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Business Environment Profiles - United States

Per capita expenditure on alcohol

Published: 21 October 2024

Key Metrics

Per capita expenditure on alcohol

Total (2025)

1008 $

Annualized Growth 2020-25

5.0 %

Definition of Per capita expenditure on alcohol

Per capita expenditure on alcoholic beverages. Data is sourced from the United States Department of Agriculture and measured in constant dollars with 2022 as the base year.

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Recent Trends – Per capita expenditure on alcohol

Due to various contrasting trends, per capita expenditure on alcohol has risen slowly over the past decade, from $630.7 per person in 2000 to $666.0 in 2010. The small growth, however, is actually not due to overall greater consumer alcohol consumption. Instead, consumer preferences have shifted toward premium beverages, such as wine and spirits, which are more expensive than beer. Consumption of wine and spirits increased from a combined 3.27 gallons per person in 2001 to 3.92 gallons in 2008.

Another factor affecting the move away from beer and toward wine and spirits is consumer health concerns; medical studies released during the past decade showed that moderate consumption of wine and spirits could lead to health benefits. Also, the recent trend of low-carbohydrate diets discouraged the consumption of beer, which is generally high in carbohydrates. As a result, beer failed to make the same consumption gains as wine and spirits, actually falling by 0.04 gallons per person from 2001 to 2008.

Given alcohol's semi-countercyclical nature, overall alcohol consumption spiked in 2008 during the middle of the Great Recession; however, it declined from its peak the following year. The economy recovered slightly in 2010, though, and some demand returned, boosting consumption by 0.9%. Moderate consumption growth, along with continued consumer demand for premium beverage, such as wine, spirits and craft beer, caused per capita expenditure to increase in 2011 and 2012 by 3.9% and 4.4%, respectively. This trend continued through the five-year period as millennials increased their spending on food and beverages away from home, popularizing happy hours and weekend brunch.

In 2020, added regulations during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in weak demand for alcohol at bars, hotels and restaurants. Although alcohol consumption at home increased during the pandemic, alcoholic purchases away from home ultimately resulted in a 10.2% decline in per capita expenditure on alcohol in 2020. However, as the economy began to reopen and as consumers began consuming alcohol more away from home, expenditure spiked in 2021 by 18.1% Continuation of these factors has continually pushed up consumption in 2022 and 2023 by 4.7% and 1.0% though escalating pressures from inflation have made the cost of many items higher, which has curtailed spending growth per capita in latter years. High inflation during 2024 are expected resulted in spending going up a tempered 0.6%. With the US economy avoiding a recession going into 2025, growth will continue to occur, leading to per capita expenditure on alcoholic beverages increasing at an annualized rate of 5.0% over the five years to 2025.

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5-Year Outlook – Per capita expenditure on alcohol

Over the five years to 2030, alcohol consumption will continue to expand, as moderate alcohol con...

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