THE HAPPY HOUR INDEX · OCTOBER 2026
What happy hour costs in America
One round — the cheapest drink and the cheapest bite — costs a median $14 across 2,048 happy hours in 22 cities. Philadelphia is the cheapest ($11.50); Seattle and Tampa the priciest ($16).
Live for October 2026: updates as deals change, frozen on the 1st.
THE INDEX · DRINK + BITE
$14
median of 1105 venues
COCKTAIL
$9
median of 1324 venues
BEER
$6
median of 859 venues
WINE
$8
median of 1029 venues
OYSTER (EACH)
$2
median of 266 venues
The cities, cheapest first
| # | City | Index drink + bite |
Cocktail | Beer | Wine | Oyster (each) | Venues |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | $11.50 | $7 | $5 | $7 | $2.25 | 74 |
| 2 | Denver | $12 | $9 | $5 | $8 | $2.50 | 75 |
| 3 | Houston | $12.50 | $8 | $5 | $8 | $2 | 94 |
| 4 | Orlando | $13 | $9 | $5 | $8 | $2.75 | 49 |
| 5 | Chicago | $13 | $10 | $6 | $8 | $2 | 172 |
| 6 | Minneapolis | $13.50 | $8 | $5 | $7 | $3 | 55 |
| 7 | Miami | $13.76 | $9 | $6 | $8 | $2 | 204 |
| 8 | Boston | $14 | $8 | — | — | $1 | 18 |
| 8 | Detroit | $14 | $8 | $5 | $6 | — | 50 |
| 8 | Fort Lauderdale | $14 | $8 | $5 | $8 | — | 60 |
| 11 | Atlanta | $14 | $9 | $7 | $9 | $1.75 | 57 |
| 11 | Dallas | $14 | $9 | $5 | $8 | $2.50 | 103 |
| 11 | Las Vegas | $14 | $9 | $6 | $8 | $2.17 | 72 |
| 11 | Washington, DC | $14 | $9 | $6 | $8 | $2.50 | 105 |
| 15 | San Diego | $14 | $9.75 | $6 | $8 | $2 | 112 |
| 16 | Austin | $14 | $10 | $5 | $8 | $1.75 | 58 |
| 16 | New York City | $14 | $10 | $6 | $9 | $2 | 222 |
| 16 | San Francisco | $14 | $10 | $6 | $9 | $2 | 109 |
| 19 | Los Angeles | $15 | $10 | $6 | $9 | $2.38 | 149 |
| 20 | Phoenix | $15.50 | $8 | $5 | $8 | $2.50 | 65 |
| 21 | Seattle | $16 | $10 | $7 | $9 | $2 | 88 |
| 21 | Tampa | $16 | $10 | $5 | $8 | $3 | 57 |
Cheapest neighbourhoods for a cocktail
- Old City Philadelphia · 7 venues$6
- Midtown Detroit Detroit · 5 venues$6
- South Philly (Italian Market / East Passyunk) Philadelphia · 4 venues$6.50
- EaDo (East Downtown) Houston · 4 venues$6.50
- Tempe Phoenix · 4 venues$6.50
- Rittenhouse Square / Midtown Village Philadelphia · 15 venues$7
- Lower Greenville / Knox-Henderson Dallas · 10 venues$7
- Downtown Phoenix Phoenix · 8 venues$7
- Northern Liberties Philadelphia · 7 venues$7
- River Oaks / Upper Kirby Houston · 6 venues$7
How the Index works
- The Index is the median price of one round: a venue's cheapest happy-hour drink plus its cheapest bite (three oysters count as a bite).
- Each venue counts once per column, at its cheapest comparable price. "Half off", buy-one-get-one, combos, "market price" and "from $X" ranges are real deals, but they can't be compared, so they're left out. Oysters are priced per oyster ("half dozen $12" = $2).
- Medians, not averages: a single $1 promotion or $25 martini can't move a city.
- A city needs 5+ priced venues in a column, a neighbourhood 4+. Fewer, and the cell stays blank.
- Prices are the happy-hour prices published by the venues in the Atlas (1,300+ bars and restaurants, checked against their own menus where possible). They change; always confirm with the venue.
- The month in progress updates as deals change and is frozen on the 1st. Past editions keep their own permanent pages.
Use the data
Free to cite with a link to this page. Download the October 2026 numbers as CSV or JSON.
Cite as: Happy Hour Atlas, Happy Hour Index, October 2026. https://hhatlas.com/happy-hour-index/