Underage Drinking Costs

To view the methodology used for the Cost Analysis click here.

Tragic health, social, and economic problems result from the use of alcohol by youth. Underage drinking is a causal factor in a host of serious problems, including homicide, suicide, traumatic injury,

drowning, burns, violent and property crime, high-risk

sex, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning, and the

need for treatment of alcohol abuse and dependence.

Problems and Costs Associated with Underage Drinking in the United States

In 2013, underage drinking cost the citizens of the United States $56.9 billion. These costs include medical care, work loss, and pain and suffering associated with the multiple problems resulting from the use of alcohol by youth.1 This translates to $1,903 per year for each youth in the United States or $3.75 per drink consumed underage. Excluding pain and suffering from these costs, tangible costs of underage drinking including medical care, criminal justice, property damage, and loss of work in the United States

totaled $20.01 billion each year or $1.32 per drink. In

contrast, a drink in the United States retails for $0.93.

Costs of Underage Drinking by Problem,

United States, 2013 $

Youth violence (homicide, suicide, aggravated assault) and traffic crashes attributable to alcohol use by underage youth in the United States

represent the largest costs for the country.

However, a host of other problems contribute

substantially to the overall cost. Among teen

mothers, fetal alcohol syndrome alone costs the

United States $3 million.

In 2012, 39,817 youth aged 12 to 20 years were

admitted for alcohol treatment in the United

States, accounting for 6% of all treatment

admissions for alcohol abuse in the country.²

Young people who begin drinking before age 15

are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence and are two and a half times more likely to become abusers of alcohol than those who begin drinking at age 21.³ We did not cost these adult problems.

Alcohol Consumption by Youth in the United States

Underage drinking is widespread in the United States. Approximately 10,437,000 underage customers

drink each year in the United States. In 2013, the United States students in grades 9 to 12 reported the

following:⁴

• 66.2% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life.
• 18.6% had their first drink of alcohol, other than a few sips, before age 13.
• 34.9% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more occasions in the past 30 days.
• 20.8% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row (binge drinking) in the past 30 days.

In 2012, underage customers consumed 9.90% of all alcohol sold in the United States, totaling $14.08 billion in sales (in 2013 dollars). These sales provided profits of $6.9 billion to the alcohol industry.¹

Annual sales of alcohol consumed by youth in the United States averaged $1,349 per underage

customer. Underage customers were heavier consumers than adults. They drank an average of 4 drinks

per day; in contrast, legal customers consumed only 1.6.

Harm Associated with Underage Drinking in the United States

Underage drinking in the United States leads to substantial harm due to traffic crashes, violent crime, property crime, unintentional injury, and high-risk sex.

• During 2012, an estimated 1,236 traffic fatalities and 30,336 nonfatal traffic injuries were attributable to driving after underage drinking.
• In 2012, an estimated 949 homicides; 555,800 nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, robbery, and assault; 827,800 property crimes including burglary, larceny, and car theft; and 15,503,000

  public order crimes including vandalism, disorderly conduct, loitering, and curfew violations

  were attributable to underage drinking.

• In 2011, an estimated 275 alcohol-involved fatal burns, drownings, and suicides were attributable to underage drinking.
• In 2013, an estimated 27,939 teen pregnancies and 860,523 teens having high-risk sex were

  attributable to underage drinking.

For comparison with other states, in U.S. rather than state prices, the harm from underage drinking per youth in the United States averages $1,728. Such comparisons require caution. In part, they may reflect differences in crime and crash rates, problem-reporting to police, and co-occurring drug use.