Average Alcohol Spending in the UK
The average UK household spends £796 on alcohol each year (down from over £900 pre-Covid), based on an average household size of 2.3 people—£473 for consumption at home and £323 on drinks out of the house. We've crunched the numbers from the latest Office of National Statistics Family Spending report and adjusted for recent inflation to see how alcohol spending varies by age, where you live and household income, so you can see how your spending compares. We've also broken out UK spending by type of alcohol (e.g., spirits, wine, beer, etc.).
How Much do Brits Spend on Alcohol?
Each week, the average English household spends £15.3 on alcoholic drinks. Over the course of a year, this adds up to £796 representing ~3% of the typical UK household budget, and is nearly as much as we spend on meat and fish from grocery stores each year.
| UK Household Alcohol Spending | Weekly | Annually |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol Out | £6.2 | £323 |
| Alcohol at Home | £9.1 | £473 |
| Total | £15.3 | £796 |
Actual spending on alcohol varies significantly by age, where you live and income levels. Below we've broken out alcohol spending by these categories so you can see how your spending compares.
Average Household Spending on Alcohol by Age
Younger households spend less on alcohol, tobacco and narcotics consumed at home than older households, with 50 to 64-year-olds spending the most. This age group spends £946 per year on alcohol, tobacco and narcotics, compared to £386 for households with a reference person under 30 years old. Alcohol spending dips after 65 years of age.
Note: this data reflects home-only consumption and includes tobacco and narcotics spending, also.
| Home-use alcohol, tobacco & narcotics spending by age (years) | Weekly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 30 | £7.4 | £386 |
| 30 to 49 | £11.9 | £617 |
| 50 to 64 | £18.2 | £946 |
| 65 to 74 | £16.4 | £853 |
| 75 or Over | £10.0 | £519 |
| Average | £12.0 | £623 |
Average Household Spending on Alcohol by Geography
Households in the South West spend more on alcohol than any other region in the UK—£17.1 per week. At the other end of the spectrum, but nearby, those in the North East spend the least at £12.4 a week on alcohol. The region where people spend the most on drinking at home is Wales (£12.2 per week). Londoners spend the most drinking out of the house (£5.3 per week)—interestingly, for a few years in the recent past this honour went to the North Westerners but Londoners have regained the top spot here!
| Weekly Alcohol Spending by Region | Alcohol at Home | Alcohol Out | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East | £8.6 | £3.8 | £12.4 |
| West Midlands | £9.6 | £3.5 | £13.2 |
| London | £8.0 | £5.3 | £13.3 |
| Scotland | £10.6 | £3.9 | £14.5 |
| East Midlands | £10.4 | £4.5 | £15.0 |
| East | £10.9 | £4.2 | £15.1 |
| Yorkshire and the | £10.9 | £4.4 | £15.3 |
| Wales | £12.2 | £3.3 | £15.5 |
| Northern Ireland | £11.6 | £4.4 | £16.1 |
| North West | £11.3 | £5.2 | £16.5 |
| South East | £12.1 | £4.7 | £16.7 |
| South West | £12.1 | £5.0 | £17.1 |
| England | £10.5 | £4.7 | £15.2 |
| United Kingdom | £10.6 | £4.4 | £15.1 |
Average Household Spending on Alcohol by Income
Spending on alcohol rises drastically with income levels—households with the highest 10% of income spend over 4X as much on alcohol as the lowest 10%. Households with the lowest incomes (that is, less than £12,948 of disposable income per year) spend £7.30 a week or £381 a year on alcohol. At the other end of the spectrum, the highest earning 10% of households (annual disposable income over £97,292) spend £28.1 on alcohol each week, or £1,459 each year.
| Weekly Alcohol Spending by Disposable Income Group | Alcohol at Home | Alcohol Out | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10% | £4.3 | £3.0 | £7.3 |
| 2nd Decile Group | £4.5 | £2.2 | £6.8 |
| 3rd Decile Group | £5.7 | £3.7 | £9.3 |
| 4th Decile Group | £8.9 | £5.0 | £13.9 |
| 5th Decile Group | £9.1 | £5.7 | £14.7 |
| 6th Decile Group | £9.4 | £6.0 | £15.4 |
| 7th Decile Group | £9.3 | £7.0 | £16.3 |
| 8th Decile Group | £11.2 | £7.9 | £19.1 |
| 9th Decile Group | £13.5 | £9.3 | £22.8 |
| Highest 10% | £15.5 | £12.5 | £28.1 |
| Average | £9.1 | £6.2 | £15.3 |
| Annual Alcohol Spending by Disposable Income Group | Alcohol at Home | Alcohol Out | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10% | £225 | £156 | £381 |
| 2nd Decile Group | £236 | £115 | £352 |
| 3rd Decile Group | £294 | £190 | £484 |
| 4th Decile Group | £461 | £259 | £721 |
| 5th Decile Group | £473 | £294 | £767 |
| 6th Decile Group | £490 | £311 | £801 |
| 7th Decile Group | £484 | £363 | £848 |
| 8th Decile Group | £582 | £409 | £992 |
| 9th Decile Group | £703 | £484 | £1,188 |
| Highest 10% | £807 | £652 | £1,459 |
| Average | £473 | £323 | £796 |
Which Types of Alcohol do Brits Buy the Most?
Most of our spending on alcoholic drinks brought home goes to wine. Each year, the average UK household spends around £213 on wine, £110 on spirits, £104 on beer, £23 on cider and £23 on bubbly to drink at home. (Note, these numbers do not reflect money spent on drinks out of the house.)
Interestingly, a few years ago beer used to rank #2 behind wine, but spending on spirits has overtaken spending on beer for home consumption.
| Alcoholic Drinks (Brought Home) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spirits and liqueurs | £110 | |
| Wines, fortified wines | £242 | |
| Wine from grape or other fruit | £208 | |
| Fortified wine | £6 | |
| Champagne and sparkling wines | £23 | |
| Beer, lager, ciders and perry | £121 | |
| Beer and lager | £104 | |
| Ciders and perry | £23 | |
| Total Alcoholic Drinks Brought Home | £473 | |
Being impaired by alcohol is the 8th most common cause of road traffic accidents UK, contributing to 6.4% of crashes. Don't drink and drive.
For information on how alcohol spending compares to other areas of our household budgets, see our related articles on Average Annual UK Food Spending and Average Annual UK Household Budget.