Surveillance Report #120 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

how much does the average american spend on alcohol

Twenty-eight percent of men reported that they abstained from drinking completely (38% of women) during the last 12 months. As another example, about three-quarters (78)% of men reported drinking 7 or fewer drinks in a typical week (or one drink a day or less on average) lsd overdose symptoms while for women about 90% consumed 7 or less drinks/week. Per-capita alcohol consumption appears to be highest in the West and lowest in the South, based on the NIAAA data. On the state level, it appears to be highest in New Hampshire and Delaware, and lowest in Utah.

Religiosity Also a Factor in Likelihood That People Drink

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). Both are measured in terms of pure alcohol/ethanol intake rather than the total quantity of the beverage. Wine contains around 12% pure alcohol per volume, so that one liter of wine contains 0.12 liters of pure alcohol. Beer contains around 5% of pure alcohol per volume1 so that one liter of beer contains 0.05 liters of pure alcohol. Global trends on alcohol abstinence show a mirror image of drinking prevalence data.

Low and no-alcohol sales and consumption

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. Like previous reports on per capita alcohol consumption, it is intended to provide updated alcohol information for policymakers, health care providers, famous fetal alcohol syndrome researchers, and others concerned about alcohol issues. 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.

Alcohol-related deaths by age

Alcohol money could be used for other luxuries, which would likely deliver more lasting enjoyment. Instead of resigning themselves to more and more spending on drinking, consumers are free to invest in better sources of relief than alcohol yellow eyes booze. This chart is shown for the global total but can be explored for any country or region using the “Change country or region” toggle. As the map shows, the average per capita alcohol consumption varies widely globally.

how much does the average american spend on alcohol

Relatedly, drinking also differs by education, with college graduates (76%) and postgraduates (75%) the most likely to report they drink. This is followed by nearly two-thirds of those with some college education (65%) and about half of those who haven’t attended college (51%). Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations.

As shown by clusters of countries (for example, Middle Eastern countries with low alcohol intake but high GDP per capita), we tend to see strong cultural patterns that tend to alter the standard income-consumption relationship we may expect. 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. When data from the National Alcohol Survey (NAS) are released, our scientists update the drinking norms for the US.

As a practitioner, one way to assess your clients’ drinking habits is to have them compare their current consumption level to how much the rest of the nation is drinking. While not exclusive to RTDs, according to Flavorman.com, 2022 beverage trends will be based on “the long-term effects of an ongoing pandemic…focus[ing] on celebrating life’s simple pleasures while striving for balance.” Experts say we should see more craft beers, including hazy IPAs, lower alcohol IPAs, lagers, sour beers, rose beers, and fresh hop beers. 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.

But how much of increased spending is attributable to rising alcohol prices, and how much results from Americans simply drinking more? To find out, we juxtaposed the typical American’s alcohol expenses with the average price of wine and malt beverages in each year. It turns out that beer prices surged over 61 percent during that time, and wine prices increased by over 150 percent since 1996.

  1. Surveys conducted among the United States residents show an increased alcohol consumption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. Americans drink less beer and more wine than they used to, according to the NIAAA.
  3. This interactive map shows the annual average alcohol consumption of alcohol, expressed per person aged 15 years or older.
  4. Thus, the 2021 national annual per capita consumption level of 2.51 gallons of ethanol equates to a person aged 14 or older consuming approximately an average of 535.5 standard drinks in a year.

So, I took to asking some peers — all of whom are in their 20s and 30s, and all of whose names I’ve changed — about theiraverage weekly spend on alcohol. Keep in mind almost all of these people live in urban areas, so it’s still not a completely accurate snapshot (though really, what is?), but I think their answers provide some interesting insight into how we approach this particular area of spending. According to NIAAA (2022), a “standard drink” in the United States contains 0.6 fluid ounces of ethanol.

how much does the average american spend on alcohol

At the end of this topic page, we provide a number of potential sources of support and guidance for those concerned about uncontrolled drinking or alcohol dependency. In a related chart, you can see the share who drink alcohol by gender and age group in the UK. When we look at gender differences, we see that in all countries, men have a higher alcohol consumption than women. Again, the prevalence of drinking across North Africa and the Middle East is notably lower than elsewhere. Typically, 5 to 10 percent of adults across these regions drank in the preceding year, and in a number of countries, this was below 5 percent. Drug use disorders are often classified within the same category as mental health disorders — research and data on mental health can be found on our topic page here.

Their prominence is driven by consumers’ continual search for new and exciting products. “When we ask RTD consumers what factors influence their beverage alcohol purchase decision, the #1 response we hear is ‘flavor’,” says Rand. “People are eager to try new brands, especially those that offer a unique or interesting flavor. While this is particularly prevalent with RTDs, we’re also seeing significant growth in flavors in beer and spirits as well.” While 2020 saw unprecedented upheaval in Americans’ lives, it did not slow their taste for alcohol.