The Best States for Mobile Bars in America: 2022 Data
Source: Bar a la Cart
The food truck industry has seen incredible growth in recent years. The number of food truck businesses in operation has nearly doubled since 2015, according to IBISWorld. What was once a niche market has now blossomed into a full-fledged industry comprising 30,156 separate businesses. With food trucks offering diverse cuisines and catering to many audiences, it’s hardly a challenge to find one specializing in everything from tacos to cupcakes on the same city street.
But there’s a new kid (who’s at least 21 years of age) on the block: mobile bars. The food truck industry is always pushing new trends, and the next big thing is alcohol on wheels. Mobile bars are food trucks or food carts specifically outfitted for serving alcoholic beverages. This trend has emerged in response to the growing popularity of food trucks as a catering option for weddings, corporate events, and other special occasions. Full service mobile bar rentals offer a unique and convenient way to provide guests with a variety of alcoholic (or non-alcoholic) beverages at any special event.
Who's leading the charge to put bars on wheels? Eager entrepreneurs with a passion for specialty beverages. Portable bars are an intriguing model for many aspiring business owners (we've covered some benefits of a mobile bar or food cart business in another post). Still, mobile bars provide ample opportunity for those that are already successful in the food and drink industry. Food truck owners, restauranteurs, and caterers alike can all benefit from diversifying their product offerings and expanding their customer base by adding a mobile bar service.
For the sake of this article, when we collected data we limited our definition of Mobile Bars to wheeled vehicles (including carts, trailers, and trucks) that are greater than or equal to the size of the carts we manufacture at Bar a la Cart. We excluded Mobile Bars without wheels and providers that only provide mobile bartending services (and no bar).
To determine the best states for mobile bar businesses, we collected and analyzed data from the U.S. Census, Roaming Hunger, The Knot, Find Mobile Bars, and Roll To.
Our Top Mobile Bar Industry Stats
How many mobile bars are there in the US? There are 1,083 mobile bars across the US according to the data we gathered!
Mobile bars account for 3.5% of the U.S. food truck industry, and we’re sure that number will continue to increase as the business model grows in popularity.
The average state has 22 active mobile bar businesses and 3.5 mobile bars per 1 million residents.
Just 8 states make up 50% of the total number of mobile bar businesses. In order: California, Texas, Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Oregon.
California takes the top spot for the number of mobile bar businesses with 145 in operation across the state!
Connecticut is the most competitive market for mobile bars, with 14.4 mobile bars per 1,000,000 residents.
We couldn’t find any mobile bar businesses based in Vermont. The Green Mountain State takes last place for the number of mobile bar businesses and mobile bars per 1 million residents. Know a mobile bar in Vermont we should add to the list? Let us know!
The Best (and Worst) States for Mobile Bars in 2022
We've created United States Mobile Bar Industry heat maps to help you visualize our findings. Feel free to share the infographics below on your website, in your blog, or with your social media followers!
Source: U.S. Census, Roaming Hunger, The Knot, Find Mobile Bars, and Roll To.
The Top 10 Mobile Bar States
The top 10 mobile bar states make up 53% of total mobile bar businesses in the U.S. while accounting for only 48% of the country’s population. In fact, half of the states found in our top 10 don’t rank within the top 10 for population. It surprised us to see states like Connecticut, Oregon, Maine, Nevada, and South Carolina fighting for top spots alongside California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. Our rankings were based on the following metrics:
Number of mobile bars: We collected data from several listing services, who aggregate mobile bar information, to determine the total number of mobile bar businesses in every US state. More people means more mobile bars! California, Texas, and Florida are home to the most mobile bar businesses.
Market Density: If you’re looking to figure out which states have the highest likelihood of a mobile bar showing up at the next event you attend, we compared state population to each state’s total number of mobile bars for you! If you’re going to a wedding in Connecticut, Maine, or Oregon, chances are high that you’ll be sipping craft cocktails from the side of a remodeled airstream trailer.
1. Connecticut
Our No. 1 mobile bar state has the highest density of mobile bars in the country, with 14.4 mobile bar businesses per 1 million residents.
Connecticut knows how to party! Despite ranking 29th in population, The Nutmeg State ranks 4th for number of mobile bars (52) and 1st for number of mobile bars per 1 million residents (14.4).
Despite being a small state (ranking only 29th in population), Connecticut is centrally located between two major metropolitan areas: New York City and Boston, meaning there is plenty of opportunity for mobile bar businesses within a 100 mile radius.
2. California
Our No.2 spot goes to California. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the most populous state in the country takes the crown for having the most mobile bar businesses with a whopping 145!
Mobile bar owners in California have long been pioneers of the industry, so it’s no shock to see The Golden State close to the top of our rankings. While they rank number 1 for number of mobile bar businesses (145), California is a large, spread-out state and ranks all the way down in 16th for market density (3.7 mobile bars per 1 million residents). Hence, its 2nd place overall ranking in our list. When considering these two data points together, it seems like there’s still plenty of opportunity in California for aspiring mobile bar owners!
3. Texas
You know what they say about our No. 3 mobile bar state: everything’s bigger in Texas! And so too is their mobile bar industry.
Texas ranks Number 2 for total mobile bar businesses with 105 and is the only other state (alongside California) to boast over 100 mobile bars! While the sheer number of mobile bar businesses in the state is impressive, Texas suffers the same fate as California in market density. As the largest state within the contiguous United States, The Lone Star State comes in 17th place in terms of density, with only 3.6 mobile bars per 1 million residents.
