Insights

National average. Across the U.S. cities surveyed, the average DUI rate is 17.07 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. The average DUI rate on the state level is 5.49 DUIs per 1,000 drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 10,511 drunk driving fatalities occurred in the U.S. in 2018.

No East Coast cities made the rankings. The twenty cities with the highest DUI rates are located in the Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest regions of the United States. However, this does not mean that drunk driving is less of a serious issue on the East Coast. While no East Coast states are within the top 10 in the rankings of states with the most DUIs — the East Coast state with the highest DUI rate is North Carolina, which is 12th in the nation — the region has experienced a substantial number of deaths caused by drunk drivers. NHTSA statistics from 2018 show that some of the states with particularly high numbers of drunk driving-related fatalities were Florida (814), North Carolina (421), and Georgia (375).

High rates of drunk driving in cities across the Golden State and Centennial State. California and Colorado are tied for having the most cities in the rankings for the highest DUI rates — both the Golden and Centennial states have four cities each that made the list. On the state level, California and Colorado are both within the top 10 states with the highest DUI rates, at 9th and 6th place, respectively. Many of the other cities that made the list are also located in states with particularly high DUI rates overall — Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin make up 5 of the top 10 states with the most DUIs per 1,000 drivers.

Methodology

The data science and research team at Insurify, a website to compare auto insurance quotes, turned to its database of over 2.5 million car insurance applicants to find the cities with the most DUIs. When submitting an application for car insurance, drivers disclose their driving record, including whether or not they've had a DUI within the past seven years. Insurify's data scientists compared the number of drivers that cited a DUI on their record to the total pool of car owners for over one thousand cities across the United States. The cities with the highest volume of drivers with a DUI on record per 1,000 drivers were identified as the cities with the most DUIs. Statewide statistics on drunk driving fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2018 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes Overview.

Cities with the Most DUIs

20. Fayetteville, AR

Drivers with a DUI on record: 41.88 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 5.24 out of 1,000 drivers (23rd in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 134

19. Farmington, NM

Drivers with a DUI on record: 42.39 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 6.81 out of 1,000 drivers (16th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 108

18. Menifee, CA

Drivers with a DUI on record: 42.54 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.60 out of 1,000 drivers (9th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 1,069

17. Billings, MT

Drivers with a DUI on record: 42.61 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 11.47 out of 1,000 drivers (3rd in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 79

16. Clovis, CA

Drivers with a DUI on record: 43.33 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.60 out of 1,000 drivers (9th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 1,069

15. Coeur D'Alene, ID

Drivers with a DUI on record: 43.48 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.24 out of 1,000 drivers (11th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 58

14. Longmont, CO

Drivers with a DUI on record: 43.63 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 9.47 out of 1,000 drivers (6th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 188

13. Caldwell, ID

Drivers with a DUI on record: 43.69 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.24 out of 1,000 drivers (11th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 58

12. Sioux City, IA

Drivers with a DUI on record: 44.03 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 6.83 out of 1,000 drivers (15th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 85

11. Golden, CO

Drivers with a DUI on record: 45.15 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 9.47 out of 1,000 drivers (6th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 188

10. Ventura, CA

Drivers with a DUI on record: 45.67 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.60 out of 1,000 drivers (9th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 1,069

9. Fort Collins, CO

Drivers with a DUI on record: 46.93 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 9.47 out of 1,000 drivers (6th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 188

8. Costa Mesa, CA

Drivers with a DUI on record: 47.58 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.60 out of 1,000 drivers (9th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 1,069

7. Cheyenne, WY

Drivers with a DUI on record: 49.57 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 13.97 out of 1,000 drivers (1st in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 34

6. Rapid City, SD

Drivers with a DUI on record: 50.43 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 8.28 out of 1,000 drivers (10th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 45

5. Casper, WY

Drivers with a DUI on record: 50.85 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 13.97 out of 1,000 drivers (1st in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 34

4. Bozeman, MT

Drivers with a DUI on record: 55.87 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 11.47 out of 1,000 drivers (3rd in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 79

3. Rochester, MN

Drivers with a DUI on record: 57.09 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 9.91 out of 1,000 drivers (5th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 105

2. Loveland, CO

Drivers with a DUI on record: 61.95 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 9.47 out of 1,000 drivers (6th in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 188

1. Gillette, WY

Drivers with a DUI on record: 68.56 out of 1,000
Statewide DUI rate: 13.97 out of 1,000 drivers (1st in the nation)
Drunk driving fatalities (statewide): 34

If you have questions or comments about this article, please contact insights@insurify.com.

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Rambling with Tim Palmer

Rambling with Tim Palmer