2021 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Alcohol Consumption

One drink is equivalent to a 12 ounce beer, a 5 ounce glass of wine, or a drink with one shot of liquor.
During the past 30 days, on the days when you drank, about how many drinks did you drink on the average?*

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  Total
Respond.^		 Only one Two Three Four Five or more
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
North Carolina 2,254 892 36.8 34.5-39.3 733 32.9 30.6-35.3 291 13.8 12.1-15.7 118 5.9 4.7- 7.4 220 10.6 9.1-12.3
-Non-Hispanic White 1,592 631 37.3 34.6-40.2 536 33.1 30.4-35.9 209 13.5 11.7-15.7 76 5.3 4.0- 7.1 140 10.7 8.9-12.8
GENDER
Male 847 270 29.5 26.0-33.2 289 33.0 29.4-36.8 132 15.8 13.0-19.0 47 6.0 4.2- 8.4 109 15.7 12.9-19.0
Female 745 361 46.5 42.3-50.9 247 33.1 29.2-37.3 77 10.9 8.6-13.8 29 4.6 2.9- 7.3 31 4.8 3.2- 7.1
AGE
18-34 359 77 23.5 18.6-29.3 131 34.4 29.1-40.1 71 19.2 14.9-24.3 26 7.4 4.6-11.8 54 15.5 11.7-20.2
35-44 256 80 29.8 23.7-36.7 87 30.6 24.6-37.4 41 14.9 10.7-20.3 19 9.4 5.4-15.8 29 15.3 10.3-22.2
45-54 247 98 39.8 33.0-47.1 88 34.3 27.9-41.2 33 13.7 9.5-19.3 *** *** *** 17 8.1 4.8-13.3
55-64 296 124 39.1 32.8-45.7 101 37.4 31.0-44.2 39 13.4 9.3-19.1 14 3.9 2.2- 6.8 18 6.2 3.7-10.1
65-74 274 152 54.8 47.6-61.9 83 29.9 23.8-36.8 19 6.5 3.9-10.8 *** *** *** 16 7.5 4.4-12.6
75+ 137 91 71.6 62.7-79.1 37 22.9 16.2-31.5 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 34 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 257 82 33.1 26.7-40.2 92 34.8 28.5-41.7 36 12.9 9.2-17.9 14 5.1 2.8- 9.0 33 14.1 9.7-20.1
Some Post-H.S. 383 142 36.6 31.2-42.3 116 30.1 25.1-35.5 65 16.5 12.7-21.3 22 6.5 3.9-10.6 38 10.3 7.4-14.2
College Graduate 917 396 41.2 37.8-44.8 317 34.6 31.2-38.1 105 12.0 9.8-14.6 38 4.2 3.0- 5.9 61 8.0 6.1-10.5
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 35 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 66 *** *** *** *** *** *** 12 18.1 10.0-30.5 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 102 *** *** *** 28 28.2 19.0-39.6 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$35,000- 49,999 151 65 38.5 29.9-47.9 44 30.9 22.9-40.3 22 14.1 8.9-21.7 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$50,000- 74,999 228 92 39.1 31.7-47.0 74 31.7 25.0-39.2 26 10.5 6.9-15.7 16 7.8 4.4-13.3 20 10.9 6.7-17.4
$75,000+ 770 293 36.6 32.6-40.7 273 34.2 30.5-38.3 105 13.9 11.2-17.0 34 4.7 3.2- 6.8 65 10.6 8.1-13.8
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 359 166 42.8 37.0-48.9 103 29.4 24.0-35.5 41 11.4 8.0-16.0 *** *** *** 36 12.7 9.0-17.6
No 1,222 461 35.7 32.6-39.0 428 34.2 31.1-37.4 167 14.2 12.0-16.7 63 5.9 4.3- 8.0 103 10.0 8.1-12.3
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 229 89 35.7 28.8-43.4 75 32.3 25.5-39.9 35 13.4 9.3-19.0 *** *** *** 18 10.7 6.4-17.4
Non-Veteran 1,360 541 37.5 34.5-40.6 460 33.3 30.4-36.3 173 13.5 11.5-15.9 64 5.0 3.7- 6.6 122 10.7 8.8-12.9
RURAL-URBAN CATEGORY1
Urban 578 208 35.1 30.7-39.7 213 37.1 32.6-41.7 80 14.0 11.0-17.7 28 4.6 3.0- 6.9 49 9.2 6.8-12.3
