Vermont Can Boast the Most Breweries Per Capita in the U.S.

Vermont is obviously a U.S. craft beer hotbed, and arguably the primary birthplace of modern, hazy IPA, but it’s still a little bit surprising to realize that it actually has more breweries per capita than any other U.S. state—and it’s really not even close, either. According to some new data from market research firm C+R Research, Vermont pretty much runs away with the title.

According to the findings, for every 100,000 adults over the age of 21, there are roughly 11.5 breweries in Vermont. That sheer number of breweries, relative to its population, also helps Vermont take first place in terms of the amount of beer produced per capita—roughly 151.2 pints per year, for every person over the age of 21. That is quite a bit of beer, right there.

Trailing behind Vermont on the list in terms of breweries per 100,000 residents are states both surprising (Montana, at 9.6) and less shocking (Maine, also 9.6). The top five is rounded out by Oregon (8.5 per 100,000) and Colorado (8.4). Meanwhile, in terms of pints per resident, the rest of the top five includes Delaware (101), Alaska (96), Pennsylvania (96) and Colorado (91). Obviously, population density is coming into play here, but the numbers are still interesting.

Colorado, meanwhile, is able to call itself champion in terms of economic impact per capita, as Colorado breweries have an economic impact of roughly $764 per person, while Vermont is #2 at $681 per person. According to C+R, “these numbers represent the overall output of the craft beer industry in each state based on the 21+ population.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Paste’s home state of Georgia doesn’t fare well on many of these metrics. Despite all the beer industry growth experienced around the Atlanta area in the last few years, Georgia still ranks #49 in terms of breweries per 100,000 residents at .9, better only than Mississippi, which has .6 per 100,000. It suggests that despite the rapid growth around Atlanta in particular, there’s still plenty of room for more breweries throughout the state if Georgia is ever going to draw closer to the national average.

You can check out the full suite of additional statistics by clicking here.