THE HAPPY HOUR INDEX · OCTOBER 2026 · ARCHIVED EDITION
What happy hour costs
One round — the cheapest drink and the cheapest bite — costs a median $13.75 across 2,607 happy hours in 44 cities, compared in US dollars. Vancouver, Toronto, Boston, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, DC, San Diego, Austin, New York City, San Francisco are the cheapest (C$14 (US$10.02)); Hong Kong the priciest (HK$178 (US$22.69)).
This is the frozen October 2026 edition. See the current month →
THE INDEX · DRINK + BITE
$13.75
median of 1231 venues
COCKTAIL
$9
median of 1619 venues
BEER
$6
median of 1093 venues
WINE
$8
median of 1278 venues
OYSTER (EACH)
$2
median of 330 venues
The cities, cheapest first
| # | City | Index drink + bite |
Cocktail | Beer | Wine | Oyster (each) | Venues |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 96 | |||||
| 2 | Toronto | — | 65 | ||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | $11.50 | $7 | $5 | $7 | $2.25 | 74 |
| 4 | Sydney | 90 | |||||
| 5 | Denver | $12 | $9 | $5 | $8 | $2.50 | 75 |
| 6 | Houston | $12.50 | $8 | $5 | $8 | $2 | 94 |
| 7 | Brisbane | — | — | — | 9 | ||
| 8 | Orlando | $13 | $9 | $5 | $8 | $2.75 | 49 |
| 9 | Chicago | $13 | $10 | $6 | $8 | $2 | 172 |
| 10 | Melbourne | 80 | |||||
| 11 | Minneapolis | $13.50 | $8 | $5 | $7 | $3 | 55 |
| 12 | Miami | $13.76 | $9 | $6 | $8 | $2 | 204 |
| 13 | Boston | $14 | $8 | — | — | $1 | 18 |
| 13 | Detroit | $14 | $8 | $5 | $6 | — | 47 |
| 13 | Fort Lauderdale | $14 | $8 | $5 | $8 | — | 60 |
| 16 | Atlanta | $14 | $9 | $7 | $9 | $1.75 | 57 |
| 16 | Dallas | $14 | $9 | $5 | $8 | $2.50 | 103 |
| 16 | Las Vegas | $14 | $9 | $6 | $8 | $2.17 | 72 |
| 16 | Washington, DC | $14 | $9 | $6 | $8 | $2.50 | 105 |
| 20 | San Diego | $14 | $9.75 | $6 | $8 | $2 | 112 |
| 21 | Austin | $14 | $10 | $5 | $8 | $1.75 | 58 |
| 21 | New York City | $14 | $10 | $6 | $9 | $2 | 222 |
| 21 | San Francisco | $14 | $10 | $6 | $9 | $2 | 109 |
| 24 | Los Angeles | $15 | $10 | $6 | $9 | $2.38 | 149 |
| 25 | Phoenix | $15.50 | $8 | $5 | $8 | $2.50 | 65 |
| 26 | Seattle | $16 | $10 | $7 | $9 | $2 | 88 |
| 26 | Tampa | $16 | $10 | $5 | $8 | $3 | 57 |
| 28 | Singapore | 54 | |||||
| 29 | Hong Kong | — | — | — | 22 | ||
| — | Tokyo | not enough data | — | — | 12 | ||
| — | Auckland | not enough data | — | 11 | |||
| — | Montreal | not enough data | — | 10 | |||
| — | Paris | not enough data | — | — | — | 6 | |
| — | London | not enough data | — | — | 31 | ||
| — | Dubai | not enough data | — | 46 | |||
| — | Adelaide | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| — | Calgary | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 8 |
| — | Edmonton | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| — | Ottawa | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 5 |
| — | Perth | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 3 |
| — | São Paulo | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| — | Seoul | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 4 |
| — | Victoria | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 3 |
| — | Wellington | not enough data | — | — | — | — | 2 |
Cheapest neighbourhoods for a cocktail
- Coal Harbour Vancouver · 7 venues
- Old City Philadelphia · 7 venues$6
- Midtown Detroit Detroit · 5 venues$6
- Downtown Vancouver · 8 venues
- Yaletown Vancouver · 9 venues
- 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
- North Vancouver Vancouver · 4 venues
- Gastown Vancouver · 8 venues
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 (checked against their own menus where possible). They change; always confirm with the venue.
- Outside the US the figure in front is the local price. Cities are ranked by its US-dollar value, using the mid-market rate bundled with this edition (2026-10-30), so a pound and a dollar share one scale. The venue charges the local price.
- The month in progress updates as deals change and is frozen on the 1st. Past editions keep their own permanent pages.