How Much Alcohol Do People in the US Drink Per Capita in 2025?

Alcohol in the United States in 2025 feels like it is changing shape more than disappearing.

Walk into a bar or a store, and the choices look different from what they did a few years ago.

Beer still has a big footprint, yet spirits and canned cocktails are everywhere, and many are stronger than what people used to grab without thinking.

Even as more adults say they drink less often, the overall per-person amount remains high.

Look state by state, and the gap gets hard to ignore. Border and tourist states sit near the top because visitors and cross-state buyers boost the numbers, while Utah and a few Southern and Appalachian states stay near the bottom under tighter rules and local habits.

Spirits now carry more of the alcohol load than beer, helped by the boom in ready-to-drink cocktails.

Overview of Alcohol Consumption per Capita in the US

A hand holding a frosty beer glass in a dimly lit bar setting — Per capita alcohol use remains high despite fewer adults choosing to drink

Metric	Latest Level Used In 2025 Tracking	Note
Pure alcohol per person (age 14+)	About 2.5 gallons per year	Heavy yearly load, near recent highs
Standard drinks per year	About 533 drinks	Around 1 to 2 drinks on most days
Average drinks per week	About 10 to 12 drinks	National range holding steady
Adults who drink at all	About 54 percent	Share of drinkers keeps falling
Ethanol from spirits per person	About 1.06 gallons	Spirits are now slightly ahead of beer in alcohol impact
Ethanol from beer per person	About 1.02 gallons	Beer is still huge in volume, lower in ethanol hit
Ethanol from wine per person	About 0.42 gallons	Smallest slice of total ethanol

Beer, Wine, Spirits – What Americans Choose In 2025?

Graphic comparing U.S. alcohol preferences in 2025, showing yearly pure alcohol intake per person: spirits at 1.06 gallons, beer at 1.02 gallons, and wine at 0.42 gallons — Spirits now match beer in total ethanol impact, reshaping the national drinking profile

A cocktail, a shot, or a canned margarita carries more alcohol than a typical beer, so spirits can win the ethanol race without winning the raw volume race.

Drink	Pure Alcohol Per Person (Yearly)	Rough Slice Of The Total	What People Are Doing With It In 2025
Beer	~1.02 gallons	~4 in 10	Still the go-to for parties and sports, but the slow slide keeps going
Spirits	~1.06 gallons	~4 in 10	Tequila, whiskey, and vodka stay hot, plus canned cocktails keep pulling people in
Wine	~0.42 gallons	~2 in 10	Loyal older crowd, younger buyers are less interested, everyday bottles feel price stress

Spirits

Tequila and American whiskey keep getting more popular, both at home and in bars. Also, ready-to-drink cans make spirits easy for casual occasions that used to belong to beer.

Higher ABV means spirits gain ground even when bottle counts move slowly.

Beer

Big domestic brands keep losing share year after year. Craft stays popular, yet growth looks flat, and shelf competition is brutal.

Imports, hard seltzers, and RTDs keep stealing the “grab something light” moment.

Wine

Buying skews older, and younger adults do not pick wine as a default like prior generations. Mid-price wine takes hits from both sides: spirits for buzz, RTDs for convenience.

Spirits are dominating because they are stronger and easier to buy in new formats.

Beer is not so much in focus while wine is holding on, but mostly with older drinkers, and it has not found a firm grip on the younger population in 2025.

Fewer Drinkers, Heavier Drinking

Close-up of a man drinking from a glass, with focus on his mouth and the rim of the glass — A shrinking drinking population carries a disproportionate share of total consumption

The headline number for 2025 looks simple: fewer adults say they drink, yet per-capita alcohol intake stays stubbornly high.

Gallup polling published in 2025 shows about 54 percent of US adults reporting any drinking, the lowest level since Gallup began tracking in 1939.

At the same time, market data suggests the average number of drinks per adult per week has only dipped a little since the early 2020s, landing near a long-running band of roughly 10 to 12 drinks weekly.

That gap points to a concentration effect: a smaller drinking population carrying more of the total.

What The Numbers Show In 2025?

Survey and sales tracking line up on three points:

Participation keeps falling. Health worries and lifestyle shifts, especially among younger adults and women, drive the drop in “yes, I drink” answers.
Intensity stays high inside the drinking group. When people do drink, many choose higher-ABV spirits or RTD cocktails, which keeps ethanol intake from sliding quickly.
Binge drinking remains common. National NSDUH reporting defines binge drinking as 4 drinks on one occasion for women or 5 for men, and shows millions still doing it monthly, especially among ages 18 to 25.

Why Drinking Gets Heavier For Some

A few forces keep pushing the weight toward heavier use:

Economic and social stress. Short-term pressure like inflation often trims casual drinking while leaving heavy weekends or coping drinking untouched.
Product shift. Spirits, tequila, whiskey, vodka, and canned cocktails take more occasions than used to mean beer, raising alcohol per serving.
Smaller core of frequent drinkers. When fewer people drink at all, national averages depend more on the habits of regular users.

