Source: Port City Daily and SmartAsset
From the mountains in Asheville to the coast in Wilmington, you can find many things while taking a trip east or west on Interstate 40 in North Carolina.
Outside of the beautiful scenic views in both regions, you will see the hustle and bustle cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh. In the college basketball world, this strip of the interstate is also known as Tobacco Road due to the rich tradition of college basketball played by the universities that reside off the exits of Interstate 40.
With North Carolina having many charming elements that attract new residents from all over the world, Wilmington and Asheville have found themselves adding another accolade to North Carolina’s charm. The two cities are ranked in the top 50 cities for beer drinkers by the folks at SmartAsset. Yep, add beer as another reason to visit these two cities.
SmartAsset conducted its survey by comparing 393 cities across the country. Metrics used for the ranking were the total number of breweries per 100,000 residents along with the average number of beers per brewery and finally how many bars each city had per 100,000 residents and the average price of a pint. Two critical categories for you beer lovers: who has the most breweries in a populated area with affordable prices?
Asheville made the top five list coming in at number five on the board. Asheville ranks 1st overall for the number of breweries per 100,000 residents with 26 and ranked 27th for the number of beers per brewery with 118. The average price for a beer in Asheville is $5, which is not too bad. The city was also ranked for festivals, nano-breweries and taprooms. Take a trip to the mountains and enjoy a beer with beautiful mountain views.
Wilmington came in ranked as the 30th best place for beer. The Port City was scored with having around 13 breweries per 100,000 residents and the average price of beer was also $5. Port City breweries have an average of 40 beers on tap per brewery. Wilmington is scheduled to have a few more breweries opening in 2023, just in time for the summer beach and tourism season.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tops the list as the top place for beer drinkers in the country. This is probably the time to insert some jokes on the sports teams there outside of the Steelers but I’ll be a good sport today. The Steel City ranked as one of the lowest in the average price of beer at $4 per pint. Pittsburg has 33 total breweries with an average of 11 breweries per 100,000 residents.
The team at NC Voices reminds you to drink responsibly when consuming alcohol. Do not drink and drive because it is dangerous and against the law.
Read more about the rankings and criteria here.
