Fewer Americans Are Drinking Alcohol Than Ever Before: Survey

The survey comes as updated blood pressure guidelines call for reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption.

Alcohol consumption is on the decline in the United States. Shutterstock

The percentage of Americans who drink alcoholic beverages has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, according to a new survey released on Aug. 13.

In the Gallup survey, 54 percent of adult respondents said they drink alcohol. That’s down from 58 percent in 2024, 62 percent in 2023, and 67 percent in 2022.

It’s also 1 percentage point lower than the previous low, recorded in 1958.

Gallup has been surveying Americans on alcohol consumption since 1939.

Since 2023, the drop in consumption has been more pronounced among women—an 11 percentage point drop to 51 percent—than men, down 5 percentage points to 57 percent.

Younger people are more likely to report not drinking alcohol. Just half of adults aged 18 to 34 reported drinking in the latest survey, compared with 56 percent of adults aged 35 to 54 and 56 percent of adults 55 years of age and older. Declines were recorded across all age groups and income levels in recent years.

Republicans are now the least likely to consume alcohol; the share of Republicans who reported drinking declined by 19 percentage points from 2023 to 2025. There was a drop of 6 percentage points among independents and a decline of 3 percentage points among Democrats.

A majority of respondents, 54 percent, now say it’s bad to drink, even in moderation. That’s up from 39 percent in 2023.

Side effects of alcohol consumption include a higher risk of hypertension and coronary artery disease. A recent study of older drinkers found that even low levels of drinking were linked to higher mortality. On the other hand, moderate consumption has been associated with positive findings in some studies, including a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

The Gallup survey was conducted from July 7 through July 21 via telephone.

The results were based on a sample of 1,002 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

New Recommendation

The survey came as organizations stated on Aug. 14 in updated blood pressure guidelines that people should reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption.

“For all adults, lifestyle changes, including maintaining or achieving a healthy weight, following a heart-healthy eating pattern ... reducing sodium intake, increasing dietary potassium intake, adopting a moderate physical activity program, managing stress, and reducing or eliminating alcohol intake are strongly recommended to prevent or treat elevated blood pressure and hypertension,” the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and other groups said in the guidelines.

The previous guidelines, disseminated in 2017, stated that people could drink alcohol but that women should consume no more than one drink per day and that men should limit intake to two drinks per day.

Those are the same upper levels as the 2020–2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“Emerging evidence suggests that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from various causes, such as from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease,” the guidelines read.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, surgeon general at the time, said in January that alcoholic drinks should contain updated warning labels and that drinking alcohol could lead to the development of cancer.

The current labels, established in 1988, warn against consumption by pregnant women and state that consuming alcohol impairs the ability to drive a car or operate machinery.