(NewsNation) — Young adults in the United States are drinking less than their counterparts did 20 years ago, while older Americans’ alcohol use has increased, an analysis of Gallup trends found.
Among middle-aged adults, drinking has remained relatively steady through the years, according to Gallup.
Data from 2001-2003, 2011-2013 and 2021-2023 were reviewed by Gallup to come to this conclusion.
To measure alcohol consumption, Gallup asks U.S. adults whether they “ever have occasion to use alcoholic beverages.” The national average has been in the low 60% range for over 40 years. However, it dropped by 10 percentage points over the last two decades among those aged 18 to 34, going from 72% to 62%.
For those 55 and older, that number went up: 49% to 59%. Those in the “middle,” Gallup found, maintained a higher drinking rate at 69%, only a couple of points up from the 67% usually reported.
Younger adults were also less likely to be considered a “regular drinker” by Gallup standards. From 2021-2023, 61% of younger adults said they had a drink in the past week, down from 64% in 2011-2013 and 67% in 2001-2003.
It was the opposite for older adults: There was a six-point increase compared to how many 55 and up said they had alcohol during the week.
“This pattern is a change from two decades ago when younger adults were the most likely to be regular drinkers and older adults the least,” Gallup wrote.
Gallup attributed this to several factors. Demographics likely played a part, they said, as there is greater diversity in younger generations’ racial/ethnic makeup, and data shows white Americans are more likely to imbibe.
Growing public concern about the health risks of drinking, particularly among young adults, could also be behind these shifts, Gallup said. Adults’ increased use of marijuana in recent years could also play a part.
On the other hand, Gallup said, a generational change seems to be an answer to the question of why older Americans drink more.
“Baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) have consistently been more likely to drink alcohol than the Silent Generation (born before 1946),” Gallup wrote. “Baby boomers’ drinking rate has been fairly steady over the past two decades, near 65%, but as they replace the Silent Generation as America’s oldest age group, the drinking rate among older adults has increased.”