The 25 Best American Cities for Beer

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  Written by Francesca Ortegren

Americans are chomping at the bit to get out and socialize. And, we’re closer to doing so now than we have been in the past 14 months. The bar and restaurant industry took a major blow in pandemic times with lockdowns, reduced capacity, and social distancing, but there’s now the opportunity for a resurrection with a semblance of the Roaring Twenties. And the craft beer industry, in particular, is poised to capitalize on this.

Since 2010, 5% of the market volume of beer sales has shifted from large brewers and importers to smaller ones. Anheuser-Busch specifically has lost nearly 10% of market volume, as drinkers look toward craft beers, small batches, ciders and spiked seltzers. Overall, Americans are in search of craft beers from local or smaller breweries and a greater diversity of options.

A new study by Real Estate Witch, a site that helps home buyers and sellers, found the best American cities for beer — based on the factors beer enthusiasts care about. They ranked these cities based on weighting for the number of breweries within each metro area, the density of breweries per 100 square miles, the number of beers per brewery and the number of beer styles per brewery.

1. San Francisco, California

San Francisco gains the top spot mostly because it has an impressive density of breweries within its metro area — an average of six breweries per 100 square miles. That’s double the density of the next city on the list. San Francisco is known for packing a lot into a small amount of space — from housing to breweries. San Fran has a total of 144 breweries and an average of 19 beers per brewery. On average, there are 11 beer styles per brewery.

Overall, California is the state with the greatest number of craft breweries in the U.S., totalling 958 and resulting in a $9.661 billion economic impact for the state.

2. Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis has 102 breweries and an average of 39 beers per brewery — that’s more than any other city on the list. On average, there are 20 beer styles per brewery. Beer is so much a part of the city that they’ve integrated it into their tourism campaign. And they’re doing something right — according to the Brewers of Indiana Guild, the beer industry fuels more than $1 billion of the state’s overall economy.

3. Chicago, Illinois

The Second City has an incredible count of 180 breweries — the second-highest number of breweries on the list. Chicago also has an average of 32 beers per brewery and 15 beer styles per brewery.

If you travel to Chicago, be sure to check out Field Museum and The Bean, a work of public art in the heart of the city — in addition to the beer, of course.

4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The City of Brotherly Love has 139 breweries and an average of 26 beers per brewery. On average, there are 15 beer styles per brewery. There’s a reason the show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is such a hit!

Pennsylvania as a whole ranks second in both economic impact, at 5.556 billion, and in production, at 3,156,074 barrels of craft beer produced per year.

5. Los Angeles, California

L.A. has 158 breweries and an average of 32 beers per brewery. On average, there are 15 beer styles per brewery.

6. Portland, Oregon

Portland has 183 breweries (the most on the list) and an average of 19 beers per brewery. On average, there are 11 beer styles per brewery.

7. Denver, Colorado

Denver has 155 breweries and an average of 24 beers per brewery. On average, there are 14 beer styles per brewery.

8. Tampa, Florida

Tampa has 83 breweries and an average of 29 beers per brewery. On average, there are 13 beer styles per brewery.

9. Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland has 49 breweries and an average of 33 beers per brewery. On average, there are 17 beer styles per brewery.

10. San Diego, California

San Diego has 69 breweries and an average of 36 beers per brewery. On average, there are 14 beer styles per brewery.

11. Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati has 67 breweries and an average of 33 beers per brewery. On average, there are 17 beer styles per brewery.

12. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Minneapolis-St. Paul has 121 breweries and an average of 18 beers per brewery. On average, there are 12 beer styles per brewery.

13. Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore has 55 breweries and an average of 30 beers per brewery. On average, there are 14 beer styles per brewery.

14. Detroit, Michigan

Detroit has 58 breweries and an average of 30 beers per brewery. On average, there are 15 beer styles per brewery.

15. Columbus, Ohio

Columbus has 60 breweries and an average of 30 beers per brewery. On average, there are 15 beer styles per brewery.

16. Washington, D.C.

D.C. has 88 breweries and an average of 23 beers per brewery. On average, there are 14 beer styles per brewery.

17. Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte has 76 breweries and an average of 19 beers per brewery. On average, there are 11 beer styles per brewery.

18. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee has 58 breweries and an average of 16 beers per brewery. On average, there are 10 beer styles per brewery.

19. New York, New York

Of course, it makes sense that the city that never sleeps would have an impressive city-wide beer menu. NYC has 135 breweries and an average of 18 beers per brewery. On average, there are 8 beer styles per brewery.

20. Boston, Massachusetts

Boston has 94 breweries and an average of 18 beers per brewery. On average, there are 10 beer styles per brewery.

21. Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh has 53 breweries and an average of 15 beers per brewery. On average, there are 11 beer styles per brewery.

22. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh has 72 breweries and an average of 23 beers per brewery. On average, there are 11 beer styles per brewery.

23. Seattle, Washington

Seattle has 97 breweries and an average of 14 beers per brewery. On average, there are 9 beer styles per brewery.

24. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

Dallas-Fort Worth has 84 breweries and an average of 16 beers per brewery. On average, there are 12 beer styles per brewery.

25. Austin, Texas

Austin has 71 breweries and an average of 15 beers per brewery. On average, there are 10 beer styles per brewery.

Drink up!

As we begin to think about putting the pandemic behind us and coming out from hibernation, many Americans will resurrect our age-old tradition of happy hours, bar crawls and FACs while enjoying beers with friends. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the cities mentioned above, you have your choice of breweries to visit!
Not that we advocate uprooting your life in search of breweries, but it can be an added benefit if you’re already planning to move to one of these cities. And if that’s the case, save your pennies for IPAs and ales by checking out a discount real estate broker, considering a for-sale-by-owner (FSBO), or accurately estimating the cost of homes in your area.