Surveillance Report #110
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research
Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System
HIGHLIGHTS: This surveillance report on 1977–2016 apparent per capita alcohol consumption in the United States is the 32nd in a series of consumption reports produced annually by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The following are highlights from the current report, which updates consumption trends through 2016: • Per capita consumption of ethanol from all alcoholic beverages combined in 2016 was 2.35 gallons, representing a 0.9 percent increase from 2.33 gallons in 2015. • Between 2015 and 2016, changes in overall per capita consumption of ethanol included increases in 33 States, decreases in 12 States, and no changes in 5 States and the District of Columbia. • Analysis of overall per capita alcohol consumption by U.S. Census region between 2015 and 2016 indicated an increase of 1.3 percent in the Northeast, 0.4 percent in the Midwest, 1.3 percent in the South, and 1.7 percent in the West. • Healthy People 2020 set the national objective for per capita annual alcohol consumption at no more than 2.1 gallons. Per capita consumption would need to decrease by 2.8 percent each year for the next 4 years to achieve this goal. In 2016, the overall per capita annual alcohol consumption level was more than 10 percent above target (>2.31 gallons) in 29 States and the District of Columbia, 10 percent or less above target (>2.10–2.31 gallons) in 12 States, 10 percent below target (1.89–2.10 gallons) in 5 States, and more than 10 percent below target (<1.89 gallons) in 4 States.
The 10 States That Consume the Most Alcohol (U.S. News & World Report)
Apparent alcohol consumption for States, census regions, and the United States, 2016
