America's Drunkest City

Milwaukee has been ranked by Forbes.com as "America's Drunkest City," based on information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 70 percent of adult Milwaukeeans reported that they had at least one alcoholic drink within the past 30 days. That compares with 45 percent in Nashville, Tenn., which ranked last among the 35 cities on the list.

Officials at Visit Milwaukee, the area's convention and visitors bureau, contend that the city has come a long way in ridding itself of its beer-guzzling image. A spokesman said Milwaukee has gone from Brew City to new city with the Milwaukee Art Museum expansion, the convention center and baseball park.

To do the study, Forbes ranked each city in five areas: state laws, number of drinkers, number of heavy drinkers, number of binge drinkers and alcoholism.

Coming in second on the Forbes list is another cold metropolitan area: Minneapolis-St. Paul. The twin cities ranked No. 2 for adults who reported having had a drink in the last month, No. 3 for binge drinkers and No. 12 for heavy drinkers, according to Forbes.

Completing the list of the top five drunkest cities are Columbus, Ohio; Boston; and Austin, Texas.

Forbes pointed out some surprising results. Some stereotypically "partying" cities didn't rank high on the list. Las Vegas came in at only No. 14; New Orleans, home to Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras, only ranked in 24th place. And a town known for spring-break revelers, Miami, was only No. 33 on a list of 35 cities.

Forbes.com's Top Drinking Cities

1. Milwaukee
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
3. Columbus, Ohio
4. Boston
5. Austin, Texas
6. Chicago
7. Cleveland
8 Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia
9. Providence, R.I. (tied)
11. St. Louis
12. San Antonio
13. Seattle
14. Las Vegas
15. Denver/Boulder
16. Cincinnati
16. Kansas City (tied)
18. Houston
19. Portland, Ore.
20. San Francisco-Oakland
20. Washington-Baltimore (tied)
22. Phoenix
23. Los Angeles
24. New Orleans
24. Tampa (tied)
26. Norfolk
27. Dallas-Fort Worth
28. Atlanta
28. Detroit (tied)
30. Indianapolis
31. Orlando
32. New York
33. Miami
34. Charlotte, N.C.
35. Nashville