WASHINGTON, D.C. — As of July 2025, 54% of Americans aged 18 and older say they drink alcohol, while 44% describe themselves as “total abstainers.” The drinking rate ticks up to 57% when narrowed to adults of legal drinking age (21 and older).
Since 1939, Gallup has asked Americans whether they “have occasion to use alcoholic beverages such as liquor, wine or beer” or if they are “a total abstainer.” From 1997 to 2023, at least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcohol. Prior to the most recent poll, the lowest percentage saying they drink had been 55% (in 1958), and the proportion rose as high as 71% (in the late 1970s). However, in recent years, the U.S. drinking rate has declined considerably. The figure fell to 58% in 2024, before dipping to the current 54%.
Drinking Varies Most by Income, Education
The drinking rate among U.S. adults differs more by household income and education than by other demographic characteristics. According to combined 2024-2025 data, 68% of adults aged 18 and older living in upper-income households say they drink, far exceeding the 43% of those in lower-income households. The rate among middle-income earners falls about halfway between, at 58%.
Sixty-eight percent of college graduates drink alcohol, compared with 58% of those with some college education and 44% of those who haven’t attended college.
Religiosity Also a Factor in Likelihood That People Drink
Adults who attend religious services weekly (42%) are less likely than those who attend nearly weekly or monthly (59%) and those who never or seldom attend religious services (62%) to say they drink. Religious denomination is not meaningfully related to alcohol use.
Men, Middle-Aged and White Adults More Likely to Drink Than Their Counterparts
In contrast to the wide variations seen by income and religiosity, alcohol consumption varies only slightly by gender, with 59% of men versus 54% of women saying they ever have occasion to drink.
Drinking is more common among middle-aged adults (63% of those aged 35 to 54) than younger (50% of those aged 18 to 34) and older adults (55% of those aged 55 and older).
Among the nation’s largest racial/ethnic groups, White adults (60%) and Black adults (58%) are more likely than Hispanic adults (44%) to report they drink.
A review of Gallup’s longer-term data confirm that Hispanic adults have been consistently less likely than White adults to drink. Meanwhile, as drinking rates have declined among White and Hispanic adults, they’ve remained relatively flat among Black adults.
While older Americans have typically reported lower drinking rates than middle-aged and younger Americans since 2001, middle-aged and younger Americans’ drinking rates have declined over the past two decades. In the 2000s and early 2010s, middle-aged and younger Americans consumed alcohol at similar rates, but during the late 2010s, younger Americans began drinking less, while middle-aged Americans’ drinking rates remained relatively flat.
How Much Do Drinkers Consume?
On the whole, U.S. drinkers report consuming a modest amount of alcohol, averaging 2.8 drinks per week in 2025 for all drinkers. The figure rises to about five drinks (4.9) per week on average for regular drinkers, defined as those who have had at least one drink in the past week.
What Is Americans’ Drink of Choice?
For many years, beer was the strong favorite among U.S. drinkers, mentioned by close to half as the alcoholic beverage they most often drink. It still leads by eight percentage points over liquor and by nine points over wine. In 2025, 38% of Americans said they prefer beer, 30% liquor, and 29% wine.
Combined data from 2024 and 2025 show that beer is the preferred beverage of men, at 53%, followed by liquor (26%) and wine (16%). In contrast, wine is women’s preferred beverage, chosen by 47%, with 34% saying liquor and 17% beer.
Gallup measures Americans’ alcohol consumption each July as part of its Consumption Habits poll — one of 12 surveys that make up the Gallup Poll Social Series.
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Explore more Gallup articles about alcohol on the Alcohol topics page. Explore Gallup questions and trends about alcohol on Gallup’s Topics A-Z: Alcohol and Drinking page. For more articles in the “Short Answer” series, visit Gallup’s The Short Answer page.
