Water Accounts for 51% of Nonalcoholic Beverage Consumption

Water accounts for just over half of what American adults drink on an average day (not counting alcoholic beverages). Water is 51.2 percent of nonalcoholic beverage consumption, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In second place among beverages is coffee (14.9 percent), followed by sweetened beverages (10.2 percent), tea, (8.7 percent), fruit beverages (5.6 percent), milk (5.5 percent), and diet beverages (3.8 percent). 

Water's share of beverage consumption declines with age while coffee's share increases. Among adults aged 60-plus, coffee accounts for 20.5 percent of daily beverage consumption. This is more than twice coffee's share among young adults...

Percent distribution of nonalcoholic beverage consumption by age, 2015–18

	total	20 to 39	40 to 59	60-plus
Water	51.2%	56.5%	49.3%	46.9%
Coffee	14.9	9.2	16.1	20.5
Sweetened beverages	10.2	13.5	10.4	5.9
Tea	8.7	6.7	9.6	10.3
Fruit beverages	5.6	6.5	5.1	5.2
Milk	5.5	5.0	5.2	6.4
Diet beverages	3.8	2.6	4.4	4.9

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Nonalcoholic Beverage Consumption among Adults: United States, 2015–2018

High School Seniors Are Taking Fewer Risks—Sort of

In many ways, high school seniors are better behaved than they used to be. The results of the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) show fewer seniors engaging in a number of risky activities. The YRBSS has been tracking the behavior of middle and high school students every two years since 1991, surveying students in public and private schools across the country. Here's a comparison of the behaviors of high school seniors in 2019 with their counterparts in 2009 and 1999...

Percent of high school seniors who engaged in activity, 1999 to 2019

	2019	2009	1999
Drove after drinking*	7.8%	28.2%	37.2%
Currently smoke cigarettes*	9.0	25.2	42.8
Currently drink alcohol*	39.9	51.7	61.7
Currently use marijuana*	28.3	24.6	31.5
Ever had sexual intercourse	56.7	62.3	64.9
Currently sexually active**	42.3	49.1	50.6
Use a computer 3 or more hours per day for something other than school work***	45.5	21.2	–
Watch television 3 or more hours per day***	19.4	–	33.1

Note: – means data not available.

* In past 30 days

** In past 3 months

*** On an average school day

Many fewer high school seniors are smoking cigarettes, with the percentage of current smokers falling from 43 percent in 1999 to just 9 percent in 2019. But 40 percent of 2019 high school seniors reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, making vaping almost as popular as cigarettes were two decades ago.

Many fewer high school seniors report driving after drinking, with the number falling from 37 percent in 1999 to just 8 percent in 2019. But the 59.5 percent majority of 2019 high school seniors say they have texted while driving in the past 30 days, a behavior that can be as dangerous as driving after drinking. 

Nearly half of high school seniors say they use computers (including smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, etc.) for something other than schoolwork for 3 or more hours a day on an average school day. But many fewer high school seniors are spending a lot of time watching television.

Source: CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System 

Only 5% Are Heavy Drinkers?

People lie about how much alcohol they drink, or maybe they just don't remember. This is a well known fact and occurs not just in the United States but in countries around the world. The evidence of underreporting is easily discovered by comparing how much people say they drink with actual alcohol volume sales. One review of these studies found self-reported drinking to be 40 to 60 percent below actual consumption.

With this in mind, consider the latest data on drinking in the United States. Overall, 66 percent of adults aged 18 or older reported consuming alcohol in the past year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics' 2018 National Health Interview Survey. The NCHS calculates alcohol consumption using two questions. First, the 66 percent of respondents who are drinkers are asked how often they drink. Then they are asked, "In the past year, on those days that you drank alcoholic beverages, on the average, how many drinks did you have?" Based on the answers to those two questions, the government calculates how much alcohol men and women consume in an average week. Men who drink more than 14 alcoholic drinks a week and women who drink more than 7 are classified as heavy drinkers. An alcoholic drink is defined as one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

According to the calculations based on these self-reports, only 5.0 percent of men aged 18 or older drink more than 14 alcoholic drinks a week. Only 5.2 percent of women drink more than 7 drinks a week.  If you think this is an understatement, it most certainly is.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Heavy Drinking among U.S. Adults, 2018

Men Prefer Beer. Women Prefer Wine

Beer is still the alcoholic beverage of choice for the largest share of drinking Americans (38 percent), but wine (30 percent) and liquor (29 percent) are not far behind. Men and women differ greatly in their choice of beer or wine. But they are about equally likely to drink liquor...

