Forbes Ranks Columbus as Third Drunkest City

By Walker | August 24, 2006 9:59am | Filed under Nightlife | Comments

Next time you tell someone that Columbus is a “drinking town” you can say it with real meaning, since Forbes has recently ranked us third out of the major watering-hole cities of the US. The only two cities ranked higher than us are Milwaukee and Minneapolis-St. Paul. We scored very highly in their “Heavy Drinkers” and “Binge Drinkers” categories despite not scoring too highly in “State Laws”.

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9 Responses to “Forbes Ranks Columbus as Third Drunkest City”

#1
Anne Says:
August 24th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Wonder how much having a big college campus played into that ranking?

hahaha.
#2
honavery Says:
August 24th, 2006 at 10:39 am
Nice.
#3
Walker Says:
August 28th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Columbus chugs its way up list of ‘drunkest cities’

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Nick Chordas and Kristy Eckert

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Long considered one of the nation’s fattest cities, Columbus has finished near the top of another dubious list. Ohio’s capital ranks third among “America’s Drunkest Cities.”

“Drunken city can mean a lot of things,” Scoles said, “but we’re concerned how it transfers to underage drinking, and drinking and driving. When you hear something like this, it substantiates those concerns.”

Several central Ohio bartenders said they weren’t surprised by the ranking. They cited plenty of reasons, including a large population of college students, a tradition of tailgating, lack of other entertainment options — even the weather.

READ MORE
#4
WILDMAN Says:
August 28th, 2006 at 11:16 am
With Columbus being a huge college football city, I can see why we are ranked in the top 5. With football season right around the corner :D , we could move up to first. ha ha ha.
#5
gramarye Says:
August 29th, 2006 at 2:33 am
I also just saw a couple of days ago that Ohio’s liquor sales last year through state-licensed vendors were an annual record, too! Maybe we can move up even more next year?
#6
Walker Says:
August 29th, 2006 at 9:00 am
I don’t know if alcohol sales was even a factor they used in this poll. :?
#7
shroud Says:
August 29th, 2006 at 9:25 am
Doesn’t look like sales numbers factored in at all:

Forbes.com ranked 35 cities based on a 2004 survey from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey counted the number of “drinkers,” who had at least one drink in the past month; “heavy drinkers,” who reported having more than two drinks a day; and “binge drinkers,” who said they had five or more drinks on one occasion.

Researchers also reviewed state laws affecting alcohol sales and consumption and looked at the number of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Cities with more AA meetings per capita received a higher ranking.
#8
gramarye Says:
August 29th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Ah well. Just correlative evidence, then.

P.S. If the Buckeyes stay ranked #1 all season, expect our rating to climb anyway!
#9
I read the news … so you don’t have to « the black cloud Says:
January 21st, 2009 at 10:37 am
[...] The Lantern kicking ass when it comes to covering salvia. Also, sure we drank a lot in 2008, but Columbus has always been an incredibly drunk city. [...]