Beer preference differs across demographic groups, but the largest gaps in these Gallup toplines appear by gender, age, education, income, and political identity. In July 2025, 38% of U.S. adults who drink alcohol said beer was their preferred alcoholic beverage. The figures below describe preferences among drinkers, not the share of all U.S. adults who drink beer.
Table of contents
- The headline beer preference figure
- Beer preference by gender and race
- Age differences among beer drinkers
- Education and household income
- Political identification and ideology
- How the demographic figures changed over time
The headline beer preference figure
The most recent figure in the supplied Gallup series is from the July 2025 topline. It reports that 38% of U.S. adults who drink alcohol preferred beer. This is a preference measure: respondents are being grouped by the alcoholic beverage they said they preferred. It is not a measure of how many drinks people consume, how often they drink, or how much beer households purchase.
The same topline gives a useful baseline for comparing demographic groups. Among the listed categories, beer preference was highest for drinkers with a high school education or less, at 45%, and for drinkers ages 18–34, at 43%. The lowest listed figures were 23% among female drinkers, 32% among drinkers ages 55 and older, and 33% among college graduates.
Those comparisons should be read within the population covered by the topline: people who drink alcohol. A percentage such as 52% for male drinkers means that 52% of male alcohol drinkers preferred beer in the July 2025 topline. It does not mean that 52% of all men preferred beer.
Beer preference by gender and race
Gender is the clearest dividing line in the July 2025 figures. Beer was the preferred alcoholic beverage for 52% of male drinkers, compared with 23% of female drinkers. The supplied figures therefore show a much higher beer-preference share among male drinkers than among female drinkers.
The race categories were nearly identical in that same period. Among White drinkers, 37% preferred beer, while 37% of non-White drinkers preferred beer. In this topline, the White and non-White percentages are the same even though the gender percentages differ substantially.
| Group of alcohol drinkers | Preferred beer, July 2025 |
|---|---|
| All U.S. drinkers | 38% |
| Male drinkers | 52% |
| Female drinkers | 23% |
| White drinkers | 37% |
| Non-White drinkers | 37% |
The earlier toplines show the same broad gender pattern. Gallup’s July 2022 topline recorded beer preference at 50% among male drinkers and 20% among female drinkers. In July 2019, the corresponding figures were 55% and 21%. Across the three supplied measurement periods, the male percentage was 50% or higher, while the female percentage stayed between 20% and 23%.
The race figures were also close in each period. In July 2022, 36% of White drinkers and 35% of non-White drinkers preferred beer. In July 2019, the figures were 38% and 39%, respectively. These toplines do not support a large separation between the two reported race categories.
Age differences among beer drinkers
The July 2025 results show younger drinkers with the highest beer-preference figure among the three listed age groups. Beer was preferred by 43% of drinkers ages 18–34, 40% of drinkers ages 35–54, and 32% of drinkers ages 55 and older.
This age ordering differs from the July 2022 topline, when the 35–54 group had the highest figure. In that measurement period, 37% of drinkers ages 18–34 preferred beer, compared with 39% of those ages 35–54 and 31% of those ages 55 and older. The July 2019 topline reported 41% for both the 18–34 and 35–54 groups, while the 55-and-older group stood at 34%.
| Age group | July 2019 | July 2022 | July 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 41% | 37% | 43% |
| 35–54 | 41% | 39% | 40% |
| 55 and older | 34% | 31% | 32% |
In all three Gallup toplines, the 55-and-older group had the lowest beer-preference percentage of the listed age groups. The two younger categories were closer to each other: they tied in July 2019, the 35–54 group led in July 2022, and the 18–34 group led in July 2025.
These are snapshots from July 2019, July 2022, and July 2025. They describe the reported preference in each measurement period and should not be treated as a continuous annual trend or a forecast.
Education and household income
Education shows a consistent ordering in the supplied figures. In July 2025, 45% of drinkers with a high school education or less preferred beer. The figure was 38% among drinkers with some college and 33% among college graduates.
Gallup’s July 2022 topline recorded 44% for drinkers with a high school education or less, 30% for those with some college, and 32% for college graduates. In July 2019, the figures were 47%, 34%, and 34%, respectively. The high-school-or-less category was the highest of the three education groups in every supplied period.
The income categories in July 2025 were less linear. Beer was preferred by 38% of drinkers in households earning less than $50,000, 43% of drinkers in households earning $50,000 to $100,000, and 34% of drinkers in households earning $100,000 or more. The middle income category had the highest reported percentage, while the highest income category had the lowest.
Because no income breakdown from the July 2019 or July 2022 toplines is included here, the income comparison is limited to July 2025. It should not be extended backward or interpreted as a change over time.
For readers interested in beer and home brewing, the education and income figures are descriptive audience measures rather than purchasing or brewing-behavior statistics. They indicate how respondents classified their preferred alcoholic beverage; they do not quantify home-brewing participation, beer styles, spending, or equipment ownership.
Political identification and ideology
The July 2025 topline reports similar beer-preference percentages across the three party-identification groups. Republican drinkers were at 40%, Democratic drinkers at 39%, and independent drinkers at 36%.
The July 2022 topline shows a different ordering: 38% of independent drinkers preferred beer, compared with 36% of Republican drinkers and 29% of Democratic drinkers. It also reports ideology figures of 41% for conservative drinkers, 35% for moderate drinkers, and 29% for liberal drinkers.
The July 2019 topline recorded 43% among independent drinkers, 39% among Republican drinkers, and 30% among Democratic drinkers. Its ideology figures were 44% for conservative drinkers, 39% for moderate drinkers, and 29% for liberal drinkers.
| Political group | July 2019 | July 2022 | July 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican drinkers | 39% | 36% | 40% |
| Independent drinkers | 43% | 38% | 36% |
| Democratic drinkers | 30% | 29% | 39% |
Party identification and ideology are separate groupings in the supplied statistics. The party figures compare Republican, independent, and Democratic drinkers. The ideology figures compare conservative, moderate, and liberal drinkers. They should not be combined as though they measured the same classification.
How the demographic figures changed over time
Across the three supplied toplines, the overall beer-preference figure was 38% in July 2019, 35% in July 2022, and 38% in July 2025. The series therefore shows the same overall percentage in the first and most recent periods, with a lower reported figure in July 2022.
The gender figures moved within a relatively stable pattern: male drinkers were at 55% in 2019, 50% in 2022, and 52% in 2025; female drinkers were at 21%, 20%, and 23%. The July 2025 race figures were equal at 37%, while the earlier race figures differed by one percentage point in each direction: White versus non-White drinkers were 36% versus 35% in 2022 and 38% versus 39% in 2019.
The education figures also remained ordered from highest for high school education or less to lower figures for the other two groups: 47%, 44%, and 45% for the high-school-or-less category; 34%, 30%, and 38% for some college; and 34%, 32%, and 33% for college graduates, across 2019, 2022, and 2025.
Taken together, the Gallup July 2019, July 2022, and July 2025 toplines provide demographic snapshots of beer preference among U.S. alcohol drinkers. The most pronounced differences in the supplied July 2025 figures are between male and female drinkers and between the youngest and oldest listed age groups. The figures are estimates reported in those toplines, tied to their stated July measurement periods, and are not forecasts of future beer preference.