FARGO - North Dakotans' boozy ways are fueled by the most bars per capita in the United States.
There's one bar for every 1,620 North Dakotans, according to The Forum's analysis of U.S. Census Bureau business patterns data from 2011, the most recent year that information is available.
That narrowly beats out neighboring Montana and puts North Dakota well above Minnesota, which ranks 17th.
North Dakota also has the sixth-most liquor stores per capita in the country: one per 1,937 residents.
After considering statistics on binge drinking and drunken driving, Pam Sagness said North Dakota's spot on that list was no surprise. Sagness, prevention administrator for the Mental Health and Substance Abuse division of the North Dakota Department of Human Services, said easy access is one of the driving factors behind North Dakota's track record of problems with alcohol abuse.
ADVERTISEMENT
A pair of 2010 studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that North Dakotans binge drink more often - and in greater quantities - than almost all Americans.
Perhaps more alarming, Sagness said, is that North Dakotans don't see much harm in binge drinking. She guessed that the North Dakotan attitude of "work hard, play hard" steadily drove up the ratio of bars to residents.
"It didn't get to be this way overnight," Sagness said.
Laura Mio grew up in the Midwest, so she wasn't surprised to hear that North Dakota ranks first in bars per capita in the U.S.
"The joke was, you have to have as many bars as churches - if not more," said Mio, now general manager at JL Beers in downtown Fargo.
The Fargo-based beer-and-burger chain has two other locations in the metro area plus branches in Grand Forks, Sioux Falls and, most recently, Bismarck. She looks at that as a sign that there's plenty of support and demand for beer in the region.
"That's good for us," she said. "We got in at a good time."
The Fargo-Moorhead metro area stands out across the country for alcohol hotspots. With one bar or liquor store for every 2,060 people, Fargo-Moorhead ranks 19th among metropolitan areas with populations of more than 100,000.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sagness said part of the access problem in North Dakota is that there is no statewide agency regulating alcohol - it's left up to local governments to dole out liquor licenses.
Janet Seaworth, executive director of the North Dakota Beer Wholesalers Association, said she thinks the state's approach to regulating alcohol has proven effective. She was surprised to find out North Dakota has the most bars per capita in the U.S., and among the most liquor stores per capita, too.
"That ranking doesn't mean much to me as long as the industry is well-regulated, and it is well-regulated," she said.
Top five metro areas in the US by bars per capita:
1. La Crosse, Wis.-Minn. - One bar per 1,401 residents
2. Eau Claire, Wis. - One bar per 1,439 residents
3. Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. - One bar per 1,644 residents
ADVERTISEMENT
4. Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis. - One bar per 1,738 residents
5. Green Bay, Wis. - One bar per 1,910
Bottom five metro areas in the US by bars per capita:
5. Logan, Utah-Idaho - One bar per 63,775 residents
4. St. George, Utah - One bar per 70,833 residents
3. Dalton, Ga. - One bar per 71,370 residents
2. Roanoke, Va. - One bar per 77,215 residents
1. Lynchburg, Va. - One bar per 84,724 residents
ADVERTISEMENT
Bars per capita in other metro areas in the region
• Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn. - 2,906 bars per capita
• Duluth-Superior, Minn.-Wis. - 1,738 per capita
• Grand Forks - 1,969 bars per capita
• Bemidji, Minn. - 1,051 bars per capita
• Worthington, Minn. - 2,129 bars per capita
• Dickinson, N.D. - 1,423 bars per capita
Sources: 2011 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
ADVERTISEMENT
Readers can reach Forum reporter Kyle Potter at (701) 241-5502
