“It ain't no party like a Jersey party,

'Cause a Jersey party don't stop.

I said it ain't no party like a Jersey party,

'Cause a Jersey party don't stop.”

OK, sorry, Kid Rock, it’s supposed to be a Detroit party, but I took some poetic license there.

But is it true? Is New Jersey a hardcore party state?

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Canva / TSM Illustration
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A new study has ranked the best party states in the U.S., revealing which places have the perfect mix of bars, clubs, alcohol consumption, and late-night entertainment. If you’re looking for the party life, you’ll raise a glass if we are ranked high. If you have college kids or young drivers you worry about, you might cheers us being a more laid-back state.

So, let’s dive in.

First of all, we are not No. 1. While that’s not shocking, who will be No. 1 will be.

When event venue pros HeadBox ranked states based on nightlife, they found that the state with the most bars and clubs per 100,000 people belonged to Montana. Believe it or not, they say Montana is the hardest partying state, with 115 bars and clubs per 100,000 residents. Plus, they have an excessive drinking rate of 24%, not to mention legalized marijuana.

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I don’t think we had Montana on our hardest partying bingo card.

Are we at least in the top 10?

We are not.

North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Maine, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Alaska.

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So what gives? Where is New Jersey?

Turns out we’re pretty vanilla. We rank 38th on the list of best states to party. While it might feel like we have a lot of bars, the Garden State has only 21.63 bars and clubs per 100,000 residents. Our excessive drinking rate is 16.7%. Yes, we have recreational marijuana, but all things considered, our overall score was a 25.83 compared to No. 1 Montana’s 82.41.

So if you like to party and this didn’t give you a reason to celebrate, take comfort that we’re not dead last. Utah, to no one’s surprise, is in 50th place.

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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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