4. Oregon
As our No. 4 state, Oregon is no stranger to mobile food businesses. The city of Portland alone has long been at the forefront of the mobile food revolution, with hundreds, if not thousands, of food carts and food trucks dotting the city. We’re happy to report their mobile bar industry is no different!
While Oregon ranks 8th for total mobile bars (41 to be exact), The Beaver State takes 3rd place for density with 9.7 mobile bars per 1 million residents!
5. Florida
Florida rounds out our Top 5 for best mobile bar states in the U.S. The Sunshine State comes in 3rd place for most mobile bar businesses with a total of 80, but its overall ranking suffers slightly because of its 15th place ranking for market density, with 3.7 mobile bars per 1 million residents.
6. Maine
Coming in at No.6 on our list is Maine. While Maine ranks 42nd in terms of population and 25th for number of mobile bars (14), it’s our 2nd place for density and is the only other state besides Connecticut to have over 10 mobile bars per 1 million residents with 10.3.
7. North Carolina
North Carolina takes No. 7 on our list. The Tar Heel State ranks at an impressive 5th place for number of mobile bars (49 mobile bar businesses), but its overall ranking is brought down due to its 11th place ranking for density (4.7 mobile bars per 1 million residents).
8. Nevada
Position No. 8 on our list goes to Nevada. While The Silver State ranks only 32nd for population, it ranks 20th for number of mobile bar businesses with 21 calling the state home. When factoring in that small population, Nevada is one of the top states for mobile bars based on density: ranking in 5th place for its 6.8 mobile bars per 1 million residents.
9. Georgia
Georgia comes in at No.9, but as we come close to the end of our Top 10, the competition gets tougher too. In fact, South Carolina and Washington are almost even with Georgia in terms of their combined scores!
The Peach State just barely edges out South Carolina with a 7th place ranking for number of mobile bars (43), and a 14th place ranking for density (4 mobile bars per 1 million residents).
10. South Carolina
South Carolina is our No. 10 state for mobile bars, finishing only narrowly behind Georgia.
The Palmetto State comes in 14th place for number of mobile bar businesses (28) and 7th place for density (5.5 mobile bars per 1 million residents).
11. Washington (Honorable Mention)
Because Georgia, South Carolina, and Washington were so close in combined score, we thought it only fair to include The Evergreen State as an honorable mention in our Top 10.
Washington ranks 9th for number of mobile bars, with 36 in the state. For market density, the state takes 12th place overall, with 4.7 mobile bars per 1 million residents.
Data Details: Top 5 Rankings by Category
Mobile bar owners: we’ve turned the top mobile bar industry insights into free infographics just for you! Feel free to share the graphics below on your website, in your blog, or with your social media followers!
Source: U.S. Census, Roaming Hunger, The Knot, Find Mobile Bars, and Roll To.
The 10 Worst States for Mobile Bars
We can’t all have beautiful bar carts and remodeled horse trailers serving craft cocktails and local beer on tap at every event. These are the 10 worst states for mobile bars in America:
Vermont
New Mexico
West Virginia
Utah
Mississippi
Alabama
North Dakota
Alaska
Nebraska
Montana
Just because these states are in the bottom 10 this year doesn’t mean they won’t see mobile bar booms of their own in the coming years! We’re looking forward to seeing how the industry changes in 2023!
The bottom 10 states just don’t have enough mobile bars as the rest of our list (at least not yet) with an average of only 1.8 mobile bars in each state. That’s 91.9% fewer mobile bars in the bottom 10 states than the nationwide average of 22.1 mobile bars per state.
While low-population states have plenty of opportunity to take top positions in our list (4 of our Top 10 states rank in the bottom 50% for population), a small population combined with few mobile bar businesses means a low density score, with the average for the bottom 10 being less than 1 mobile bar per 1 million residents! That’s 73.5% fewer than the average of 3.4.
Vermont ranked last because we couldn’t locate any mobile bar business that fit our qualifications based out of The Green Mountain State. If you're a Vermont native looking for a mobile bar for your next event, don't worry! There are quite a few mobile bars around New England that will travel! Have a mobile bar business in Vermont? Let us know!
Methodology
Bar a la Cart compared the 50 U.S. states across 2 metrics. We normalized and graded each metric on a 100-point scale. Number of mobile bars and Market Density were both weighted evenly when calculating final scores. The combined average of these 2 scores determined the combined mobile bar score upon which the rankings in our list were based.
The metrics used are as follows:
Number of mobile bar businesses in each state
Number of mobile bar businesses per 1 million residents
Sources: U.S. Census, Roaming Hunger, The Knot, Find Mobile Bars, and Roll To.
Start a Mobile Bar Business the Right Way
Does this list have you considering launching a mobile bar of your own? Perhaps after analyzing our results, you’ve found untapped potential for a mobile bar where you live. Maybe you've visited a mobile bar serving beer and wine at a wedding and loved the experience. Regardless, if you're eager to start your own bar on wheels, nothing stands in your way! A mobile bar cart could be the perfect way to build a new side hustle, career, or enterprise.
We know what it takes to turn an idea into a thriving business. And we can offer some advice on other parts of the process until you're fully established.
Why wait to start your dream business or test your mobile concept? Get in touch with our team today to learn more about running a mobile business.
We can't wait to chat with you!