Regional City or Suburban County 452 194 39.7 34.5-45.2 146 31.2 26.4-36.4 52 11.7 8.5-15.8 22 6.6 3.8-11.1 38 10.8 7.5-15.3
Rural 562 229 37.7 33.0-42.6 177 30.2 25.9-34.9 77 14.8 11.7-18.6 26 5.0 3.2- 7.7 53 12.3 9.3-16.2
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,010 328 31.2 28.0-34.7 357 34.4 31.1-37.9 154 14.7 12.4-17.3 65 7.0 5.2- 9.4 106 12.7 10.3-15.5
Unemployed 55 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 382 228 60.8 54.7-66.5 109 28.6 23.5-34.4 24 5.7 3.5- 9.0 *** *** *** 15 3.7 2.1- 6.4
Unable to Work 47 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 91 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 13 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 44 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
101% to 150% 61 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 102 *** *** *** 28 28.7 19.7-39.7 19 16.4 10.3-25.1 *** *** *** 11 13.4 7.2-23.3
More than 200% 1,122 440 37.4 34.1-40.8 381 33.3 30.2-36.6 149 13.2 11.0-15.6 59 5.9 4.3- 8.0 93 10.2 8.2-12.8
HOUSING
Own 1,192 511 40.0 36.8-43.3 405 33.2 30.2-36.4 134 12.0 9.9-14.4 50 4.9 3.4- 6.9 92 9.9 8.0-12.3
Rent 322 91 25.7 20.6-31.7 105 33.0 27.2-39.4 64 20.2 15.6-25.7 24 8.0 5.1-12.4 38 13.1 9.2-18.2
Other arrangement 71 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 236 83 30.8 24.3-38.2 76 29.2 23.0-36.4 31 13.9 9.5-19.9 *** *** *** 35 19.5 13.5-27.3
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 718 290 37.9 33.7-42.3 236 31.7 27.8-35.9 99 14.5 11.7-17.7 35 5.3 3.6- 7.7 58 10.6 8.0-13.9
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 638 258 38.9 34.6-43.4 224 35.5 31.3-40.0 79 12.6 9.8-16.1 30 5.0 3.2- 7.7 47 8.0 5.9-10.7
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 662 260 37.3 33.0-41.8 237 36.1 31.9-40.5 88 14.5 11.5-18.2 34 5.3 3.6- 7.8 43 6.8 4.9- 9.4
2nd Quartile 428 172 38.3 33.1-43.7 134 31.2 26.4-36.4 56 11.8 8.8-15.7 19 4.8 2.7- 8.4 47 13.9 10.4-18.3
3rd Quartile 416 166 36.5 31.3-42.1 137 30.5 25.6-35.8 57 14.9 11.3-19.4 22 6.9 4.0-11.8 34 11.2 7.7-16.2
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 86 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 16 19.9 11.8-31.5

Back to Alcohol Consumption.

*This question was asked only of respondents who reported drinking at least one drink in the last month.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2021 are NOT comparable to 2010
and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on 2021 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

4Quartile of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index
(https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/index.html) for respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2021 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

^Use caution in interpreting cell sizes less than 50, % = Percentage, C.I.(95%) = Confidence Interval (at 95 percent probability level).
Percentages are weighted to population characteristics and therefore cannot be calculated exactly from the numbers in this table.

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This page was generated on 19AUG22.

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