The best U.S. cities for beer gardens and breweries

The Best and Worst U.S. Cities for Beer Gardens and Breweries

The Best U.S. Cities for Beer Gardens

Oktoberfest in Munich has been canceled again. Like in 2020, the largest folk festival in the world did not take place this fall. And yet, the millions of disappointed would-be attendees are not out of options when it comes to celebrating with a frosty pint this fall. The U.S. is stippled with beer gardens that allow visitors to sample not just ales, but also enjoy a similar ambiance.

Because beer gardens are often gilded with a variety of beautifully landscaped flora, we took it upon ourselves to map out the best and worst U.S. cities for beer gardens for wayward Oktoberfest partygoers and beer lovers!

To do so, we analyzed the following factors that impact the beer garden experience in the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. We then weighted them by how heavily they affect a resident’s ability to enjoy beer garden trips.

Average Precipitation per Year (in)
Source: Current Results
Weight: 1.50

Number of Beer Gardens and Breweries per Capita
Source: Yellow Pages
Weight: 2.00

Annual Average Annual Temperature
Source: Current Results
Weight: 1.00

Walk Score
Source: walkscore.com
Weight: 1.75

Cost of a Domestic Pint of Beer
Source: Numbeo
Weight: 2.25

Google Trends Search Volume for “Beer”
Source: Google Trends
Weight: 2.00

After adding up each city’s category scores, we were left with final city scores on a scale of 0 to 50 where higher scores represent better beer garden experiences. Read on to see what we found!

The Best U.S. Cities for Beer Gardens

Map showing the best cities in the U.S. for visiting beer gardens

First, we looked at which cities provide the best beer garden experience. Providence, Rhode Island topped our ranking with a score of 37.19. With 126 beer gardens and breweries per capita and a high walk score of 78, it’s easy to get around to plenty of local favorite watering holes in this city.

Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado, tied for second place on our list with a final score of 35.97. Trailing not far behind in third place is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania earning 35.26 points in all.

Interestingly, the best cities for beer gardens and breweries fell within the Northeast, Midwest, and West regions of the U.S. Strangely enough, none of the best cities on our list appear in the South. Diving into this further, we looked at the worst cities for beer gardens and breweries next.

The Worst U.S. Cities for Beer Gardens

Worst Cities for Beer Gardens

Sure enough, five out of our top 10 worst states for beer gardens are located in the South. Birmingham, Alabama tops the list with only 12.68 points. Jacksonville Florida (2) earned 15.17 points, Nashville, TN (4), took 16.41 points, and neighboring Tennessee city Memphis earned 17.70 points. Finally, Tampa, Florida was our final worst city for beer gardens, scoring 20.66 points in tenth place.

Why is the south fizzling out when it comes to great places to enjoy some suds? A closer look at our ranking factors reveals that a major debilitating factor is the low number of beer gardens and breweries. Cities like Memphis and Birmingham have just 15 and 22 venues, respectively, while winning cities like Boston and Portland have 156 and 150, respectively. Google search interest for “beer” is also generally lower in the worst cities for beer gardens and breweries, suggesting more residents may not be interested in this flavor of entertainment.

Full Dataset

To give you a better idea of how your nearest city ranked in our analysis, we compiled our full data set in the interactive table below. Sort any column to rank by individual factors or find out how a particular city fared in the overall rankings.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed looking at the best and worst cities for beer gardens and breweries. Whether you go for the suds or the landscaping (we’re here for both), beer gardens are a great way to be social while staying outside. If you want to replicate the gardens at your favorite brewpub or just want some additional flair for your yard, we have the perfect bulbs and perennials for you.