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WATCH: Chicago River dyed green ahead of St. Patrick's Day
It's an annual tradition - large crowds gathered to watch as the Chicago River was dyed green on Saturday.
St. Patrick’s Day has become one of the biggest drinking days of the year. The holiday is a huge moneymaker for pubs as people drink Guinness after Guinness, the most popular drink of the day.
The amount of alcohol sold tallies up to billions of dollars, but the average bar tab tends to be reasonably priced.
On average, an individual's St. Patrick’s Day bar tab for 2023 will be around $44, according to WalletHub. This is up from the 2022 stats produced by the site, which show that each person spent approximately $42 on the holiday. Most of the money spent during the holiday is on beer.
A pint of green beer is poured at Finn McCools Ale House during St. Patricks Day morning on March 17, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
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In comparison to the rest of the year, there is an increase of 174% in beer sales, according to the outlet, with a whopping $6.85 billion spent in total on the day.
Also, according to WalletHub, Guinness, the popular Irish beer, is sold millions of times on St. Patrick's Day. On average, there are more than 13 million pints of Guinness consumed on a worldwide scale.
There is some fluctuation in the amount of money spent and the amount of alcohol consumed on St. Patrick's Day, depending on where you are located.
Based on a 2022 study from Time2play.com, New Jersey, District of Columbia and Nevada are the top three locations in the United States where individuals spend the most money for the holiday. New Jersey is at No. 1 as residents spend an average of $57.76 per person on alcoholic beverages.
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The top 10 states with the highest spending per person and their tabs are:
- New Jersey: $57.76
- District of Columbia: $56.67
- Nevada: $53.18
- Hawaii: $52.50
- Michigan: $52.33
- Texas: $49.94
- Florida: $49.52
- Wisconsin: $48.54
- Massachusetts: $48.16
- New York: $46.58
These states may have spent the most, but their residents didn’t necessarily drink the most. A lot of locations that appear on the list simply charge more per drink.
When it comes to alcohol consumed, Pennsylvania stands at No. 1, according to the study, with the average person having 4.26 drinks.
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The list of states where the residents consume the most drinks are:
- Pennsylvania: 4.26
- Minnesota: 4.19
- Mississippi: 4.16
- Missouri: 4.07
- Nevada: 3.92
- North Dakota: 3.88
- Massachusetts: 3.80
- West Virginia: 3.75
- Florida: 3.68
- Wyoming: 3.60
As far as what people are drinking, Guinness takes the cake as the most popular beverage on St. Patrick's Day. A festive green beer is also a favored option among pub goers as well as shots of Jameson.
If you want to keep the $44 in your pocket but want to partake in the Irish drinking festivities, there are tons of different drinks you can make at home, including Irish mules, green beer (made simply with a drop or two of food coloring), a green bloody Mary, an Irish margarita or even St. Patrick’s Day shots.