Drink beer most often
Men: 55%
Women: 21%

Drink wine most often
Men: 15%
Women: 45%

Drink liquor most often
Men: 26%
Women: 32%

Source: Gallup, Liquor Ties Wine as Second-Favorite Adult Beverage in U.S.

The Brewery Explosion

Pity the thirsty masses of 2006. Back then, there were only 398 breweries in the entire United States. Today, there are 2,843, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—a more than seven-fold increase. In 2006, no state had more than 50 breweries. Today, 15 states have more than 50 and 10 states have more than 100. California has the most—333 in 2016, up from just 45 in 2006. Colorado is second with 204 breweries, up from 22 in 2006.

Not only are more breweries dotting the landscape, but there are also more brewery workers than ever before. After falling slightly between 2006 and 2010 as a consequence of the Great Recession, brewery employment surged 61 percent between 2010 and 2016 to more than 40,000. The rise in brewery employment accounted for more than half the employment growth in the U.S. beverage manufacturing industry during those years, the BLS reports.

Unfortunately, the trend in the average weekly wage for those working at breweries is not as impressive as brewery growth. Between 2006 and 2016, the average fell 25 percent to $969.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Spotlight on Statistics, Industry on Tap: Breweries

Liquor Hits High in Popularity

Beer is America's number-one alcoholic beverage, according to Gallup's annual Consumption Habits poll. But liquor is surging. When Gallup asked those who drink alcohol which beverage they are most likely to choose, 26 percent said liquor in the 2017 poll—the highest percentage in the 25 years Gallup has been tracking the trend.

Do you most often drink liquor, wine, or beer?
Beer: 40%
Wine: 30%
Liquor: 26%

"Future measurements will help determine whether the current figure marks the beginning of a trend toward an increased preference for liquor," says Gallup.

Source: Gallup, Beer Remains the Preferred Alcoholic Beverage in the U.S.

Daily Consumption of Sugary Drinks

How many Americans aged 18 or older drink at least one sugar-sweetened beverage every day? According to the CDC, a substantial 29 percent. The CDC defines sugar-sweetened beverages as regular sodas, fruit drinks, sweet tea, and sports or energy drinks. Excluded from the measure are diet sodas and fruit juice...

• By state: daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is highest in Mississippi (47.5 percent of adults) and lowest in Vermont (18.0 percent). 
• By age: daily consumption is greatest among 18-to-24-year-olds (43.3 percent) and lowest among people aged 55 or older (19.1 percent). 
• By race and Hispanic origin: daily consumption is highest among Blacks (39.9 percent) and Hispanics (36.3 percent) and lowest among "other, non-Hispanics" (21.2 percent), a segment dominated by Asians. 
• By education: only 15.5 percent of college graduates drink sugar-sweetened beverages every day versus 28.5 percent of those with some college, 35.8 percent of high school graduates, and 42.4 percent of adults without a high school diploma.

Source: CDC, Prevalence of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake among Adults—23 States and the District of Columbia, 2013

Drinking and Driving

Only 1.8 percent of Americans aged 18 or older admit to driving while drunk in the past 30 days, according to the CDC. Here is the percentage by age...

Drove while alcohol-impaired in past 30 days
18-20: 1.4%
21-24: 4.2%
25-34: 3.0%
35-54: 1.9%
55-plus: 0.8%

Source: CDC, Alcohol-Impaired Driving among Adults — United States, 2012

Wine Is Drink of Choice for College Grads

The stereotype is true: the higher the educational attainment, the greater the preference for wine over beer, according to Gallup. Here is what college graduates say they drink most often (compared to the average American)...

44% of college grads most often drink wine (34%)
35% of college grads most often drink beer (42%)
18% of college grads most often drink liquor (21%)

As the educational attainment of the population has increased, alcoholic beverage spending has shifted toward wine, according to a Demo Memo analysis of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Between 2000 and 2013, the share of the alcohol dollar devoted to beer fell from 47 to 42 percent, while the share devoted to wine climbed from 26 to 30 percent.

Source: Gallup, Drinking Highest among Educated, Upper-Income Americans

Who's Not Healthy?

Your health in six dimensions: drinking, smoking, aerobic activity, muscle strengthening activity, weight, and sleep. This is what the government measures and analyzes to determine how many adults practice healthy behavior in each dimension. Here is the percentage of Americans aged 18 or older who failed to meet each of the healthy behavior guidelines...

