The United States is an outlier in its approach to age requirements for driving and drinking alcohol. The most common drinking age worldwide is 18, and that's also the most common driving age. In contrast, the drinking age in the United States is 21, while the driving age is lower —16 in most states. Are Americans in favor of these divergences from most other countries, or do they think the U.S. should get more in line with the rest of the world?
We asked Americans in a March survey what they think about the age requirement for drinking and the one for driving. Many Americans would support U.S. law becoming more like the rest of the world, with a higher driving age (52% support one higher than 16) and a lower drinking age (41% would support lowering it from 18). We also asked if Americans would favor a maximum driving age — banning driving for people over a certain age — and found that a majority would, with wide divides over where to set the cutoff. In addition to asking about both driving and drinking, we asked about several other age restrictions. While there is a wide range of opinion, many Americans agree with common age requirements for getting married, watching R-rated movies unaccompanied by an adult, watching pornography, and gambling.
A majority of Americans would raise the driving age above 16
Most Americans can obtain a driver’s license starting at age 16, though most states place restrictions on teenage drivers, such as limits on driving at night or with teenage passengers. In many states, residents can start supervised driving with a learner’s permit before age 16. Some states allow 15-year-olds to get driver’s licenses that allow unsupervised driving with some restrictions, and South Dakota even allows 14-year-olds to obtain a restricted license. New Jersey is currently the only state where 16-year-olds cannot obtain a driver's license: Drivers in New Jersey must be 17 to obtain a probationary license and 18 to receive an unrestricted driver’s license.
Even though nearly all states allow driving at age 16, about half of Americans believe this is too young: 52% of Americans believe the minimum driving age should be older than 16. On the other hand, 37% of Americans would set the driving age at 16 and only 11% believe people younger than 16 should be allowed to drive.
Unlike for several other kinds of age limits, younger adults are more likely than older ones to favor an older driving age. 58% of adults under 30 believe the minimum driving age should be older than 16, compared to 50% of older Americans. This pattern of support by age is uncommon. Younger adults are more likely to support lower age requirements on many other topics, such as drinking alcohol, voting, and serving as president. The more common pattern is still somewhat reflected in this data: Younger adults are also more likely than older adults to favor a driving age younger than 16. However, this is a fringe position among all age groups, supported by only 17% of adults under 30 and 10% of older Americans.
Beliefs about the minimum driving age do not seem related to partisanship. About half of Democrats (49%), Independents (55%), and Republicans (51%) would set the minimum driving age above 16. And only small shares of Democrats (10%), Independents (12%), and Republicans (11%) would lower the driving age below 16.
Most Americans support a maximum driving age
While many Americans would like to place more restrictions on young drivers, an even larger share would support restrictions on older drivers: 54% of Americans believe there should be a maximum age limit to drive a car. Currently, no state institutes a hard maximum age limit for driving, though many states place stricter requirements on license renewals for older drivers, such as requiring more frequent vision tests.
Younger adults are more likely to support setting a maximum age limit for driving, while older Americans are more likely to oppose it. A majority (59%) of Americans under the age of 65 support an age limit, while only about one-third (37%) of Americans 65 and older say the same.
Like with attitudes towards the minimum driving age, support for a maximum driving age shows little partisan difference: 57% of Democrats, 54% of Independents, and 51% of Republicans say there should be a maximum driving age.
There is more division about where a maximum driving age should be set. The median American would set an age limit above 90. However, only 10% of Americans would choose this option. Larger shares support an age limit between the ages of 80 and 89 (21%) or at an age younger than 80 (23%).
Younger Americans are more likely to support a lower age limit. The median adult under 45 would set a limit between 80 and 89, while the median 45- to 64-year old would set it above 90, and the median American 65 or older would not support a limit on driving at any age (63% in this age group oppose a maximum age limit). Democrats and Independents are more likely than Republicans to support lower driving age limits.
Americans are divided over the drinking age
While a majority of Americans support a higher minimum driving age, many are in favor of a lower minimum drinking age and few want to raise it: 41% of Americans believe the drinking age should be younger than 21, while 47% believe it should stay at 21 and 12% believe it should be higher. While the drinking age is officially a matter of state law, all states have set their drinking ages at 21 since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 threatened to withhold federal highway funding from any state that set their drinking age below 21.
Unlike with attitudes about the driving age, younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to support lowering the drinking age: 61% of adults under 30 support a lower drinking age. And this isn’t just driven by adults under 21 who aren't yet legally allowed to drink: 60% of 21- to 29-year-olds support lowering the drinking age. Only 36% of Americans 30 and older say the same. Younger adults are generally against the status quo on this issue: They are also more likely than older adults to support raising the drinking age, although this is a rare position in all age groups: 16% of adults under 30 support it, and only 10% of older Americans do. Among the youngest supporters of raising the drinking age are people who would lose the legal right to drink alcohol if it happened.
There are not large partisan differences on attitudes about the drinking age: 40% of Democrats, 45% of Independents, and 38% of Republicans support lowering the drinking age, while 9% of Democrats, 12% of Independents, and 13% of Republicans support raising it.
Americans largely agree with current restrictions for R-rated movies, marriage, pornography, and gambling
Americans are generally supportive of the most common minimum age requirements for other activities. There is a wide variety of opinions on age restrictions for watching R-rated movies unaccompanied by an adult, getting married, watching pornography, and gambling, but for each one the median American agrees with the most common age requirement.
The Motion Picture Association recommends that movie theaters should not let anyone under 17 watch an R-rated movie without a parent or guardian. MPA ratings are not legally enforced; instead, they are a voluntary agreement between film distributors and theaters. The median American believes the minimum age to watch an R-rated movie unaccompanied by a parent or guardian should be 17. However, 17 is not the most common response. While 10% of Americans say the age requirement should be set at 17, far more (30%) say it should be 18 and about half (49%) say it should be younger than 17 or that there should be no minimum.
The median American believes the minimum age to get married should be 18. In the vast majority of states, the general minimum age for marriage is 18, although many states allow 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent and a few allow 15-year-olds to marry with a judge’s order. Only about one-quarter (24%) of Americans believe marriage should be permitted at ages younger than 18. About half (47%) of Americans support a minimum marriage age of 18, while 29% believe the minimum age should be older than 18.
The median American believes the minimum age for watching pornography should be 18. Many states have recently passed laws that require websites hosting adult content to verify that their users are aged 18 or over. Even in states without these laws, most websites and retailers that distribute pornography require patrons to state that they are at least 18. Few Americans (19%) believe people younger than 18 should be allowed to watch pornography. The rest of the population is evenly divided between those who would set the minimum age at 18 (41%) and those who would set it higher (41%).
The median American believes the minimum age for gambling, such as casino games and sports betting, should be 21. Across the states, the most common age requirement for gambling in casinos is 21, though some states set the legal age at 18 or 19, and many states allow 18-year-olds to participate in other types of gambling, such as the lottery. Nearly half (45%) of Americans would set the minimum age for gambling at 21. The next most common choice is 18, supported by 29% of Americans. Few Americans support setting the gambling age younger than 18 (9%) or older than 21 (13%).
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov survey
Related articles and surveys:
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- If Americans could choose, many would set common age limits around where they are now
- Three-quarters of Americans started drinking alcohol before age 21
- Who are the most accident-prone drivers in America?
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on March 17 - 19, 2025 among 1,140 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
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