How much do people spend partying on St. Patrick's Day?

People spend $40+ partying on average.

How many people attend a St. Patrick's Day parade?

15% will attend a St. Patrick's Day parade.

Where did the first St. Patrick's Day parade take place?

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States, in a town called St. Augustine in Florida.

How many pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick's Day worldwide?

Q: How many pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick's Day?

13,000,000 pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick's Day worldwide.

Q: Where in the U.S. will people drink the most Guinness on St. Patrick's Day?

Presumably in New England where interestingly enough, over 20% of Massachusetts and New Hampshire have Irish ancestry. That's not a small amount.

Guinness is a popular drink that many people enjoy on St. Patrick's Day. Some might even say it is the most popular St. Pattie's Day bevvie.

Written by CraftJack | Updated 03/20/22 | 4 min read

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Friends celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a few pints of Guinness — March 17th never fails to be a great time with friends!

If Guinness is the gold standard for the beer drinking holiday, then Green Beer would take the silver medal in follow up. According to the data, over 13 million pints of Guinness are (responsibly?) enjoyed worldwide on March 17th every year. That is a ton of pints. In fact, it is 6,784 tons to be exact, as 16 fluid ounces weighs .0432 more than 1 pound. How many cups are in those pints?.

That's also assuming we are using a pint as measured by Americans in the United States. An Imperial pint would change that data in ways we are too lazy to calculate at the moment. But the metric system is a better way to ... shhh, let's not worry.

How to draw the Guinness Shamrock

Where in the U.S. will people drink the most Guinness on St. Patrick's Day?

Presumably in New England. Interestingly enough, over 20% of Massachusetts and New Hampshire have Irish ancestry. That's not a small amount of folks who have settled here from the Emerald Isle. Those are fun facts for the day.

St. Paddy's Day is the day of the year where we can relax the rules on the faux war that craft beer lovers are fighting against Big Beverage. That's it, it's just one day in the middle of March that revelers can come together, throw on a green t-shirt, and hoist a few tasty beers (the data suggests it will be a Guinness) together in enjoyment.

Speaking of Massachusetts, Bay State local band, Big Bad Bollocks wrote a song about Guinness. It's outstanding. We'll just leave it here for your enjoyment. You know, and maybe play it at your St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

That's not to say that there aren't other large populations of Irish-Americans in the country. New York City has a large contingency of partygoers with Irish ancestry. Same goes for Illinois where they turn the Chicago River green by dumping 50lbs of dye into it.

Where in the world will people drink the most Guinness on St. Patrick's Day?

Ireland. Full stop. Guinness is the most popular beer in the country that produces it. Sláinte!

Other St. Patrick's Day Facts

People spend $40+ partying on average
30% of people plan some sort of celebration
15% will attend a St. Patrick's Day parade
174% more beer is sold than the average day
153% more booze/spirits are sold than the average day
The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States, in a town called St. Augustine in Florida. Gotta be honest, reallllllly thought that that answer was going to be Boston.
St. Patrick's Day is an annual Irish Holiday celebrating Saint Patrick who died in the 5th century.
According to Insider, Guinness isn't the only thing over-served on St. Patrick's Day, as there is a, "70% increase in cabbage shipments" during the week that the Irish holiday falls on.

St. Patrick's Day Party Appetizers

You know, for those that might be interested in eating whilst they drink a draught.

Corned beef and cabbage sliders
Deviled Eggs
Guinness Dubliner Dip
Irish Nachos (carbs!)
Mini Beef & Guinness Pies
Shamrock-shaped Cupcakes
Soda Bread Pudding

A pint of Guinness in a Guiness pint glass — G-U-I-N-N-E-S-S GUINNESS! | Photo Credit to Erik Jacobson

Wrapping Up

Partiers love this tribute to Saint Patrick. And, it's clear they love the beverage that Arthur Guinness started, because once again, 13 million pints get consumed, a number that is staggering.

To give you an idea of just how large 13 million pints is, New York state, so Upstate NY, New York City, etc., combine to produce 1.2 million barrels of craft beer per year, according to the NY brewers association. Doing some napkin-style math on keg volumes, if Guinness were all that NY produced for a year, 4%+ would be consumed on just one day. Kind of silly to consider.

Anyway, if it weren't for the fact that most people don't get a day off the next day, St. Patrick's might just beat out New Year's Eve for the biggest party day of the year. Maybe Reuters can do a study on that and get back to us. Heck, we'd gladly be a contributor if they asked.

Lastly and in conclusion, be safe and responsible. Know your limits as well as call a cab, Uber, or even your parents/friend to get home on St. Paddy's, as no one needs to be drunk driving.

Enjoy a Guinness and be safe!

Photography Credit

Photo by Erik Jacobson on Unsplash