Here's When Bars Have Last Call in Every State
As we found out when we ranked all the states by their beer, some subdivisions of this great nation know how to party just a little bit better than others. But when it comes to the hours at which parties are legally allowed to occur (at least in bars), there's a wider breadth -- so we turned to The Field Guide to Drinking in America by Niki Ganong (which drops this April) to find out what last call is in every state, because finding out this kinda stuff can often be pretty confusing unless you're actually sitting in a bar waiting for them to throw you out.
Who knew Alaska was so cool?
Alabama: Decided by every individual community
Alaska: 5am
Arizona: 2:30am
Arkansas: 1am (although some clubs close between 2am and 5am)
California: 2am (larger cities may allow for later times)
Colorado: 2am
Connecticut: 1am on weekdays, but 2am on weekends
Delaware: 1am
Florida: Most cities close at 3am (it's up to the communities to decide)
Georgia: Decided on a county-by-county basis (with most closing at 2am)
Hawaii: 2am, although some bars close at 4am with a special license
Idaho: 1am for the most part, but 2am in some larger cities
Illinois: Last call isn't set by the state, but varies between 2am and 3am in Chicago depending on the bar.
Indiana: 3am
Iowa: 2am
Kansas: 2am
Kentucky: 2am for most of the state, but 4am in Louisville
Louisiana: Bars can technically serve 24 hours a day if there's no law stating they can't.
Maine: 1am
Maryland: 2am
Massachusetts: 1am for most of the state, but 2am in Boston
Michigan: 2am
Minnesota: 2am
Mississippi: 12am, with some individual cities setting it at 1am or later
Missouri: 1:30am most of the week, but 12am on Sundays
Montana: 2am
Nebraska: 1am, but 2am in some larger cities
Nevada: 24 hours a day!
New Hampshire: 1am, but some towns allow ordering until 2am
New Jersey: The state allows towns to regulate closing time on a local level.
New Mexico: 2am
New York: 4am in NYC, but earlier (3am, usually) in smaller municipalities
North Carolina: 2am
North Dakota: 2am
Ohio: 2:30am
Oklahoma: 2am
Oregon: 2:30am
Pennsylvania: 2am
Rhode Island: 1am
South Carolina: Varies on a town-by-town basis (but usually hovers somewhere around 2am)
South Dakota: 2am
Tennessee: 3am
Texas: As late as 2am with a permit in large cities. Midnight elsewhere.
Utah: 12am
Vermont: 2am
Virginia: 2am
Washington: 2am
Washington DC: 2am during the week and 3am on weekends
West Virginia: 2am usually, but 3am with a club license
Wisconsin: 2am on weekdays and 2:30am on weekends
Wyoming: 2am
Adam Lapetina is a Food/Drink staff writer for Thrillist, and is fortunate enough to be able to order drinks until 4am. Read his musings at @adamlapetina.