Americans' Drinking Remains at Record Low

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The share of Americans who say they drink alcohol remains at a record-low 54% for the second consecutive year, the lowest reading in Gallup’s trend dating back to 1939.

Self-reported drinking fell over the previous three years, from 62% in 2023 to 58% in 2024 and 54% in 2025, before holding steady this year. Gallup based the latest results on interviews with U.S. adults aged 18 and older in its July 1-19 Consumption Habits survey.

Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults now believe drinking one or two alcoholic beverages a day is bad for one’s health. The figure is essentially unchanged from last year’s record-high 53% and marks only the second time since Gallup first asked the question in 2001 that a majority has expressed this view.

In 2001, 27% considered moderate drinking bad for one’s health, 22% said it was good for you and 46% said it made no difference. Those views changed relatively little over about a decade before Americans became more skeptical.

Public awareness of research about drinking and health has also increased. Eighty-six percent of Americans say they have heard at least something about recent studies concerning the long-term health effects of drinking, up from 79% in 2024. A smaller percentage says they have heard a great deal or fair amount about these studies, although that rate has also edged higher, from 49% in 2024 to 54% today.

As overall drinking has declined, the percentage of Americans who say they sometimes drink too much has also fallen, reaching a new low of 13%. Before 2000, more than 20% of Americans routinely reported overdrinking, including a record-high 35% in 1989.

More generally, Americans who drink alcohol report having an average of 3.2 drinks in the past week. This is similar to the 2.8 reported last year but down from an average of 3.9 drinks per week over the prior five readings.

Declines in Drinking Span Most Major Demographic Groups

The decline in drinking since 2023 is evident across most demographic groups, including among men, women, White and non-white adults, and all age groups. None of these groups saw significant changes in the past year.

Among partisans, drinking is now down sharply compared with 2023 among Republicans and independents but not Democrats.

Drinking has also declined since 2023 among moderately religious and nonreligious adults (as indicated by the frequency of church or other religious attendance), while it has not declined among highly religious adults (those attending weekly). However, drinking was already less common among the most religious group.

Use of Nonalcoholic Alternatives Is Limited

For the first time this year, Gallup asked Americans about their use of nonalcoholic alternatives to alcohol. Seventeen percent, including 20% of drinkers and 14% of non-drinkers, report that they have consumed nonalcoholic beer, wine or spirits instead of an alcoholic drink at some point in the past year.

Among drinkers who consume nonalcoholic drinks, 38% say they are drinking more of these than they used to, about double the 17% who report drinking less.

Beer Maintains Narrow Lead, but Liquor Up Long Term

Beer continues to hold a narrow lead as the beverage U.S. drinkers say they drink most often. Thirty-six percent name beer, 32% choose liquor and 30% choose wine.

These figures are broadly consistent with those from the past several years. Over the longer term, preferences have shifted toward liquor (up 12 percentage points since 2016) and away from beer (down seven points), while preference for wine has remained near 30%.

Alcoholic beverage preferences continue to differ sharply by gender: 56% of men versus 16% of women favor beer, whereas 45% of women versus 15% of men prefer wine. More women (37%) than men (26%) list liquor as their favorite beverage. 

Preferences differ less by age, although wine is preferred most often by adults aged 55 and older, while liquor is chosen more often among younger and middle-aged adults. Among young adults, liquor is essentially tied with beer as the preferred beverage, a sharp change from a decade ago, when beer was more dominant in this age group.

Bottom Line

Americans’ alcohol use has changed significantly in recent years as concern about its health effects has grown. Fewer Americans are drinking, and those who do appear to be cutting back, including by turning to nonalcoholic drinks.

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