For results based on the sample of 686 adults who drink alcoholic beverages, the margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting. In 2021, Gallup, Inc. reported that 60% of U.S. adults drank alcoholic beverages, which decreased from 65% as reported in 2019. The average number of drinks consumed in the previous seven days also decreased.
- At the country level, as shown in the chart, this ranges from around 0.5 to 5 percent of the population.
- This led to imported beer finishing the year at a market share of 21.8%, up +1.2% from 2019.
- A closer look at the “most popular” white varietal, Chardonnay (nearly 16% of the market share for those reported), and the “most popular” red varietal, Cabernet sauvignon (nearly 14%), revealed that the growth rate for these two decreased by 6.9 and 7.0%, respectively.
- The cigarette smoking rate among young adults in the U.S. has fallen by more than 20 points in the past two decades.
- Since 2020, the percentage of U.S. adults aged 21 and older who participated in Dry January has increased, with expectations that participation will grow.
Last fall, Wine Opinions’ consumer panel members were asked to indicate a) “the varietals they use to buy often, but no buy seldom, if ever” and b) “any varieties they now buy often, but used to buy infrequently, if ever.” Some of the net positive and negative changes reported are below. You may wonder, “How much is a premium-and-above bottle of wine or spirits?” The following table provides price bands as published by IWSR, Forbes.com, Winefolly.com, and IRI. From another report, compared to the first half of 2021, the volume of premium-and-above Prosecco grew 8% in the first half of 2022. “I think people sort of forgot all the problems with alcohol,” William Kerr, senior scientist at the California-based Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group, said.
Alcohol is responsible for many premature deaths each year
The comparison of this map with the previous maps makes clear that heavy drinking is not necessarily most common in the same countries where alcohol consumption is most common. As the map shows, the average per capita alcohol consumption varies widely globally. Alcohol has historically, and continues to, hold an important role in social engagement and bonding for many. Find up-to-date statistics on lifetime drinking, past-year drinking, past-month drinking, binge drinking, heavy alcohol use, and high-intensity drinking.
How Much Do Drinkers Consume?
That is due to whiskey growth outpacing vodka on the back of growth of +4.9%. Single malt Scotch was down -6.1% down due to tariffs, and Irish whiskey was impacted by on-premise can a drug dog smell nicotine closures finishing down -0.5%. But those declines were more than covered by growth in Japanese, Indian, and American brands. Percentage change in per capita ethanol consumption, United States, 1977–2021.
However, in recent decades, the U.S. drinking rate has consistently registered near the long-term average of 63%. Overall, 62% of U.S. adults say they ever drink alcohol, while 38% abstain completely, according to a July 2023 Gallup survey. Gallup has asked Americans for more than eight decades whether they have “had occasion to use alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine or beer.” During that span, majorities have consistently said they consume alcohol. This share peaked in the late 1970s, when 71% of adults said they drank alcohol. According to SevenFiftyDaily’s State of Whiskey report, 39% of whiskey drinkers are “between the ages of 21 and 35, and only 17 percent are over the age of 55.” While unflavored whiskeys grew by 3% between 2017 and 2022, flavored whiskeys increased by 11% during that period. More recently, for the 52 weeks ending September 2023, flavored whiskey sales grew by 1.9%.
When asked about marijuana consumption, 52% of participants aged 18-to-34-years responded that marijuana was “not too harmful/not at all harmful.” N.C. Solutions reported in January 2024 that, on average, consumers were “having three drinks per week, down from four per week in 2023.” Gallup also reported that alcoholic beverage drinkers consumed “on average…four drinks in the past week,” in July 2023. Several industry sources mention consumer willingness to spend more on alcohol and are trading up and purchasing premium beverages. The percent change in total volume for certain beverages and the percent change in premium-and-above alcohol volume in 2022, as reported by IWSR are listed below. This surveillance report on apparent per capita alcohol consumption in the United States is the 37th in a series of reports that examine alcohol consumption trends on a national, State, and regional basis.
This is shown in the charts as the share of adults who had not drunk in the prior year and those who have never drunk alcohol. This is given as the share of adults aged 15 years and older who have drunk alcohol within the previous year. In 2023, vodka accounted for 27% of total spirits volume, and flavored vodkas accounted for 21% of all vodkas sold. While, in general, the alcoholic beverage industry is energy-intensive, requiring significant amounts of inputs, specific segments and manufacturers are focusing on becoming more sustainable. Reasons as to why consumers participate in Dry January include “health benefits…whether that is about calorie control and weight management or just feeling better overall.” Other reasons for decreasing alcohol consumption are to save money and a change in social life.
Other statistics that may interest you Cosmetics consumer behavior in the U.S.
Total per capita consumption of gallons of ethanol by State, United States, 2021. Percentage change calculations in this report are based on the numbers presented in the tables, which are rounded to two decimal places. Americans 55 and older, on the other hand, are more likely than their counterparts two decades ago to say they do all of these things.
Other statistics on the topicAlcohol and health
Data on Americans’ drinking habits comes from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), and alcohol sales data is from the U.S. In the chart, we see data across some countries on the share of people with an alcohol use disorder who received treatment. This data is based on estimates of prevalence and treatment published by the World Health Organization (WHO). In the chart, we see the relationship between average per capita alcohol consumption – in liters of pure alcohol per year – versus gross domestic product (GDP) per capita across countries. The first map shows this in terms of spirits as a share of total alcohol consumption. In many Asian countries, spirits account for most of total alcohol consumption.
To make the trend data more precise, AEDS revises data published in previous reports when the Census Bureau revises its population estimates. This report updates the 2010–2020 population estimates using revised estimates of the July 1 resident population from the Vintage 2020 and 2021 postcensal series (Single-race Population Estimates 2022). AEDS obtained State population estimates for people ages 14 and older from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WONDER online query system, which provides population estimates produced by the U.S. Census Bureau (Single-race Population Estimates 2022; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2021). These data are used as denominators to calculate the per capita consumption figures.