What states allow bars to stay open 24 hours?

Nevada is the best-known state where bars can legally serve around the clock, and New Orleans is the best-known city. In many other states, closing time is set by a city or county within limits the state allows, so there's no simple, complete list of 24 hour states.

Nevada doesn't mandate closing times for bars, taverns or saloons under state law. That doesn't mean every bar is open all night, and county and city codes can add their own rules, so check locally.

New Orleans bars don't have a city-mandated closing time, and many are open 24 hours. Most still close on slow nights, at midnight some nights and 4 AM on others. Rules elsewhere in Louisiana can be different, so New Orleans isn't a guide to the whole state.

Other states hand the decision to local governments. Florida law, for example, bans sales between midnight and 7 AM unless a county or city ordinance says otherwise, so hours change from one county to the next.

Some states set a hard cap instead. In Texas, the latest a bar can sell is 2 AM, and only with a late hours permit in a city or county that allows late hours. Without one, it's midnight on weeknights and 1 AM on Saturday night.

Even where 24 hour service is legal, each bar picks its own hours, and the kitchen may close long before the bar does. Late Night Food Spots counts down to when the kitchen closes.