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Near failure: Houston barely squeezes onto drunkest cities in America list

Just in time for New Year's Eve, The Daily Beast released its list of drunkest cities in America — with Texas scoring three solid spots in the Top 25.

Houston just made it into the rankings at No. 25, with Austin taking seventh and San Antonio placing fifth. Here's the top 10:

Boston
Springfield, Mass.
Milwaukee
Reno
San Antonio
Chicago
Austin
St. Louis
San Diego
Tucson

Not too many surprises, really. Milwaukee and St. Louis have their breweries. San Antonio has its Riverwalk. The rest have hearty student populations. (Springfield, by the way, is the major hub of New England's Knowledge Corridor, a region that boasts more than 30 universities and colleges.)

As with last year's inaugural list, Daily Beast statisticians looked to drinking information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and consumption data from market-research firm Experian Simmons.

The average monthly number of drinks per person ranged from about 13 to 16, with Milwaukee leading the pack at 15.7 and Cleveland maintaining the most self-restraint at 13.3. The Texas cities ranked right in the middle with San Antonio at 14.2, Houston at 14.3 and Austin at 15.5.

Two types of carousers were established — heavy drinker and binge drinkers — to present a more accurate portrayal each city's average number of drinks. Lincoln, Neb. had the highest number of bingers with 22.7 percent of its over-age population, while San Francisco claimed only 14 percent. Houston fell near the national average of 15 percent, as Austin and San Antonio scored about 18 percent and 19 percent respectively.

CultureMap contacted the Houston Department of Health and Human Services to secure some words of wisdom for the city's binge drinkers this New Year's Eve.

"Basically, just eat a full meal before you go out," said department spokesperson Kathy Barton. "Then you're less likely to over drink. Other than that, have a designated driver or avoid driving all together.

"Any 12-year-old could give you that advice," she laughed. "Seriously, this is not a complicated new theory."

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All are welcome

Texas’ remarkable diversity earns No. 2 in new nationwide study

Photo from the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Festival at the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Community Center.

MLK, Jr. Community Center

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Capturing the vastly diverse landscape of America is no easy feat, but one new study analyzing diversity across all 50 states has determined Texas is the second most diverse state in the country.

According to WalletHub's annual "Most Diverse States in America" report, Texas' diversity falls second to California, which ranked No. 1. The study ranked each state based on six main categories: Socioeconomic diversity, cultural diversity, economic diversity, household diversity, religious diversity, and political diversity.

Texas earned a score of 70.48 points out of a possible 100, falling behind by less than a third of a percentage point behind California's 70.77 score.

As one of the biggest states in America – that also happens to border another country – Texas' ranking got a major boost just from its incredibly diverse (and large) population. WalletHub found Texas has the fourth-most racial and ethnic diversity nationwide, with a population that is 40 percent white, nearly 40 percent Hispanic, nearly 12 percent Black, and 5 percent Asian.

Though many may associate diversity with just racial and ethnic identities, diversity also encompasses many other cultural perspectives. For example, the study revealed Texas has the third-most language diversity in the U.S., and about 35 percent of residents speak a non-English language at home. The state also claimed No. 3 for the most religious diversity, and No. 4 for household size diversity.

But it's the Lone Star State's economic diversity that shines above the rest of America, WalletHub said, as Texas does have the fourth most prosperous state economy in the nation.

"Texas really stands out in terms of industrial diversity, though, leading the country when it comes to the range of jobs residents have to choose from," the report said.

A Texas city like Houston, which ranked as the No. 1 most diverse city in America in 2024, is a great example of how diverse communities can foster new perspectives, greater versatility, and economic prosperity.

The states that lagged far behind Texas with the worst diversity were mostly situated on the East Coast. West Virginia (No. 50) claimed the unfortunate title as the least diverse state in America, followed by Maine (No. 49), New Hampshire (No. 48), Vermont (No. 47), and Montana (No. 46).

The top 10 most diverse states in America are:

No. 1 – California
No. 2 – Texas
No. 3 – Florida
No. 4 – New Mexico
No. 5 – Hawaii
No. 6 – Nevada
No. 7 – New Jersey
No. 8 – New York
No. 9 – Maryland
No. 10 – Arizona

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.

texas rankings diversity wallethub reports