The States Where Americans Spend the Most on Nights Out in 2026

April, 2026

Nightlife spending varies sharply across the United States. In some states, consumers spend more on alcohol, the cost of going out runs higher, and nightlife businesses operate at a larger scale. In others, smaller venue bases and lower spending levels point to a much more limited after-dark economy.

To identify the U.S. states with the strongest nightlife spending, Giggster scored all 50 states based on their performance across three metrics, producing an overall Nightlife spending index. Using the most recent data available, the rankings provide a timely view of which states look best positioned for nightlife spending in 2026.

Using the most recent data available, the report ranks each category separately before combining them into an overall Nightlife Spending Index, giving both a metric-by-metric view and a broader picture of which states appear strongest for nightlife spending in 2026.

View our full methodology and breakdown here.

Table of Contents

• U.S. States With the Strongest Nightlife Scene
• The Most Expensive States for a Night Out
• Where Americans Spend the Most on Alcohol
• States With the Biggest Nightlife Industry
• Key Terms

Key Takeaways

• Colorado ranked first in the nightlife spending index, combining a high alcohol spending of $1.2K and the nationwide highest cost of going out at $5.7K per person annually.

• The West dominates in the nightlife spending index, with Colorado (No. 1), California (No. 2), Alaska (No. 4), Hawaii (No. 7), Montana (No. 8), and Oregon (No. 10) all placing in the top 10.

• Nationwide, the annual cost of going out ranges from $3K in West Virginia to the $5.7K in Colorado, a gap of almost $2.6K between the least and most expensive states.

• The West and Northeast lead in alcohol spending, with average per-person annual spending of about $1K.

U.S. States With the Strongest Nightlife Scene

What the data says:

• Colorado ranks first in the Nightlife Spending Index, followed by California (No. 2) and Massachusetts (No. 3), while Mississippi ranks last, with West Virginia (No. 49) and Utah (No. 48) also among the lowest-ranked states.

• California is the only state nationwide with both the largest nightlife business base, at almost 3,500 establishments, and one of the highest costs of going out, at $5.1K per person annually.

• The Midwest and South have the lowest average nightlife spending index scores of any U.S. regions, with Alabama (No. 46), Kentucky (No. 45), Arkansas (No. 44), Oklahoma (No. 43), Ohio, and Indiana (tied at No. 41) all ranking near the bottom.

The Most Expensive States for a Night Out

What the data says:

• Four Western states recorded the annual going out cost above $5K per person: Colorado ($5.7K), Hawaii ($5.4K), Alaska, and California ($5.1K both), exceeding the nationwide average of $4.1K.

• Mid-range states generally have costs of about $3.8K to $4.2K annually per person, including Texas, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, and New Jersey.

• Lower-cost states are concentrated mainly in the South and Midwest, with West Virginia being the lowest nationwide ($3.08K), followed by Arkansas ($3.1K) and Iowa ($3.3K).
  

Where Americans Spend the Most on Alcohol

What the data says:

• The Western states of Alaska (No. 1), Wyoming (No. 2), and Colorado (No. 3) rank among the top 10 states for alcohol spending, each at about $300 above the nationwide average of $900.

• Utah is the lowest alcohol-spending state nationwide, at about $600 per person annually.

• Alcohol spending ranges from about $600 to $1.2K per person annually, a spread of roughly $650 between the lowest- and highest-spending states.

States With the Biggest Nightlife Industry

What the data says:

• California (No. 1), New York (No. 2), and Texas (No. 3) rank as the states with the nation’s largest numbers of nightlife establishments.

• The Midwest has the largest nightlife business footprint in the country, with 13,412 establishments, followed by the South with 10,214, the West with 9,414, and the Northeast with 7,674.

• New Hampshire has the fewest nightlife establishments nationwide, with just 34, followed by Delaware (78) and Vermont (102).

Key Terms

Methodology

This report evaluates nightlife spending conditions across 50 U.S. states. The analysis compares states across three measures: alcohol spending, the cost of going out, and the availability of nightlife venues.

Alcohol Spending Proxy

This category measures estimated alcohol spending per adult. 

Data was retrieved from the U.S. Census Bureau (2024 data, the most recent available).

Primary spending: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Personal Consumption Expenditures by State.

Population denominator: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates.

To estimate alcohol spending per adult:

• State-level spending on off-premises alcoholic beverages was divided by the adult population age 21 and older in each state.
• Adult population figures were calculated using U.S. Census Bureau ACS 1-year estimates.
• States were then ranked from highest to lowest based on the resulting per-adult alcohol spending values.

Cost of Going Out

This category measures the relative cost of going out across states.

Data was retrieved from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (2024 data, the most recent available).

Primary spending source: BEA — Personal Consumption Expenditures by State.
Price-adjustment source: BEA — Regional Price Parities (RPPs) by State and Metro Area.

The category serves as a proxy for the cost of going out because it reflects state-level spending on food services and accommodations, adjusted for regional price variation.

Nightlife Venues

This category measures the size of each state’s nightlife venue base.

It refers specifically to bars, taverns, nightclubs, and other drinking places primarily engaged in serving alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption. It may include venues with limited food service, but does not include restaurants, liquor stores, social clubs, alcohol-free dance clubs, or beverage manufacturers. 

Data was retrieved from the U.S. Census Bureau (2022 data, the most recent available).

Nightlife Establishments: NAICS 722410, Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages).

Nightlife Spending Index

The Nightlife Spending Index is a weighted composite score designed to compare overall nightlife spending conditions across all 50 states. It combines three measures: alcohol spending, cost of going out, and nightlife venues. 

The final index was calculated using the following weights:

Nightlife Spending Index = (0.40 × Alcohol Spend Proxy) + (0.40 × Cost of Going Out) + (0.20 × Nightlife Venues)

Weighting rationale: Alcohol Spend Proxy and Cost of Going Out were each assigned a 40% weight because they serve as the two primary spending-based indicators in the index. Nightlife Venues were assigned a 20% weight as a secondary measure of venue availability rather than direct consumer spending.

The resulting index ranges from 0 to 100, where:

• 0 indicates the lowest relative performance across the three factors

• 100 indicates the theoretical maximum relative performance across the three factors

Higher scores indicate states where nightlife spending appears stronger overall. In this dataset, the highest observed score is 93.2.

Ranking Convention

Where multiple states received the same score, they were assigned the same rank. The next rank is numbered consecutively. Each category is ranked separately.

Things to Keep in Mind 

The metrics used in this report are approximate indicators designed to capture different dimensions of nightlife spending, rather than direct measures of nightlife activity itself. As a result, patterns shown in the index should be interpreted as comparative and directional, not definitive.

The relationships between alcohol spending, going-out costs, and nightlife venues are analytical rather than causal. A higher or lower score does not necessarily reflect a state’s nightlife quality, popularity, or cultural significance, but rather its relative position across the measures included in this analysis.