Only 54% of American adults now say they drink alcohol, tying the record low Gallup recorded in 2025 and marking the lowest level in the polling organization's trend dating back to 1939. The latest results come as younger Americans increasingly move away from alcohol while older adults continue to drink at higher rates.

Gallup found that the share of Americans who drink fell from 62% in 2023 to 58% in 2024 and 54% in 2025, where it has remained this year. The decline represents a notable change from previous decades, when at least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcohol in nearly every year from 1997 through 2023.

The trend is particularly pronounced among younger adults. Gallup's analysis has found that adults under 35 are less likely to drink than young adults were in previous decades, while drinking among older Americans has moved in the opposite direction. A separate study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that heavy drinking among adults ages 50 to 64 increased by more than 36% between 2018 and 2024.

Americans are also increasingly aware of concerns surrounding alcohol's potential health effects. Gallup found that 86% have heard at least some information about recent research into the long-term health effects of drinking, up from 79% in 2024. Fifty-one percent now say having one or two alcoholic drinks every day is bad for a person's health, marking only the second time since Gallup began asking the question in 2001 that a majority has held that view.

The decline in drinking has also coincided with fewer Americans saying they drink more than they should. Just 13% now report that they sometimes drink too much, the lowest figure Gallup has recorded. Before 2000, that figure was regularly above 20%, and it reached 35% in 1989.

The changing drinking habits are also reflected in what Americans consume. Gallup found that 17% of Americans who drink have substituted nonalcoholic beverages for alcohol, another indication that drinking habits are changing even among people who have not completely stopped consuming alcohol.

While overall alcohol use has fallen to a historic low, the generational divide shows that the national trend does not apply evenly across age groups. Younger Americans are increasingly drinking less, while older adults, particularly those ages 50 to 64, have seen increases in heavier consumption