Health behaviors, person by person

Across the survey years 2015 to 2024, 13.3%13.3% percent of adultsEstimanddesign-based weighted share of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% intervalInterval95% CI 13.0% to 13.5%n450,791 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationadults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the lowest of five household income bands: binge drinking in the past 30 daysPeriodBRFSS 2015-2024SourceBRFSS of adults in the lowest of five household income bands said they had binged on alcohol in the past month. In the highest band the share was 20.4%20.4% percent of adultsEstimanddesign-based weighted share of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% intervalInterval95% CI 20.3% to 20.6%n1,254,573 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationadults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the highest of five household income bands: binge drinking in the past 30 daysPeriodBRFSS 2015-2024SourceBRFSS. Of six measures the chapter compares across income separately for women and for men, binge drinking is the only one that is higher in the highest band. The survey asks each adult about drinking and about household income, so these shares describe people rather than places.

Binge drinking rises with income while three other behaviors fall

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) counts a binge as 55 count in a definitionEstimanddefinition: drinks on one occasion that make a binge for menWeightsnone (definition)Populationdrinks on one occasion that make a binge for menPeriod2014-2024SourceBRFSS or more drinks on one occasion for a man, or 44 count in a definitionEstimanddefinition: drinks on one occasion that make a binge for womenWeightsnone (definition)Populationdrinks on one occasion that make a binge for womenPeriod2014-2024SourceBRFSS or more for a woman, at least once in the past month.[1] Across five household income bands the share of adults who binged rises at every step. The highest band is 7.2 (95% CI 6.9 to 7.5)7.2 percentage points of adults, higher in the highest income bandEstimanddesign-based difference between two weighted shares of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% intervalInterval95% CI 6.9 to 7.5n1,705,364 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationadults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the highest and lowest of five household income bands: binge drinking in the past 30 daysPeriodBRFSS 2015-2024SourceBRFSS points above the lowest.

Current smoking, obesity and the share who did no leisure-time physical activity each move the other way. All three fall at every step from the lowest band to the highest.

How we know

BRFSS is a telephone survey that CDC runs each year with state health departments.[2] The estimates pool the surveys from 2014 to 2024, with binge drinking asked from 2015, and the pooled file holds 4,790,7424,790,742 respondentsEstimandcount of interviews in the public-use filesWeightsnone (count)Populationadults in the 50 states and the District of ColumbiaPeriod2014-2024SourceBRFSS interviews with adults in the states and the District of Columbia. Interviews in Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are outside every estimate. Each share is weighted with survey weightsSurvey weightsNumbers attached to survey respondents that say how many people in the population each one represents, so that results describe the whole population and not only the people who answered., which account for how the sample represents the adult population, and each interval uses the survey's sampling design. The income bands are in nominal dollars, and BRFSS changed its income question in 2021 by splitting the top category. The highest band held 30%30.2% percent of adultsEstimanddesign-based weighted share of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% interval; share in the highest of five bands (bands are in nominal dollars)Interval95% CI 29.9% to 30.5%n386,053 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationadults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia who reported a household income bandPeriod2014SourceBRFSS of respondents who gave an income in 2014 and 46%46.1% percent of adultsEstimanddesign-based weighted share of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% interval; share in the highest of five bands (bands are in nominal dollars)Interval95% CI 45.7% to 46.4%n364,440 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationadults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia who reported a household income bandPeriod2024SourceBRFSS in 2024, and part of that shift is a step at the 2021 change. The binge drinking difference between the highest band and the lowest is similar before and after that change. The report gives every estimate with its interval and sample size.

Binge drinking is flat across income among non-Hispanic Black adults

Adults in different income bands differ in age, schooling and race, so a rise across the pooled bands could come from who is in each band. Figure 2 repeats the comparison inside groups. In each of four age groups and within each education level, binge drinking is higher in the highest band than in the lowest.

The race and ethnicity tab shows a rise that not every group shares. Among non-Hispanic White adults the highest band is 8.68.6 percentage points of adults, higher in the highest income bandEstimanddesign-based difference between two weighted shares of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% intervalInterval95% CI 8.3 to 8.9n1,319,140 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationWhite non-Hispanic adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia: binge drinking in the past 30 daysPeriodBRFSS 2015-2024SourceBRFSS points above the lowest, and among Hispanic adults, who may be of any race, it is 10.310.3 percentage points of adults, higher in the highest income bandEstimanddesign-based difference between two weighted shares of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% intervalInterval95% CI 9.3 to 11.2n119,344 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationHispanic adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia: binge drinking in the past 30 daysPeriodBRFSS 2015-2024SourceBRFSS points above. Among non-Hispanic Black adults the difference is 0.5 (95% CI −0.3 to 1.2)0.5 percentage points of adults, higher in the highest income bandEstimanddesign-based difference between two weighted shares of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% intervalInterval95% CI −0.3 to 1.2n120,974 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationBlack non-Hispanic adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia: binge drinking in the past 30 daysPeriodBRFSS 2015-2024SourceBRFSS points, and its interval includes zero.

