Florida and Texas are the two most populous Sun Belt states, and they approach alcohol very differently. Florida drinks more per person, taxes it harder, and loses more residents per capita to alcohol-related causes. Texas drinks less per person but racks up far more drunk-driving fatalities than any other state in the country.
Here are the headline numbers:
1. Floridians drink 15% more ethanol per capita than Texans (2.61 vs 2.26 gallons per year)
(Source: NIAAA Surveillance Report #121)
Per capita ethanol consumption measures how much pure alcohol a state’s population actually drinks, based on sales data and adjusted for population aged 14 and older. Florida’s 2.61 gallons sits above the national average of 2.50 gallons, while Texas’s 2.26 gallons falls well below it. Florida ranks among the top 10 states nationally for per capita consumption. Texas doesn’t crack the top 20.
Part of Florida’s higher number comes from tourism. The state hosts over 140 million visitors a year, and those drinks show up in the sales data without adding to the population denominator. Even accounting for that inflation, though, Florida’s drinking culture leans heavier than Texas’s.
2. Texas consumes more total alcohol by volume: 57.4 million gallons of ethanol vs Florida’s 56.4 million
(Source: NIAAA Surveillance Report #121)
Texas ranks second nationally in total ethanol volume consumed (behind only California at 93.9 million gallons), edging out Florida by about 1 million gallons. The gap is narrow despite Texas having roughly 8 million more residents.
That Texas consumes more total alcohol while drinking less per person is straightforward population math. But it also means the per capita story and the total volume story point in opposite directions, which matters when you’re thinking about public health burden vs. individual risk.
3. Florida’s alcohol-related death rate runs 8% higher than Texas’s (11.2 vs 10.4 per 100,000)
(Source: Trust for America’s Health and Trust for America’s Health)
In 2023, Florida’s alcohol-related death rate was 11.2 per 100,000 residents, compared to Texas’s 10.4. Both sit near the national average of about 11 per 100,000, but the gap has been widening. Florida’s rate climbed from 9.0 in 2005 to 12.4 in 2017, and TFAH projects it could reach 15.5 by 2025. Texas’s trajectory has been slower: 5.6 to 8.2 over the same period.
Florida’s older population is probably a factor. Chronic conditions like alcoholic liver disease hit harder in older demographics, and Florida has a larger share of residents over 65 than any other large state.
4. Texas leads the nation in drunk-driving deaths: 1,869 in 2022, nearly double Florida’s 940
(Source: NHTSA)
Texas recorded 1,869 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2022, more than any other state and well ahead of second-place California (1,479). Florida came in third nationally at 940, roughly half Texas’s toll. On a per-capita basis, the gap narrows, but Texas still comes out worse.
The raw numbers are partly about geography. Texas has more vehicle miles traveled than any state, and its sprawling metro areas mean more time behind the wheel. But other factors play in too, including the state’s ban on sobriety checkpoints.
5. Florida taxes wine at more than 11 times Texas’s rate ($2.25 vs $0.20 per gallon)
(Source: Tax Foundation)
Florida’s alcohol excise taxes are higher than Texas’s across every category: beer ($0.48 vs $0.20 per gallon), wine ($2.25 vs $0.20), and spirits ($6.50 vs $2.40). The wine gap is the most dramatic. Florida’s wine excise rate is the third-highest in the country; Texas’s is among the five lowest.
Texas also has no state income tax, and its generally anti-tax posture extends to alcohol. But Texas does impose a 14% mixed-beverage sales tax on drinks sold at bars and restaurants, which chips away at the gap for on-premises drinking. Florida’s higher excise taxes may partly explain its lower excessive drinking rate despite all the tourists, retirees, and warm-weather bar patios.
6. Texas’s excessive drinking rate of 17.8% tops Florida’s 16.1%
(Source: America’s Health Rankings / CDC BRFSS and Florida Department of Health BRFSS)
Excessive drinking includes both binge drinking (five or more drinks on one occasion for men, four or more for women) and heavy drinking (15+ drinks per week for men, 8+ for women). Texas’s 17.8% rate sits slightly above the national average of 17.0%, while Florida’s 16.1% falls below it.
That Texas has a higher excessive drinking rate despite lower per capita consumption is an interesting split. It suggests that when Texans do drink, a larger share of them go hard. Florida’s drinkers may spread their consumption more evenly across more frequent, moderate sessions.
7. Alcohol-impaired driving accounts for 42% of traffic deaths in Texas vs about 22% in Florida
(Source: NHTSA)
Texas’s 42% share of traffic fatalities attributable to impaired driving was among the highest in the country in 2022, compared to the national average of 32%. Florida’s share, at about 22%, was well below the national mark.
One factor: Texas is one of 10 states that prohibit sobriety checkpoints, where police can briefly stop vehicles to check for impairment. Florida allows them. CDC research shows that sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related crashes by about 20%. That policy difference, combined with Texas’s vast distances and higher vehicle miles traveled, goes a long way toward explaining the gap.
