Louisville is a budget-friendly place to do happy hour, study says

Hitting happy hour in Louisville with a friend won’t cost you as much as other major cities, according to a new data study.

Simple Texting, a social media software company based in Miami Beach, Fla., tells us that the next time you want to take to the top of a barstool, have a couple of drinks and share an appetizer, you’re financially way better off doing it here than in, say, New York City (no surprise, right?). In The Big Apple, the average price of two drinks and half an appetizer, plus a one-way ride share, checks in at $50.38.

By contrast, one of the least expensive markets to get happy between 5 and 7 p.m. is San Antonio, Texas, where you and a buddy can get your drink on for just $26.76. In Louisville, the average cost is $31.24, which breaks down thusly: $12.35 for the Uber or Lyft; $12.43 for two drinks; and $6.47 for your half of the appetizer.

That makes Louisville the ninth-cheapest of the cities surveyed, just cheaper than Oklahoma City, Okla. ($31.64) and just a tad higher than Virginia Beach, Va. ($30.96).

The Top 5 most expensive were New York, San Francisco ($44.83), Seattle ($43.68), San Jose ($43.31) and Miami ($41.33). The study noted that in New York, cocktails were averaging around $17 per — sure, you can find high-priced cocktails in Louisville, but most bars aren’t averaging anywhere near that. Heck, if you hit the Back Door on a given day, you can get three cocktails for $17.