Which South Carolina counties have the most binge drinkers?

DILLON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) – A little more than one in 20 adults in Dillon County binge drink in a month – the lowest rate in South Carolina.

Meanwhile, in the worst county for binge drinking, almost one-quarter of adults had a binge-drinking event within a month, according to a 2020 community profile report from the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.

The report looks at the number of adults in a county who reported that they had had at least one binge- drinking event within the last 30 days. Data was not listed for a handful of counties.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines binge drinking as consuming at least five alcoholic drinks in one occasion for men, or four or more drinks for women.

Most people who binge drink do not have a severe alcohol use disorder, the CDC said, but the behavior is linked to serious injuries and diseases.

One in six adults binge drink, with one-quarter doing it at least weekly, according to the CDC. Binge drinking is twice as common among men, adults with a household income of more than $75,000, people who are white or who live in the Midwest. 

Of high school students who binge drink, 44% have at least eight drinks in a row, according to the CDC.

Here are the state’s top 10 counties with the highest rate of binge drinkers:

1. Charleston – 24.12%
2. Lexington – 19.01%
3. Beaufort – 18.22%
4. Edgefield – 17.61%
5. Pickens – 17.25%
6. Chester – 17.20%
7. Dorchester – 17.05%
8. Berkeley – 16.80%
9. Greenwood – 16.69%
10. Richland – 16.61%

Here are the state’s 10 counties with the lowest rate of binge drinkers:

26: Tie between Darlington and Williamsburg – 11.72%

28. Greenville – 11.56%

29. Florence – 10.50%

30. Lancaster – 10.46%

31. Spartanburg – 10.26%

32. Clarendon – 9.63%

33. Chesterfield – 8.55%

34. Laurens – 7.64%

35. Kershaw – 6.97%

36. Dillon – 6.45%