The 10 US states consuming the most rum
Florida was the biggest market for rum volume sales in the US last year, but can you guess which northeastern state led the per capita rankings?
Park Street, a digital platform that supports alcohol suppliers in the US, cited data from Beverage Information Group on the 10 biggest states for rum.
Rum remains one of the biggest-selling spirits categories in the US. According to data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (Discus), rum was the fifth-biggest spirit category by volume.
The spirit shifted 20.7 million nine-litre cases in the US in 2024; however, this represented an 8.9% decline in volume sales compared with the previous year, when volume sales stood at 22.7m cases. It presents a year-on-year decrease for the category, as volume sales declined by 5.7% in 2023.
Park Street revealed Florida remains the leading state for rum sales with 2.6m cases sold last year. This was attributed to the state’s tropical climate, ‘robust’ tourism sector and ‘coastal lifestyle culture’.
California has also maintained its stronghold as the second-biggest state for rum, selling nearly 2m cases last year.
This was followed by New York in the third spot, with 1.5m cases consumed in 2024. Park Street described the New York City metropolitan area as one of the nation’s most significant markets for rum.
After New York is neighbouring state New Jersey, where more than 883,000 cases were sold in 2024. Inching very close to New Jersey is Texas, which Park Street said sold 883,000 cases.
Finishing up the top 10 states for rum volumes were: Illinois (865,000 cases), Michigan (853,000 cases), Pennsylvania (833,000 cases), Wisconsin (650,000 cases) and Minnesota (638,000 cases).
In terms of per capita, New Hampshire topped the rankings with 232 cases per 1,000 residents.
North Dakota came second with 178 cases per 1,000 locals, closely followed by Alaska at 165 cases.
The other states driving rum consumption per capita were: Minnesota (150 cases per 1,000 residents), Wisconsin (146 cases), Maine (144 cases), Florida (142 cases), New Jersey (129 cases), Hawaii (124 cases) and Iowa (120 cases).
Park Street noted that northern states “unexpectedly” led per capita data, alongside the predictable coastal leaders.
“The strong showing by Upper Midwest states like North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin suggests that rum consumption transcends climate stereotypes, with regional drinking cultures and traditions playing significant roles beyond simple weather patterns,” Park Street said.
California is the biggest US state for American whiskey and Tequila volume sales, according to Park Street.
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