes in each state. A mix of urban and rural zip codes was included to give as wide a representation as possible. The prices of both beers were added together, then divided by two and rounded to the nearest cent. The site adds “It’s important to note that the prices we collected only reflect the prices from the retailers and don’t include any additional taxes or fees, like recycling fees.” (For the sake of comparison, we added the relative cost of all items in each state, based on Regional Price Parity data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.)
The upshot? If you’re a beer-lover in Alaska, open your wallet: There, a case costs an average of $33.62. On the other hand, the lucky people of Illinois don’t have to fork out more than $16.43.
Alabama
> Cost of a case of beer: $21.17 – #14th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 11.9% less than avg – #2nd lowest
Alaska
> Cost of a case of beer: $33.62 – #the highest
> Relative cost of all items: 4.4% more than avg – #8th highest
Arizona
> Cost of a case of beer: $17.48 – #8th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 3.3% less than avg – #22nd highest
Arkansas
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.44 – #20th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 10.6% less than avg – #4th lowest
California
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.30 – #18th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 11.8% more than avg – #2nd highest
Colorado
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.49 – #22nd lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 3.0% more than avg – #10th highest
Connecticut
> Cost of a case of beer: $17.77 – #9th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 2.6% more than avg – #11th highest
Delaware
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.51 – #19th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 2.3% less than avg – #20th highest
Florida
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.59 – #15th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 1.4% more than avg – #15th highest
Georgia
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.25 – #23rd highest
> Relative cost of all items: 4.2% less than avg – #24th highest
Hawaii
> Cost of a case of beer: $24.17 – #3rd highest
> Relative cost of all items: 13.2% more than avg – #the highest
Idaho
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.26 – #21st highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.2% less than avg – #17th lowest
Illinois
> Cost of a case of beer: $16.43 – #the lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 1.4% more than avg – #16th highest
Indiana
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.21 – #11th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 7.3% less than avg – #20th lowest
Iowa
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.58 – #14th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 10.4% less than avg – #5th lowest
Kansas
> Cost of a case of beer: $17.30 – #7th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.8% less than avg – #12th lowest
Kentucky
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.45 – #20th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 10.9% less than avg – #3rd lowest
Louisiana
> Cost of a case of beer: $21.59 – #13th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.7% less than avg – #13th lowest
Maine
> Cost of a case of beer: $21.17 – #14th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 2.8% less than avg – #21st highest
Maryland
> Cost of a case of beer: $22.04 – #11th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 6.2% more than avg – #7th highest
Massachusetts
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.62 – #25th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 6.6% more than avg – #6th highest
Michigan
> Cost of a case of beer: $17.30 – #7th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 5.7% less than avg – #24th lowest
Minnesota
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.41 – #19th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 1.6% less than avg – #19th highest
Mississippi
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.26 – #21st highest
> Relative cost of all items: 13.4% less than avg – #the lowest
Missouri
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.51 – #12th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.0% less than avg – #18th lowest
Montana
> Cost of a case of beer: $24.06 – #4th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.4% less than avg – #15th lowest
Nebraska
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.95 – #24th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.2% less than avg – #16th lowest
Nevada
> Cost of a case of beer: $22.62 – #8th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 4.5% less than avg – #25th highest
New Hampshire
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.54 – #13th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 2.5% more than avg – #12th highest
New Jersey
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.84 – #17th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 9.1% more than avg – #4th highest
New Mexico
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.06 – #17th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 10.1% less than avg – #6th lowest
New York
> Cost of a case of beer: $16.72 – #3rd lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 9.5% more than avg – #3rd highest
North Carolina
> Cost of a case of beer: $17.30 – #7th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 6.2% less than avg – #23rd lowest
North Dakota
> Cost of a case of beer: $21.00 – #16th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.9% less than avg – #11th lowest
Ohio
> Cost of a case of beer: $20.54 – #18th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 7.5% less than avg – #19th lowest
Oklahoma
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.94 – #16th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 9.7% less than avg – #8th lowest
Oregon
> Cost of a case of beer: $22.51 – #9th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 3.0% more than avg – #9th highest
Pennsylvania
> Cost of a case of beer: $23.21 – #7th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 3.6% less than avg – #23rd highest
Rhode Island
> Cost of a case of beer: $17.26 – #4th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 2.1% more than avg – #14th highest
South Carolina
> Cost of a case of beer: $16.54 – #2nd lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 6.3% less than avg – #22nd lowest
South Dakota
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.54 – #23rd lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 9.9% less than avg – #7th lowest
Tennessee
> Cost of a case of beer: $24.03 – #5th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 9.1% less than avg – #10th lowest
Texas
> Cost of a case of beer: $21.72 – #12th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 1.5% less than avg – #18th highest
Utah
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.71 – #25th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 5.4% less than avg – #25th lowest
Vermont
> Cost of a case of beer: $23.25 – #6th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 1.3% less than avg – #17th highest
Virginia
> Cost of a case of beer: $18.18 – #10th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 2.3% more than avg – #13th highest
Washington
> Cost of a case of beer: $22.26 – #10th highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.9% more than avg – #5th highest
West Virginia
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.49 – #22nd lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 9.2% less than avg – #9th lowest
Wisconsin
> Cost of a case of beer: $19.62 – #25th lowest
> Relative cost of all items: 6.7% less than avg – #21st lowest
Wyoming
> Cost of a case of beer: $28.78 – #2nd highest
> Relative cost of all items: 8.6% less than avg – #14th lowest