8. Excessive alcohol use cost Florida $15.3 billion in 2010, roughly $23 billion adjusted to 2025 dollars
(Source: CDC)
The CDC’s most recent state-level economic cost analysis, based on 2010 data, pegged Florida’s tab from excessive alcohol at $15.3 billion. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $23 billion, or roughly $2.73 per drink consumed. These costs cover lost workplace productivity (the biggest category), healthcare expenses, criminal justice costs, and motor vehicle crash damage.
Nationally, excessive alcohol cost $249 billion in 2010, with binge drinking responsible for 77% of the total. The median state cost was $3.5 billion. Both Florida and Texas rank among the top five most costly states, consistent with their large populations.
9. Texas runs 440 craft breweries to Florida’s 391, but both states rank near the bottom per capita
(Source: Brewers Association)
Texas has 440 craft breweries (2.0 per 100,000 adults 21+, ranking 48th nationally) while Florida has 391 (2.2 per 100,000, ranking 45th). For perspective, Vermont leads the nation at roughly 14 per 100,000. Both Sun Belt states sit in the bottom six of per capita rankings despite being in the top 10 for total brewery count.
The South in general has fewer craft breweries per person, partly due to historically restrictive alcohol regulations. Texas only allowed breweries to sell directly to consumers in taprooms starting in 2013, and Florida’s distribution laws have been a recurring fight in the state legislature.
10. Florida’s craft brewery count grew sixfold in a decade, from 66 to 391
(Source: Brewers Association and UF/IFAS)
Florida went from 66 craft breweries to 391 in roughly ten years. The industry’s estimated economic impact reached $3.76 billion in 2024, ranking it fifth nationally. The median Florida craft brewery produces about 347 barrels per year, which is tiny by industrial standards.
Texas’s craft beer industry ranks higher by total economic impact ($4.7 billion, third nationally) but took a hit in 2024 when production dropped 8.7% from the prior year. Nationally, 2024 was the first year since 2005 that brewery closures outpaced openings, and both states felt it.
11. Both Florida and Texas rank in the bottom quintile nationally for underage binge drinking
(Source: SAMHSA)
Among people aged 12 to 20, Texas had a past-month binge drinking rate of 12.93% and Florida came in at 12.51%, based on 2012-2014 NSDUH estimates. Both placed in the lowest quintile of all states. Southern states as a group tend to have lower underage drinking rates, which may partly reflect cultural attitudes and partly reflect stricter enforcement environments for underage sales.
Both states also saw statistically significant declines in underage binge drinking between 2010-2012 and 2012-2014, matching a national downward trend that has continued since.
12. Florida averages 13,189 deaths per year from excessive alcohol use, with 300,075 years of potential life lost
(Source: CDC ARDI)
The CDC’s Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application estimates that Florida loses an average of 13,189 residents per year to excessive alcohol use. Texas’s comparable figure is 13,701, slightly higher in absolute terms but lower per capita given the population difference. In Florida, 66.6% of those deaths come from chronic causes like alcohol use disorder and liver disease. The remaining third come from acute causes: crashes, poisonings, and falls.
The 300,075 years of potential life lost means that, on average, each person who dies from excessive alcohol in Florida loses about 23 years they otherwise would have lived.
13. Spirits surpassed beer in per capita consumption nationally for the first time since 1969
(Source: NIAAA Surveillance Report #121)
In 2022, Americans consumed 1.06 gallons of ethanol per capita from spirits versus 1.02 gallons from beer. That was the first time spirits took the lead since 1969. Wine trailed at 0.42 gallons. Both Florida and Texas sit in the South census region, where overall per capita consumption dropped 2.5% between 2021 and 2022 even as the spirits trend held.
The shift has been building for years. Cocktail culture, ready-to-drink canned cocktails, and a general move toward higher-ABV beverages have all pushed spirits ahead. For public health, this matters: the same volume of spirits delivers more alcohol than the same volume of beer, so the per-drink risk profile changes even when total volume stays flat.
14. Texas sends just 8% of its excessive drinking costs to healthcare, the lowest share of any state
(Source: CDC)
In the CDC’s state-level economic cost breakdown, Texas allocated the smallest share of excessive alcohol costs to healthcare of any state at 8%. Vermont had the highest share at 16%. This doesn’t mean Texans with drinking problems are healthier. It reflects the state’s uninsured rate, which hovers around 18%, the highest in the nation.
When people can’t access healthcare, the costs of alcohol abuse show up elsewhere: lost productivity, criminal justice, emergency department visits that go unpaid. It’s an accounting shift, not a health advantage. Florida, with better insurance coverage and a bigger retiree population on Medicare, captures more of its alcohol costs through the healthcare system.
Wrapping up
Florida and Texas drink differently. Florida drinks more per person and loses more residents per capita to alcohol-related causes, but Texas’s concentrated binge drinking pattern and lack of sobriety checkpoints produce the worst drunk-driving death toll in the country. Florida taxes alcohol much more aggressively; Texas keeps rates low and lets the market sort it out.
On craft beer, both states have grown fast but still sit near the bottom per capita, a reflection of the South’s historically restrictive alcohol laws. Both rank low for underage drinking. And both are riding the national shift from beer to spirits that’s been reshaping what Americans actually pour.
For a look at how Texas compares to another major state, see our California vs Texas comparison. For the international picture, see how the US stacks up against the UK.