Two California cities rank among the worst cities for drunk driving in the nation.
That’s according to recent studies by online loan marketplace LendingTree and a Florida law firm.
“Driving under the influence … is a major public safety concern throughout the country,” LendingTree contributor Michelle Lambright Black wrote in a July article. “Yet depending on where you live, the risk of encountering a drunken driver could be higher or lower.”
LendingTree went in search of the worst cities for drunk driving in the United States, based on DUI rates, insurance premiums and more.
Meanwhile, The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine narrowed the 10 most dangerous cities for drunk driving, looking at the percentage of fatal crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers.
Here’s which California cities landed on both lists:
Why is Fresno one of the worst cities for drunk drivers?
Fresno ranked second in the nation in terms of fatal crashes involving drunk drivers, according to the study by The Law Firms of Anidjar & Levine.
About 34.5% of fatal crashes in the Central Valley city between 2019 and 2023 involved at least one driver with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher, the study found.
Fresno saw an average of 21 DUI-related fatalities each year, according to The Law Firms of Anidjar & Levine.
According to LendingTree, Fresno reported 3.31 DUIs per 1,000 drivers in 2024, making it the fifth-worst city for drunk driving in 2025.
Fresno jumped up a place from the previous year, when it was No. 6 on LendingTree’s list of the worst U.S. cities for DUIs.
What makes Sacramento a top city for DUI deaths?
Sacramento ranked sixth in the nation, according to the study by The Law Firms of Anidjar & Levine.
Nearly 28% of fatal crashes in California’s capital city between 2019 and 2023 involved at least one driver with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, the study found.
Sacramento had 16 DUI-related fatalities a year on average, the law firm said.
According to LendingTree’s study, Sacramento had 3.55 DUIs per 1,000 drivers in 2024, making it the third-worst city for drunk driving in 2025.
The city previously placed second on LendingTree’s list.
What were 10 most dangerous cities for drunk driving?
According to The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, these were the 10 most dangerous U.S. cities for DUI-related fatal crashes:
1. Colorado Springs, Colorado2. Fresno3. Arlington, Virginia4. Las Vegas5. Oakland6. Sacramento7. Dallas8. Denver9. Jacksonville, Florida10. Houston
To determine its rankings, the Florida personal injury law firm said it analyzed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data for drunk driving-related fatalities from 2019 to 2023 across the 50 most populous cities.
Why are DUI rates so high in California cities?
“California drivers in several cities have particularly high DUI rates,” LendingTree said in its 2025 study. “Among the 10 largest U.S. cities with the highest DUI rates, six are in California.”
San Jose came in second place on LendingTree’s list of the major U.S. cities with the highest DUI rates, while Long Beach was No. 7, Bakersfield was No. 8 and Oakland was No. 9.
Rob Bhatt, LendingTree auto insurance expert and licensed insurance agent, identified California’s climate and tough DUI laws as major contributing factors.
“Warm weather entices people to gather, often with alcohol,” Bhatt said in the study. “A lack of transit may lead many to drive when they should use alternative transportation. Stricter enforcement of DUI laws can certainly also be a factor in high DUI rates, too.”
Where do insurance costs increase most after DUIs?
LendingTree also looked at DUI rates by age group and vehicle make, as well as the U.S. cities where auto insurance premiums rose the most after DUI convictions.
Seven of the 10 cities where drivers saw the largest increases in insurance costs after DUIs were in California, the LendingTree study found.
Los Angeles was the highest ranking city on that list, coming in fourth place.
“The high rates for DUI offenders suggest that impaired drivers cause particularly costly injuries and damage in California,” Bhatt said. “Insurance companies recoup their costs by charging high rates to the drivers that create the greatest expenses for them.”
However, there were no California locations on LendingTree’s list of the U.S. cities with the highest percentages of fatal crashes involving drunken drivers.
What are top 10 worst cities for drunk driving?
These were the worst 10 cities for drunk driving in 2025, according to LendingTree:
1. Omaha, Nebraska2. San Jose3. Sacramento4. Virginia Beach, Virginia 5. Fresno6. Minneapolis7. Long Beach8. Bakersfield9. Oakland10. New York City
LendingTree said its researchers “analyzed tens of millions” of QuoteWizard by LendingTree insurance quotes from 2024 and calculated the number of DUIs per 1,000 drivers in the 50 largest U.S. cities by population.
The site used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services, which were publicly sourced from insurer filings.
LendingTree researchers also analyzed 2023 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System — the same data used in the Anidjar & Levine study.
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Brooke (they/them) covers Fresno and California news as the Fresno Bee’s service journalism reporter. They previously covered wildlife and national parks out west for the national real-time team at McClatchy News. Originally from Florida, they studied journalism at the University of Florida and previously covered LGBTQ+ news for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, their hometown newspaper. When they’re not writing stories, they enjoy hanging out with their cats, riding horses or spending time outdoors.