As the holidays end, a theme of abstaining from alcohol has emerged from coast to coast, with the phenomena known as “Dry January” taking hold as millions of Americans look to start 2025 on a healthier note than where they wrapped up the year that was.
Of the 50 states and Washington D.C. that were surveyed, Massachusetts finished fifth nationally, ranked behind New Hampshire (100 search interest score), Vermont (97 search interest score), Maine (91 search interest score) and Rhode Island (86 search interest score), with the Bay State finishing with a score of 82 points to place fifth in America.
At BetMassachusetts.com - your home to the best Massachusetts sports betting coverage - many of us are exploring Dry January to start out 2025 on a healthy note. Using Google Trends, we conducted a search for states that were interested in “Dry January” between December 26, 2024 – January 2, 2025, and ranked the top 15 states based on search interest scores. We then found the local metro areas most interested in going alcohol-free this month.
Top 15 States Interested in Dry January
Rank | State | Search Interest Scores |
1 | New Hampshire | 100 |
2 | Vermont | 97 |
3 | Maine | 91 |
4 | Rhode Island | 86 |
5 | Massachusetts | 82 |
6 | Connecticut | 77 |
7 | Wyoming | 74 |
8 | Delaware | 72 |
9 | Colorado | 71 |
10 | Wisconsin | 68 |
11 | Minnesota | 65 |
T-12 | South Carolina | 63 |
T-12 | Pennsylvania | 63 |
14 | Maryland | 61 |
15 | Illinois | 59 |
Nationally, Massachusetts ranked ahead of states like Connecticut, which placed sixth nationally with a score of 77 points, while Wyoming (74 points), Delaware (72 points), Colorado (71 points), Wisconsin (68 points), Minnesota (65 points), South Carolina and Pennsylvania (63 points each) were the next closest states when it came to interest in “Dry January.”
Rounding out the list in the U.S. this year were states like Maryland, with a search interest score of 61 points, while Illinois ranked 15th nationally with a search interest score of 59 points to close out our national rankings this “Dry January.”
Massachusetts Metros’ Dry January Interest
Rank | Metro | Search Interest Scores |
1 | Boston | 100 |
2 | Springfield-Holyoke | 81 |
3 | New Bedford | 73 |
In the Bay State this year, no metropolitan area had more interest in “Dry January” than Boston, which posted a perfect search interest score of 100 points to rank well ahead of the next closest contender, which was the Springfield-Holyoke region, with a score of 81 points.
Throw in New Bedford, which finished with a search interest score of 73 points, and you have the full rundown of the “Dry January” leaders in Massachusetts this year, with the state’s largest city finishing atop the list for 2024 as residents look to start 2025 on a healthier note than they ended 2024.
Author
Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
