Texas has issued fewer new on-premise alcohol licenses every year since 2023
Published 2026-11-07 · By Pushbuild · Data: Liquor License API – Bars, Restaurants, Stores in 9 States
New on-premise alcohol licenses at new premises in Texas fell from 3,549 in 2023 to 3,080 in 2024 and 2,873 in 2025. In the last 12 months (Nov 2025 to Oct 2026) Texas issued 2,670, down from 2,867 the year before. California issued 3,402, down from 3,609, after a record 3,553 in 2025. Of the 71 cities with 50,000+ people and at least 15 openings the year before, 51 opened fewer.
Where openings rose most
| City | State | Last 12 months | Year before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara | CA | 35 | 22 | +59% |
| Santa Monica | CA | 26 | 19 | +37% |
| Lubbock | TX | 22 | 17 | +29% |
| Dallas | TX | 128 | 102 | +25% |
| Modesto | CA | 21 | 17 | +24% |
| Frisco | TX | 22 | 18 | +22% |
| San Jose | CA | 78 | 64 | +22% |
| Los Angeles | CA | 225 | 193 | +17% |
| Fort Worth | TX | 73 | 63 | +16% |
| Odessa | TX | 24 | 21 | +14% |
Where openings fell most
| City | State | Last 12 months | Year before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlingen | TX | 4 | 16 | -75% |
| Mckinney | TX | 15 | 30 | -50% |
| Redlands | CA | 9 | 18 | -50% |
| Livermore | CA | 12 | 23 | -48% |
| Victoria | TX | 8 | 15 | -47% |
| Richardson | TX | 8 | 15 | -47% |
| Lewisville | TX | 8 | 15 | -47% |
| Santa Clarita | CA | 14 | 25 | -44% |
| Milpitas | CA | 9 | 16 | -44% |
| Chula Vista | CA | 12 | 21 | -43% |
Caveats
Only California and Texas publish the first issue date of every license. This counts openings, not closures: neither state gives a closing date. A premises counts in the year its first on-premise license was issued. California's list holds only active, surrendered and pending licenses, so its older years run low.
Sources
- Liquor License API – Bars, Restaurants, Stores in 9 States: the primary sources are listed on the API page, read on 2026-11-07
Data as of 2026-11-07. Every figure in this post is in the table above and the CSV below.
Download the data behind this post: liquor-wells-new-bar-licenses-by-city.csv
Get this data
Every number in this post comes from the Liquor License API – Bars, Restaurants, Stores in 9 States. $0.0008 per row returned; every key gets $1 of free usage each month.
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-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"maxItems": 20}'Embed this chart
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