When Drinking Turns Into Harm

Close-up of a woman holding a glass near her mouth, softly lit with a shallow depth of field — High-risk patterns remain widespread, with significant long-term health consequences

Heavy or binge patterns carry real risk, even when they feel normal in the moment.

CDC estimates tie excessive alcohol use to about 178,000 deaths per year in the US, through liver disease, cancers, heart harm, injuries, and alcohol-impaired crashes.

Binge episodes also raise near-term danger: blackouts, falls, violence, unsafe sex, and driving risk spike after just a few hours of high intake.

Warning signs show up in everyday life: needing more drinks for the same effect, drinking to steady mood, hiding use, or feeling sick and anxious without alcohol. When patterns start running the schedule, support matters, and early help works better than waiting for a crisis.

There is Help Available

Treatment ranges from outpatient counseling to medically supervised detox and residential programs.

One example people sometimes look at is Voyager Recovery Center, or similar rehab centers, which offer detox plus residential care. Programs like that are one option among many, and the best fit depends on the level of dependence, mental health needs, home support, and insurance.

For a starting point without a sales pitch, SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-HELP) offers free, confidential guidance and referrals day and night.

Income, Education, And Drinking Habits

Money and schooling keep showing up in US drinking patterns in 2025.

People with higher incomes and college degrees drink more often, while people with lower incomes drink less often overall but take more damage when they do drink.

Group	How Often People Drink	What Drinking Looks Like
Higher Income	More likely to drink at all and to drink weekly	More routine, smaller servings, more wine, and premium spirits
Lower Income	Less likely to drink at all	Fewer drinkers, heavier weekends among drinkers
College Graduates	Highest participation	More social and spread out through the week
High School Or Less	Lower participation	More binge-style episodes among drinkers

Where The Trend Could Go Next

A hand holding a cocktail glass against a blurred backdrop of city lights at night — Market signals point to slow change ahead, with product mix shifting faster than total volume

A few lanes are already visible for the next couple of years. None looks like a sudden national sobriety wave.

Most signs point to slow change, with the mix shifting faster than the total amount.

Participation Keeps Sliding

Polling in 2025 shows a record low share of adults who drink, and the drop has run for three straight years. Health worries are a big driver, especially among younger adults.

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No and Low Alcohol Grows Into a Permanent Aisle

Big producers are investing in dealcoholized beer and other low-ABV lines, betting that “drink less, keep the ritual” sticks.

RTDs Stay the Bright Spot

Forecast updates for 2025 show ready-to-drink cocktails as the only category still growing in volume, even while beer, wine, and spirits trend down.

Beer Keeps Drifting Down, Slowly

IWSR expects another small global drop in beer volume during 2025, with the United States a major part of the drag.

Wine Softens Further

Forecasts for 2025 keep wine as the weakest major category, tied to aging demand and weak pull from younger buyers.

People Trade Down on Price

Late 2025 sales reports show premium spirits slowing while cheaper bottles gain ground, a classic pressure move when budgets tighten.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Per Capita Mean Everyone Drinks That Amount?

No. Per capita spreads total alcohol sold over the whole population base, including people who never drink. A smaller group of frequent drinkers accounts for a big share of the total, so the typical drinker often drinks more than the per-capita average suggests.

What Is The Difference Between Sales Based Numbers And Surveys?

Sales based numbers count alcohol sold in stores and bars, then convert it into pure alcohol. Surveys ask people what they drank and how often. Surveys often come out lower because people forget, round down, or skip mentioning heavy nights.

Why Do Some Small States Look So High?

States like New Hampshire or Nevada pull in buyers from outside state borders and a lot of visitors. People shop where taxes are lower or where they travel, so sales in those states include alcohol that gets consumed somewhere else too.

How Does The US Compare With Other Countries In 2025?

The US sits in the upper tier of wealthy countries, near places like Canada, the UK, and much of Western Europe, but below the heaviest drinking parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The main US twist lately is product mix, more spirits and canned cocktails than many peers.

What Counts As High Risk Drinking?

A simple rule used by US health agencies: binge drinking means 4 drinks in one sitting for women or 5 for men. Regularly passing that line, drinking most days, or feeling loss of control are common warning signs. Anyone worried about pattern or withdrawal should talk with a doctor or a treatment line for safe guidance.

Bottom Line

People in the US still drink a lot in 2025, even though more adults are choosing not to drink at all.

The bigger change is what ends up in the glass: beer is now less common, while spirits and canned cocktails are everywhere.

Matthew Gray

I explore the facts that make places interesting. I research and write about geography, communities, local trivia, and population trends. My goal is to turn statistics into something anyone can enjoy, remember, and use. At North American Community Hub, I focus on stories hidden in numbers, like quirky rankings, surprising facts, and county-level patterns that say more than charts ever could. I like showing how data reveals the character of cities, towns, and everything in between. Outside of work, I read, travel, and keep notes on odd facts most people overlook.