I got an e-mail this morning from Retale, a mobile app company, with an infographic showing the Top 10 Party States in the Country. To arrive at the list, they looked at a variety of factors including the number of bars, universities and colleges, music festivals, party stores, beer consumption, alcohol tax, hours opened, median age, the number of clubs and how popular the state is for tourism.
Obviously, these types of lists are highly subjective and tend to please no one, but it’s still fun to look at how the numbers shake out on all of the categories they used. Overall my home state of California tops the list, despite being number 1 in only two of the categories (music festivals and tourism). We have nearly double the breweries of our closest state, and a few wineries, too, so I’m okay with that.
How They Created This Ranking
According to Retale. “In determining what criteria to use for this list, we considered contributing factors to party culture, including events, alcohol consumption, venues, tourism, and youth culture. Our Top Ten Biggest Party States interactive visual was calculated based on an analysis of [the following] data.”
Alcohol consumption per capita
Number of nightclubs per capita
Number of music festivals in each state
Most popular tourist destinations
Number of bars per capita
Population density
Last call: opening and closing hours
Number of universities and colleges per capita
Combined alcohol taxes (lower the better)
Median age (lower the better)
Here’s their write-up for California.
1. California (CA)
California is known worldwide for its pristine beaches, enviable year-round weather, HWY 1, and Hollywood. The state is also the #1 ranking party destination in the U.S. There is a reason why our favorite pop and rap artists rave about the California party scene, with its thriving nightlife, underground techno, and midnight street shindigs. California has the highest number of festivals, the second highest number of bars by state (over 3,000), and the most universities and nightclubs relative to population.
With diverse demographics, an expanding youth culture, and innovation in tech and the arts, California has been an epicenter of art and social movement since the 60s. Rivaling party cities in California include L.A., San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and Long Beach.
Individual Statistics
You can see the interactive map online at Retale. Moving the cursor and hovering it over each state reveals the answers for each datapoint.
