St. Patrick's Day 2017: By the numbers

Irish eyes are smiling on Houston again this year as we prepare to don our green for St. Patrick's Day this Friday, March 17. While 33 million Irish-Americans, and those of us who wish we were, raise our glasses of green beer in celebration of Ireland's patron saint, there are some interesting facts about this holiday to consider.

The website WalletHub has once again released its list of St. Patrick's Day by the numbers and let's just say Americans are set to spend some serious green again this year.

MONEY:

$5.3 billion: Amount expected to be spent on St. Patrick's Day 2017

$1.22 million: Market value of a pot o' gold containing 1,000 1-ounce pieces of gold

$36.50: Average amount St. Patrick's party-goers will spend

CELEBRATIONS:

56.1 percent: Number of Americans who plan to celebrate

82.5 percent: Celebrators who plan to wear green

11 percent: Americans who are planning a St. Patrick's Day vacation

31 percent: Americans who will prepare a special St. Patrick's Day meal

1737: First St. Patrick's Day Parade held in Boston, not Ireland

IRISH FACTS:

33.5 million: Irish-Americans estimated to live in the U.S.; 7x the population of Ireland

16: Places named Dublin in the US, including one in Texas

RESOURCES:

$0.50: Price per pound of cabbage

70 percent: Increase in cabbage shipments during St. Patrick's week

45 pounds: Amount of vegetable-based dye used to dye the Chicago River green

13 million: Pints of Guinness consumed worldwide on St. Patrick's Day

SOBERING STATS:

4th: St. Patrick's day ranks fourth on list of biggest drinking days, behind New Year's Eve, Christmas and the Fourth of July

30: Drunk-driving casualties on St. Patrick Day 2015

75 percent: Percentage of drivers involved in fatal crash on St. Patrick's Day who are more than two times over the legal limit

72 minutes: Interval at which alcohol-related crashes claim a life on St. Patrick's Day