Is the drinking age the same in every state in the US or does it vary from state to state?

Question

because i'm in New Jersey and i thought it was the same everywhere (it's 21 here) but my friend said its different in different states.

Answer 1

used to vary a lot, but I believe it is 21 everywhere now. It was 18 in Fl. when I was in HS...I turned 18 Jan. 2nd my Sr. year...I was VERY popular...lol

Answer 2

Yes, the drinking age in every state is 21. However, each state has the right to revise it's own drinking age laws and any alcohol minor-related issue. For example, in some states, it's legal for a minor to drink alcohol if they are married to someone over the age of 21 and it's done in that person's presence. Some states have exceptions regarding private property, guardian permission, saramental consumption (i.e., religious traditions), etc.

The reason all states have a established 21 as the legal age limit is just because it's a widely accepted age - NOT because all the states are bound by some federal law.

By the way, you can look up more about the age restrictions at http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html
(to get to state issues, scroll down to the bottom half of the page).

Answer 3

It use to vary (at one time NJ was 18 and PA was 21). Although it is within the various state's constitutional rights to set their own drinking age, the Federal Government said that if a state doesn't adopt the uniform age (21), they would loose their Federal Highway funds (meaning their roads would fall apart). And don't blame Bush on this one, it happened during the mid 90s.

Answer 4

It's 21 everywhere. The Feds abuses their power to essentially force all states to enact the 21 yr old limit. So much for the 10th amendment.

Answer 5

21 everywhere. But there are some places where you can go into bars when you are 18 (Iowa).

Answer 6

A state is not "dry" individual cities and towns have those laws in place.

Answer 7

It varies. There's even some places that are 'dry'. No alcohol at all.