Do colder states binge drink more?

Richard Florida (writing for The Atlantic's urban-focused site, Atlantic Cities) decided to investigate whether there's a link between binge drinking and cold weather.

It's an interesting question - and one with any number of possible explanations. Charting (what we take to be) average winter temperatures per states against binge drinking rates, they find a correlation - binge drinking rates are noticably higher in colder Northeastern and Midwestern states than they are in the country at large.

We compared this to our data on underage alcohol consumption and binge drinking, and found the trend to be much the same. As you can see from our chart below, the top 13 states for underage drinking and binge drinking are all from the Midwest and the Northeast, both regions fairly chilly.

Of course, correlation does not equal causation, and we certainly don't think that, say, global warming will have any effect on binge drinking. Nevertheless, it's an interesting look at the CDC's recent data.

Photo via Lukinosity