


It’s estimated that 70% of Americans have had an alcoholic beverage in the past year.

And according to a recent guide released by, Des Moines ranked ninth in the country on a list of cities with the lowest number of non-drinking residents. 

Using data from City-Data, explored the cities with the most (and least) non-drinkers per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities and combined that with the age 18+ population of each city to calculate the actual volume of non-drinkers.


Cities with the highest and lowest percentages of non-drinkers

The highest percentages of non-drinkers: says half of the top 10 cities with the highest percentages of non-drinkers are in California and the majority of these cities are located near the coast or large bodies of water. 

Honolulu, Hawaii was the city with the highest percentage of non-drinkers at 21.20% while Detroit, Michigan came in at 13.40%.

  1. Honolulu, Hawaii: 21.20%
  2. Fremont, California: 15.50%
  3. Hialeah, Florida: 14.60%
  4. San Francisco, California: 14.10%
  5. Detroit, Michigan: 13.40%
  6. Stockton, California: 13.30%
  7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 13.10%
  8. San Jose, California: 13.10%
  9. Jersey City, New Jersey: 13.10%
  10. Irvine, California: 12.90%

The lowest percentages of non-drinkers:

The majority of cities with the lowest percentages of non-drinkers are located in the Southwest. 

  1. Gilbert, Arizona: 9%
  2. Scottsdale, Arizona: 9.10%
  3. Boise, Idaho: 9.20%
  4. Laredo, Texas: 9.30%
  5. Austin, Texas: 9.40%
  6. Santa Ana, California: 9.50%
  7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 9.60%
  8. Phoenix, Arizona: 9.70%
  9. Chandler, Arizona: 9.80%
  10. Plano, Texas: 9.90%

Cities with the highest and lowest numbers of non-drinkers

The city with the lowest number of non-drinkers is Boise, Idaho with 16,363. Des Moines came in ninth-lowest with about 18,884 people.

Chicago, Illinois had the third highest number of non-drinkers at 230,089 while New York, New York had the highest at 804,420.

The highest numbers of non-drinkers:

  1. New York, New York: 804,420
  2. Riverside, California: 329,540
  3. Chicago, Illinois: 230,089
  4. El Paso, Texas: 169,138
  5. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 161,533
  6. Bakersfield, California: 123,782
  7. Arlington, Texas: 118,385
  8. Chandler, Arizona: 116,648
  9. San Francisco, California: 111,674
  10. Lubbock, Texas: 95,881

The lowest numbers of non-drinkers:

  1. Boise, Idaho: 16,363
  2. Gilbert, Arizona: 17,122
  3. Plano, Texas: 17,300
  4. Dallas, Texas: 18,029
  5. Laredo, Texas: 18,084
  6. Virginia Beach, Virginia: 18,537
  7. Chesapeake, Virginia: 18,607
  8. Reno, Nevada: 18,879
  9. Des Moines, Iowa: 18,884
  10. Los Angeles, California: 18,906

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