How Many Beers It Takes Each State to Get Tipsy [2021 Survey]

Tipsy [ tip-see ]

Adjective

1. The act of getting slightly drunk, but not too drunk
2. To feel a nice buzz
3. Tipping or tilted, as if from intoxication

No matter your definition of the word tipsy, one thing’s for certain: Americans enjoy a good buzz. Whether at a wedding, a ballpark, or a happy hour, the act of getting tipsy is a time-honored tradition; however, for some, the alcohol hits sooner than others.

Ergo, society groups us within 1 of 2 buckets: the lightweights and the tanks. Lightweights can feel tipsy off 1 beer alone, while tanks can drink 10 beers before feeling even a tingle of tipsiness. Where you live in the U.S. can also impact tipsiness thresholds. Our guess is the tolerance of a Texas cowboy or a Midwestern pioneer differs from that of a California hipster or a Hamptons socialite.

Thus, the team at Upgraded Points was curious to find out: how many beers does it take each states’ residents to feel tipsy? We surveyed over 2,000 Americans to quench our thirst, asking survey respondents to tell us how many 0.5 L bottles of domestic beer (your average Yuengling) it would take to feel tipsy.

Being the personal finance gurus that we are, we then needed to determine how much a buzz is going to cost on a local level. So from there, we determined the cost of getting tipsy off beer in every state — for a night, for a year, and over the course of a lifetime.

So is your state a lightweight or a tank? Read on to find out!

How Many Beers Does It Take Each State To Get Tipsy?

States with high tolerance levels are sprinkled across the map, but Southerners, in particular, can hold their own when it comes to alcohol intake. Southern states drink 3.92 beers on average before feeling tipsy — 12.3% higher than the national average number of beers.

Speaking of Southern, Texas takes the cake as the biggest tank. The average Texan drinks 5.17 beers before feeling tipsy; a whopping 48.2% above the national average number of beers. As the old adage goes, “Don’t mess with Texas.”

Apart from geographics, when we zoom in on specific demographics, the results certainly shift. Survey responses show that millennials and males outdrink females and other generations. In fact, males average 3.93 beers before feeling tipsy — 12.8% higher than the national average number of beers, where the female average falls 10.7% below the national average.

The Boozehounds vs. The Lightweights

Boozehound states Virginia, New York, and Arizona can also hold their alcohol, averaging 5.12, 5.07, and 4.84 beers respectively before feeling tipsy. Alternatively, Oregon holds the title of the biggest lightweight, averaging only 1.92 beers to feel tipsy. We suppose it’s easy to “Keep Portland weird” with those tolerance levels. Colorado also falls into the lightweight category, where the average CO resident drinks 2.11 beers and feels buzzed.

The Most and Least Expensive States for Getting Tipsy

So to what extent does getting tipsy eat into the average American’s budget? Not significantly for 1 night. The average U.S. resident can get tipsy off of domestic bottled beer for the low, low price of $8.28. Factor in getting tipsy over a year or even a lifetime, however, and the expense adds up. It’ll cost you approximately $430.71 annually, and almost $25k throughout your lifetime, considering the average American’s life expectancy is 78.5 years old.

Lastly, we determined the most expensive states for getting tilted are, again, Texas, Virginia, and New York, while the cheapest states for getting tipsy are Nebraska, Utah, and Indiana.

The True Cost of Getting Tipsy Over a Lifetime

In the table below we highlight the nightly, annual, and hefty lifetime cost of getting tipsy off of beer in all 50 states.

At Upgraded Points, we’re constantly comparing prices of products and services to help travelers save a buck––from beer and cocktails to credit cards and car rentals. The lifetime cost of getting tipsy is substantial. But don’t sweat it too much. There are plenty of cash-back cards and travel cards that can alleviate the price tag of getting tipsy where you live.

Methodology

We surveyed an equal number of respondents in all 50 states in order to make state-by-state comparisons for this study. The survey ran from July 1-16, 2021. The number of beers in each state was calculated by taking the average of each state’s survey responses.

The average cost of getting tipsy in each state for 1 night is based on Numbeo’s cost of one 0.5 L domestic beer (4.5% ABV) from a grocery store. For each state, the average number of beers it takes to get tipsy was multiplied by the average cost of 1 beer in each state.

The annual cost of getting tipsy was calculated by multiplying the cost of getting tipsy off beer for 1 night by 52 days. 52 days equals getting tipsy 1 night per week for 1 year.

The lifetime cost of getting tipsy was calculated by multiplying the annual cost of getting tipsy in each state by each state’s average life expectancy in 2021. The life expectancy age is subtracted by 21, to reflect the years in one’s lifetime where one can legally drink alcohol.