1. Drinks too much: 23% Defined as five or more drinks in one day in the past year.
2. Smokes: 20% Defined as current cigarette smokers.
3. No aerobic activity: 34% Defined as never engaging in leisure-time aerobic activity.
4. No muscle-strengthening activity: 74% Defined as never engaging in leisure-time muscle-strengthening activity.
5. Obese: 28% Defined as a body mass index of 30 or more.
6. Sleep deprived: 30% Defined as less than 7 hours of sleep (8 hours for 18-to-21-year-olds) per 24 hours, on average.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, Health Behaviors of Adults: United States, 2008-2010

Six Decades of Drinking

Percent of adults who drink alcoholic beverages, 1952 and 2012...

Men
1952: 60%
2012: 66%

Women
1952: 53%
2012: 64%

Source: Gallup Poll results published in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online

16% of Calories from Alcohol

Beer, wine, and liquor provide 16 percent of the daily calories of the average American, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. On an average day, 33 percent of men and 18 percent of women aged 20 or older drink alcohol. The average man consumes 150 calories a day from alcohol, and the average woman consumes 53. These figures come from 24-hour dietary recall interviews in the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

On a given day, 20 percent of men and 5 percent of women drink beer. Wine is consumed by 7 percent of women and 4 percent of men on a given day. Among men, 19 percent consume over 300 calories a day from alcohol--or more than two drinks a day. Twelve percent of women consume over 150 calories a day from alcohol--or more than one drink a day. If these figures seem low, keep in mind that alcohol consumption is widely underreported.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Calories Consumed from Alcoholic Beverages by U.S. Adults, 2007-2010

Diet Drink Demographics

One in five Americans drinks a diet soda on an average day, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Women aged 40 to 59 are most likely to drink diet soft drinks, with 28 percent consuming one or more on an average day.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Consumption of Diet Drinks in the United States, 2009-2010

Caffeine Consumption

We get about one-third of our daily caffeine hit away from home, according to dietary data collected by the federal government--from coffee shops, Coke machines, fast-food restaurants, and so on.

Men aged 20 to 29 get a larger share of their caffeine away from home (55 percent) than any other segment of the population. In contrast, only 38 percent of the caffeine consumption of their female counterparts occurs away from home.

Source: USDA, What We Eat in America, 2009-10

Beer vs. Wine

Most Americans drink alcohol and they say they don't drink much. Sixty-six percent of adults aged 18 or older drink, but they say they consume an average of only 4.2 drinks a week. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

Among drinkers, beer is the alcoholic beverage of choice for men and wine is most popular among women. The 55 percent of majority of men usually drink beer, and the 52 percent majority of women usually drink wine.

Source: Gallup, Majority in U.S. Drink Alcohol, Average Four Drinks a Week

Soda vs. Coffee

Young adults are more likely to drink soda than coffee on an average day. According to a Gallup survey, the 56 percent majority of people aged 18 to 34 drink at least one soda on an average day versus a smaller 44 percent who drink at least one cup of coffee.

Among Americans aged 35 or older, only 42 to 46 percent drink soda on an average day and a much larger 70 to 74 percent drink coffee.

Drinks Per Capita

Gallons of beverages consumed per person per year in the United States...

Milk: 21
Coffee: 23
Alcohol: 25

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service, Food Availability

Drinking and Driving

Percentage of all motor vehicle fatalities that involve at least one alcohol-impaired driver: 33%.

Source: CDC, Vital Signs: Alcohol-Impaired Driving among Adults--United States, 2010

What Men Drink

What men drink on an average day (number of cups)...

Water: 4.4
Regular soda: 1.9
Coffee: 1.6
Alcohol: 1.3
Tea: 0.9
Diet soda: 0.7
Milk: 0.5
Juice: 0.4

Note: According to the report, alcoholic beverage consumption is "mostly in the form of beer."
Source: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, What We Eat in America, Beverage Choices of U.S. Adults

What High School Students Drink

Percentage of high school students who drink at least one serving per day of the following beverages...

Water: 72.4
Milk: 42.0
Fruit juice (100%): 30.2
Soda (not diet): 24.3
Other sugar-sweetened drink: 16.9
Sports drink: 16.1
Coffee or tea: 14.8
Diet soda: 7.1
Energy drink: 5.0

Source: CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Beverage Consumption among High School Students--United States, 2010