The share of US adults who say they drink alcohol remains at a record low, a new study reveals.
According to the survey by Gallup, the percentage fell to 54%, the lowest level recorded in the analytics firm’s trend data going back to 1939.
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That figure matches last year’s low.
Reported alcohol use has fallen over the past three years, sliding from 62% in 2023 to 58% in 2024 and 54% in 2025, before staying “steady” this year, the ‘Consumption Habits’ survey said.
The findings indicate that 51% of US adults now view having one or two alcoholic drinks per day as harmful to health, down from last year’s level of 53%.
This year also marked the first time Gallup asked Americans about nonalcoholic substitutes.
Seventeen percent said they had consumed nonalcoholic beer, wine or spirits instead of alcohol at some point over the past year.
That includes 20% of drinkers and 14% of non-drinkers.
Among drinkers who use nonalcoholic beverages, 38% said they are consuming more than they used to.
That is roughly twice the 17% who said they are drinking less.
Gallup director of US social research and author of the study Lydia Saad said: “Fewer Americans are drinking, and those who do appear to be cutting back, including by turning to nonalcoholic drinks.”
Beer still holds a slim lead as the alcoholic beverage US drinkers say they consume most often.
Thirty-six percent picked beer, 32% selected liquor and 30% chose wine.
Over a longer period, preferences have moved toward liquor, which is up 12 percentage points since 2016, while beer has fallen seven points.
Wine preference has stayed close to 30%.
As per findings, alcoholic preferences continue to vary by gender, with men showing more preference for beer. By contrast, more women prefer wine and liquor.
Saad said “public awareness of research about drinking and health has also increased”.
Gallup found 86% of Americans have heard at least something about recent studies on the long-term health effects of drinking, up from 79% in 2024.
Meanwhile, the share saying they sometimes drink too much dropped to a new low of 13%, down from levels above 20% before 2000 and far below the 1989 peak of 35%.
