3 Bay Area Cities Make Nation's 50 "drunkest"

Cheers to Fremont, the 32nd most dangerously drunk city in America.
Not exactly the kind of toast residents were raising glasses to when the town celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, but according to the December issue of Men's Health Magazine, Fremont doesn't handle its liquor too well.

Denver was rated the drunkest city, followed by Anchorage, Alaska. Durham, N.C., was the soberest.

In the Bay Area, Oakland ranked 29th, three spots worse than Fremont, and San Francisco ranked 34th. All three cities scored a D-plus.

San Jose finished 61st with a C-plus.

"I don't believe it," Fremont police Detective Bill Veteran said of Fremont's ranking.

"We don't have that many bars and our only large nightclub isn't a problem."

Mayor Bob Wasserman, a former police chief, was blunter. The study's authors "were probably smoking something when they wrote that," he said.

"From my experience in Fremont and working in four other California cities, I think that's ridiculous."

The rankings are based on alcohol-related liver deaths and binge drinking data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DUI arrest rates compiled by the FBI, fatal car accidents involving alcohol compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and grades given to cities by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for their efforts to curb excessive drinking.

Men's Health didn't include the statistics in its one-page article that hit newsstands last week.

The only alcohol-related statistics Fremont police had on hand Tuesday were drunken driving arrests, of which there were 314 last year - 29 more than in 2004, when the city didn't make Men's Health's 100 Drunkest City rankings.

Comparing DUI statistics is arbitrary, Veteran cautioned, because the city's figures don't include arrests made by the California Highway Patrol, and arrest numbers vary with enforcement procedures.

Another article

Congratulations, Oakland (29th), Fremont (32nd), and San Francisco (34th) -- you made it on the top 50 drunkest cities in the U.S. list. At least, according to the December issue of the body dysmorphia-inducing rag Men's Health Magazine. The rankings are based on alcohol-related liver deaths, "binge drinking data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," FBI-culled drunk driving arrest numbers, death-related auto accidents that involved booze, and "grades given to cities by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for their efforts to curb excessive drinking." Cheers, everyone.

What's hysterical, though, according to the SJ Merc, is Fremont Police Detective Bill Veteran's shock and awe at discovering his pretty little town isn't as virginal as he believed. Shaking his in disbelief with a tear falling down his rough cheek, or maybe not, he says, "I don't believe it ... we don't have that many bars and our only large nightclub isn't a problem." Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman then chimes in to say that the "study's authors 'were probably smoking something when they wrote that.'" To which we say, admitting your city has a problem is the first step. We'll get through this together, Mayor Wasserman. Shhh, it's OK.

Besides, wouldn't you drink into dull stupors if you had to live in Fremont? Of course you would. But on the brighter side, at least the glossy thinks that Fremont is the healthiest city for men. Huh. Go figure.

And the drunkest of them all, you ask? Denver grabbed the number one spot, with Anchorage, Alaska coming in at a close number two.

Most Dangerously Drunk
100 Denver, CO F
99 Anchorage, AK F
98 Colorado Springs, CO F
97 Omaha, NE F
96 Fargo, ND F
95 San Antonio, TX F
94 Austin, TX F
93 Fresno, CA F
92 Lubbock, TX F
91 Milwaukee, WI F
90 El Paso, TX F
89 Spokane, WA F
88 Washington, DC F
87 Columbia, SC F
86 St. Louis, MO D-
85 Bakersfield, CA D-
84 San Diego, CA D
83 Cheyenne, WY D
82 Aurora, CO D
81 Houston, TX D
80 Portland, OR D
79 Seattle, WA D
78 Boise, ID D
77 Tucson, AZ D+
76 Dallas, TX D+
75 Jacksonville, FL D+
74 Toledo, OH D+
73 Madison, WI D+
72 Oakland, CA D+
71 Modesto, CA D+
70 Billings, MT D+
69 Fremont, CA D+
68 Oklahoma City, OK D+
67 San Francisco, CA D+
66 Sacramento, CA D+
65 Los Angeles, CA D+
64 Phoenix, AZ D+
63 Albuquerque, NM D+
62 Chicago, IL D+
61 Providence, RI D+
60 Fort Wayne, IN C-
59 Manchester, NH C-
58 Charleston, WV C-
57 Burlington, VT C-
56 Lincoln, NE C-
55 Corpus Christi, TX C-
54 Des Moines, IA C-
53 Indianapolis, IN C-
52 Pittsburgh, PA C-
51 Honolulu, HI C-
50 St. Paul, MN C
49 Tampa, FL C
48 Greensboro, NC C
47 Las Vegas, NV C
46 Baltimore, MD C
45 Riverside, CA C
44 Norfolk, VA C
43 Detroit, MI C+
42 Arlington, TX C+
41 Grand Rapids, MI C+
40 San Jose, CA C+
39 St. Petersburg, FL C+
38 Nashville, TN C+
37 Charlotte, NC C+
36 Wilmington, DE C+
35 Orlando, FL C+
34 Minneapolis, MN C+
33 Kansas City, MO C+
32 Fort Worth, TX C+
31 Tulsa, OK C+
30 Anaheim, CA B-
29 Wichita, KS B-
28 Lexington, KY B-
27 Philadelphia, PA B-
26 Montgomery, AL B-
25 Rochester, NY B-
24 Raleigh, NC B
23 Cincinnati, OH B
22 Louisville, KY B
21 Bangor, ME B
20 Memphis, TN B
19 Boston, MA B
18 Hartford, CT B+
17 Sioux Falls, SD B+
16 Birmingham, AL B+
15 Baton Rouge, LA B+
14 Columbus, OH B+
13 Cleveland, OH B+
12 Atlanta, GA B+
11 Newark, NJ B+

Least Dangerously Drunk
10 Jersey City, NJ B+
9 Richmond, VA B+
8 New York, NY B+
7 Little Rock, AR A-
6 Salt Lake City, UT A-
5 Yonkers, NY A-
4 Jackson, MS A
3 Buffalo, NY A
2 Miami, FL A
1 Durham, NC A+