2023 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Alcohol Consumption

Moderate Drinking Guidelines*

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  Total
Respond.^		 No Drinks Meets Guidelines Exceeded Guidelines
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
North Carolina 3,774 1,995 52.5 50.3-54.7 675 17.0 15.4-18.7 1,104 30.5 28.5-32.6
Non-Hispanic White 2,282 1,063 49.1 46.4-51.9 459 17.5 15.7-19.5 760 33.3 30.8-35.9
GENDER
Male 1,006 419 45.7 41.5-50.0 250 20.9 18.0-24.1 337 33.4 29.6-37.4
Female 1,276 644 52.3 48.6-55.8 209 14.5 12.2-17.0 423 33.3 30.0-36.7
AGE
18-34 412 147 38.9 33.3-44.9 57 12.0 9.0-15.9 208 49.0 43.1-55.0
35-44 265 92 38.4 31.7-45.7 58 21.7 16.4-28.2 115 39.9 33.3-46.8
45-54 323 137 45.8 38.5-53.2 50 15.7 11.1-21.8 136 38.5 31.8-45.7
55-64 413 197 55.5 48.7-62.1 74 14.8 11.3-19.2 142 29.7 24.3-35.7
65-74 451 227 54.3 48.1-60.4 114 23.3 18.7-28.7 110 22.3 17.9-27.6
75+ 393 249 66.9 60.1-73.0 99 21.0 16.3-26.7 45 12.1 8.1-17.6
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 79 60 84.5 74.1-91.3 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 431 266 60.1 54.3-65.6 58 12.4 9.3-16.3 107 27.4 22.5-33.0
Some Post-H.S. 630 315 48.1 43.1-53.1 115 16.5 13.3-20.4 200 35.4 30.6-40.5
College Graduate 1,136 418 35.0 31.7-38.5 276 24.1 21.2-27.3 442 40.9 37.5-44.3
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 67 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 131 *** *** *** *** *** *** 32 21.4 13.9-31.6
$25,000- 34,999 175 *** *** *** 26 14.6 9.2-22.4 *** *** ***
$35,000- 49,999 246 137 61.7 53.8-69.0 50 14.7 10.5-20.2 59 23.6 17.7-30.8
$50,000- 74,999 321 138 43.9 37.2-50.9 74 21.0 16.1-26.9 109 35.1 28.9-41.8
$75,000+ 900 304 34.2 30.4-38.2 201 20.4 17.3-23.7 395 45.4 41.3-49.6
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 744 431 61.4 56.5-66.1 126 12.7 10.2-15.7 187 26.0 21.7-30.7
No 1,517 621 43.0 39.6-46.4 326 19.7 17.3-22.3 570 37.4 34.2-40.6
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 321 145 49.1 42.2-56.1 80 21.1 16.4-26.7 96 29.8 24.0-36.4
Non-Veteran 1,959 917 49.1 46.1-52.1 378 17.0 15.0-19.1 664 33.9 31.2-36.8
RURAL-URBAN CATEGORY1
Urban 669 263 41.4 36.6-46.3 127 15.6 12.8-18.8 279 43.0 38.4-47.8
Regional City or Suburban County 631 278 47.3 41.9-52.8 141 19.1 15.5-23.2 212 33.6 28.8-38.9
Rural 982 522 56.3 52.2-60.3 191 17.7 14.9-20.8 269 26.0 22.6-29.7
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,155 434 39.4 35.8-43.1 222 18.0 15.4-20.8 499 42.6 39.0-46.4
Unemployed 70 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 798 438 59.6 54.6-64.4 198 21.0 17.6-24.8 162 19.4 15.9-23.5
Unable to Work 126 91 77.7 67.5-85.4 *** *** *** 22 13.4 8.0-21.6
Other not in Labor Force 121 63 58.8 48.5-68.3 14 10.7 5.8-18.7 44 30.6 22.4-40.2
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 23 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 111 70 74.1 63.4-82.6 *** *** *** 27 18.5 11.5-28.3
101% to 150% 92 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 163 101 63.3 54.0-71.6 29 17.8 11.7-26.0 33 19.0 13.1-26.7
More than 200% 1,438 573 40.6 37.3-43.9 312 19.4 17.0-22.0 553 40.1 36.8-43.4
HOUSING
Own 1,668 765 48.8 45.6-52.1 371 19.0 16.9-21.4 532 32.1 29.2-35.2
Rent 470 216 45.2 39.6-50.8 68 13.5 10.2-17.7 186 41.3 36.0-46.9
Other arrangement 127 70 61.2 50.8-70.7 19 10.8 6.1-18.3 38 28.0 19.9-37.9
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 557 315 58.2 52.8-63.4 94 16.3 12.9-20.3 148 25.5 21.2-30.4
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 746 390 56.8 51.9-61.5 148 16.9 13.8-20.5 208 26.4 22.5-30.6
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 979 358 38.7 34.6-42.9 217 18.7 15.9-21.8 404 42.7 38.6-46.8
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 855 336 39.6 35.4-44.1 193 19.8 16.6-23.4 326 40.6 36.2-45.1
2nd Quartile 634 314 55.2 50.1-60.2 124 15.6 12.7-19.0 196 29.2 25.0-33.9
3rd Quartile 591 283 49.9 44.6-55.1 113 17.6 14.2-21.6 195 32.5 27.9-37.5
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 202 130 67.3 58.7-74.9 29 14.7 9.6-22.0 43 18.0 12.6-25.0

Back to Alcohol Consumption.

*Moderate drinking guideline--MALES having a maximum of two drinks on one or more occasions within the past 30 days or FEMALES having a maximum of one drink on one or more occasions within the past 30 days.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2023 are NOT comparable to 2010
and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on 2023 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2023 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 2023 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 07APR25.

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