# 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](https://pushbuild.com/apis/liquor-licenses.html)

**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](https://pushbuild.com/apis/liquor-licenses.html), 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](https://pushbuild.com/apis/analysis/data/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](https://pushbuild.com/apis/liquor-licenses.html). $0.0008 per row returned; every key gets $1 of free usage each month.

```
curl -X POST https://api.pushbuild.com/liquor-licenses/run \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxItems": 20}'
```

[API docs and key](https://pushbuild.com/apis/liquor-licenses.html)[More analysis from this data](https://pushbuild.com/apis/analysis/api/liquor-licenses/)Embed this chart

Free to reuse with the credit link. Paste this HTML into your page, or use the [SVG file](https://pushbuild.com/apis/analysis/new-on-premise-alcohol-licenses-texas-california/chart.svg).

Want a table like this in Google Sheets, refreshed on demand? Free script: [copy a web table into Google Sheets](https://pushbuild.com/free/scripts/website-table-to-sheets/).

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Header photo: [Jack Boucher](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:November,_1968_NORTHEAST_AND_NORTHWEST_ELEVATIONS,_MAIN_AND_ORANGE_STREETS_-_Philip_H._Folger_Block,_56_and_58_Main_Street,_Nantucket,_Nantucket_County,_MA_HABS_MASS,10-NANT,61-3.tif), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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As of 2026-11-07. Source: https://pushbuild.com/apis/analysis/new-on-premise-alcohol-licenses-texas-california/