The line for adults of another race, non-Hispanic, is nearly flat, and the multiracial line rises less than the White and Hispanic lines. The pooled rise is an average over groups that differ, and the rise with income belongs to White, Hispanic and multiracial adults. The survey cannot say why the groups differ.

What the pattern says, and what it does not

The rise also appears state by state. Comparing the highest band with the lowest inside each state, the difference in binge drinking is above zero, with an interval above zero, in all 5151 states and the District of ColumbiaEstimandcount of jurisdictions in the analysisWeightsnone (count)Populationthe 50 states and the District of ColumbiaPeriod2014-2024SourceBRFSSNoteGuam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are in the BRFSS files and outside the analysis. jurisdictions, the states and the District of Columbia. It is smallest in Utah and largest in the District of Columbia (Figure 3).

Pooled over adults in the states and the District of Columbia, binge drinking rises with household income, while smoking, obesity and physical inactivity fall with it. These are comparisons between different people interviewed in different years. They show how behavior differs across incomes, and they do not show what happens when one person's income changes. Income, age, schooling and race are related, and the within-group comparisons hold only one of them at a time, for binge drinking alone.

A review of studies of socioeconomic status and alcohol concluded that people of higher status drink similar or greater amounts, while people of lower status bear more of the consequences.[3] BRFSS measures the quantity drunk on one occasion and does not measure consequences, so it cannot say who bears the harm. Chapter 7.1, Health behaviors and the supply of care follows the same behaviors across census tracts with modeled estimatesModeled estimateA figure produced by a statistical model instead of a direct count or measurement, usually for small areas where direct data are thin, borrowing strength from surveys, neighboring areas or other data. Neighboring areas can share errors, so single extremes call for caution.. The two chapters use different measures, so neither confirms the other.

What this survey cannot tell you

Every measure is what a respondent said in a telephone interview, and adults may under-report their drinking and their weight. Adults who did not know their household income or declined to give it, 19.4%19.4% percent of adultsEstimanddesign-based weighted share of respondents, Taylor-linearized 95% interval; the share who did not know or refused to give a household income, or left it blankInterval95% CI 19.3% to 19.5%n4,790,742 respondentsWeightsBRFSS final weight (xllcpwt); stratum and primary sampling unit for the intervalPopulationadults in the 50 states and the District of ColumbiaPeriodBRFSS 2014-2024SourceBRFSS of adults over 2014 to 2024, are in no band. The intervals do not cover adults the survey could not reach. BRFSS locates respondents no more finely than the state, so these results say nothing about neighborhoods.

Go deeper

• The report: every estimate with its interval and sample size.
• Tables: every figure of the report as a table.

Same question at another grain:

• Health behaviors and income
  • Chapter 7.1, Health behaviors and the supply of care Neighborhoods

Data sources

• BRFSSCDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System public-use files, 2014-2024, adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia; binge drinking asked from 2015Years: 2014-2024 · Weights: BRFSS final weight with stratum and primary sampling unit (design-based estimates) · License: Public domain (CDC)

All data sources

References

1. Bohm, Michele K.; Liu, Yong; Esser, Marissa B.; Mesnick, Jessica B.; Lu, Hua; Pan, Yi; Greenlund, Kurt J. (2021). Binge Drinking Among Adults, by Select Characteristics and State - United States, 2018. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 70(41): 1441-1446. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7041a2
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023). Calculated Variables in the 2022 BRFSS Data File. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, technical documentation, 29 September 2023. www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/2022/pdf/2022-calculated-variables-version4-508.pdf
3. Collins, Susan E. (2016). Associations Between Socioeconomic Factors and Alcohol Outcomes. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews 38(1): 83-94. doi:10.35946/arcr.v38.1.11

How to cite

@misc{singh2026healthbehaviorspersonbyperson,
  author = {Singh, Vishal},
  title = {Health behaviors, person by person},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://vishalsingh.org/zipcode/health-behaviors-person-by-person},
  note = {In ZIP Code Destiny. Published 9 October 2026.}
}