Visualized: Alcohol Consumption in the U.S. by the Numbers
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Key Takeaways
- There are 134.3 million people in the U.S. who drink alcohol (reported drinking in the past month), equating to around 46.5% of the U.S. population aged 12 or older.
- The U.S. had 57.9 million binge drinkers (five or more drinks on one occasion), which account for one-fifth of all people aged 12 or older.
In the U.S., alcohol consumption remains widespread, with nearly half the population aged 12 or older reporting that they consumed alcohol within the past month.
This visualization explores the scale of drinking behavior across America, including how many people drink, binge drink, or engage in heavier levels of alcohol use, using data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as of 2024.
How Many Americans Drink Alcohol Regularly?
Out of the 288.8 million Americans aged 12 or older, 134 million (46.5%) reported drinking alcohol at least once in the past 30 days.
The data table below shows the number of regular alcohol drinkers in the U.S., along with binge drinkers and heavy drinkers.
| Group | Number of people (millions) | Share of all people | Share of alcohol users | Share of binge drinkers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All people in the U.S. aged ≥12 | 288.8 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Alcohol users in the past month | 134.3 | 46.6% | n/a | n/a |
| Binge alcohol users (drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion in the past 30 days) | 57.9 | 20.0% | 43.1% | n/a |
| Heavy alcohol users (binge drinking five or more days in the past 30 days) | 14.5 | 5.0% | 10.8% | 25.1% |
Binge drinkers are defined as those who consumed five or more drinks (four for women) on one occasion, and heavy drinkers are those who engaged in binge drinking at least five times in the past 30 days.
Despite alcohol drinkers making up nearly half of the U.S. population of those aged 12 or older, the share in 2024 (46.5%) has declined slightly since 2022 when it was 48.7%.
The Number of Binge and Heavy Drinkers in the U.S.
Of the 134.3 million alcohol drinkers in the U.S., 57.9 million people engaged in binge drinking, which represents 20.1% of the total population and 43.1% of all alcohol users.
This reveals a significant overlap between casual use and occasional high-risk consumption, highlighting how binge drinking behavior is deeply embedded within the broader drinking population.
Heavy alcohol users—those who binge drink on at least five days in the past month—number 14.5 million in America. This represents 5% of the total population above 12 years old and 10.8% of alcohol users.
While this group is much smaller than the broader categories of alcohol and binge drinkers, heavy drinkers make up one quarter of all binge drinkers, and account for one in every 10 regular alcohol drinkers in the country.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
To learn more about alcohol consumption in the U.S., check out this graphic which breaks down which U.S. states drink the most beer.
