(Vinepair) America loves to drink. According to an April 2020 report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Americans’ alcohol consumption reached 7.8 billion gallons in 2018. U.S. residents reportedly drank 6.3 billion gallons of beer, 900 million gallons of wine, and 570 million gallons of spirits. As a country, we drink an average of 2.35 gallons of alcohol per capita per year — which amounts to about 501 standard drinks annually.
As do many cultural habits, this varies by state and region: The West drinks by far the most booze of any region, coming in at 2.5 gallons per capita, while the South drinks the least, consuming a mere 2.23 gallons per person per year. The Northeast and Midwest drink 2.41 and 3.27 gallons per capita, respectively.