What a Texas bar actually grosses
21,217 venues currently reporting · $10,441,407,421 in alcohol sales over the last 12 months · from state filings through September 2026
Every business in Texas holding a mixed beverage permit files its alcohol sales with the Comptroller every month, and those filings are public record. That makes this one of the few places in the country where the question “how much does a bar actually make?” has a real answer rather than an industry estimate. What follows is the whole trading population, not a survey.
These are alcohol receipts, not total revenue. Alcohol usually runs about 40% of takings at a mixed beverage venue, so a venue on the median here is turning over roughly $589,567 in total food and drink — an estimate, and treat it as one.
The spread
Alcohol receipts over the last 12 months, per venue. The average is $492,125 and the median is $235,827: the gap between them is the shape of this market, where a few very large venues pull the mean well above what a typical bar takes.
| Bottom 10% earn under | $20,886 |
|---|---|
| Bottom quarter under | $73,649 |
| Median | $235,827 |
| Top quarter above | $575,143 |
| Top 10% above | $1,148,706 |
| Top 5% above | $1,736,878 |
| Top 1% above | $3,636,012 |
By size
Where the venues are, and where the money is. They are not the same place.
| Alcohol sales, 12 months | Venues | Share of venues | Receipts | Share of receipts | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $100k | 6,489 | 30.6% | $264,539,260 | 2.5% | $37,799 |
| $100k to $250k | 4,432 | 20.9% | $745,064,878 | 7.1% | $165,243 |
| $250k to $500k | 4,172 | 19.7% | $1,504,881,140 | 14.4% | $354,352 |
| $500k to $1m | 3,456 | 16.3% | $2,430,591,357 | 23.3% | $681,402 |
| $1m to $2m | 1,825 | 8.6% | $2,464,175,839 | 23.6% | $1,282,967 |
| Over $2m | 843 | 4.0% | $3,032,154,947 | 29.0% | $2,718,927 |
By type of venue
Our classification, from the liquor, beer and wine mix each venue reports. A “beer led” venue takes most of its alcohol money in beer, which in practice means a neighbourhood bar or a restaurant with a small licence.
| Type | Venues | Median | Total receipts |
|---|---|---|---|
| bar | 8,311 | $304,193 | $4,638,324,918 |
| restaurant | 8,157 | $234,732 | $3,970,054,197 |
| nightlife | 735 | $222,729 | $533,548,030 |
| beer led | 4,014 | $115,251 | $1,299,480,276 |
By city
Cities with at least 40 trading venues, largest first. The quartiles matter more than the median here: they say how wide the local market is, which is what tells you whether a number you have in mind is ordinary or ambitious.
| City | Venues | Bottom 25% | Median | Top 25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 2,546 | $72,791 | $262,065 | $713,249 |
| Dallas | 1,559 | $87,814 | $349,889 | $953,022 |
| San Antonio | 1,409 | $92,580 | $308,324 | $691,514 |
| Austin | 1,382 | $126,714 | $459,706 | $1,024,174 |
| Fort Worth | 709 | $90,911 | $309,486 | $757,234 |
| El Paso | 568 | $89,210 | $232,209 | $542,001 |
| Plano | 307 | $52,644 | $220,395 | $622,154 |
| Corpus Christi | 294 | $88,694 | $258,171 | $508,546 |
| Lubbock | 263 | $77,356 | $301,141 | $666,826 |
| Arlington | 260 | $63,929 | $195,540 | $476,887 |
| Katy | 242 | $53,586 | $143,882 | $488,042 |
| Frisco | 227 | $47,920 | $196,648 | $580,536 |
| McAllen | 223 | $56,250 | $187,497 | $452,532 |
| Amarillo | 189 | $110,108 | $236,169 | $501,158 |
| Spring | 186 | $78,941 | $241,769 | $472,724 |
| Irving | 168 | $55,682 | $209,515 | $654,892 |
| Midland | 163 | $110,086 | $340,585 | $797,088 |
| Laredo | 152 | $39,787 | $139,057 | $385,680 |
| Waco | 148 | $117,457 | $284,082 | $542,219 |
| McKinney | 147 | $65,564 | $233,179 | $542,730 |
| Galveston | 142 | $92,278 | $314,356 | $671,577 |
| Odessa | 141 | $108,528 | $274,961 | $665,430 |
| Richardson | 135 | $55,801 | $154,170 | $558,968 |
| New Braunfels | 134 | $104,654 | $349,022 | $766,424 |
| Grapevine | 128 | $226,536 | $556,082 | $1,290,943 |
| Brownsville | 126 | $67,790 | $171,275 | $351,894 |
| College Station | 126 | $107,162 | $315,601 | $770,034 |
| Round Rock | 125 | $72,764 | $316,651 | $572,193 |
| Denton | 120 | $73,978 | $232,557 | $531,101 |
| Cypress | 120 | $48,977 | $231,123 | $581,655 |
What a normal month looks like
The typical trading month at the median venue is $21,522. Months are not equal, though, and the pattern is consistent enough statewide to plan against: 1.000 below means an average month.
| Month | Index | vs average |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0.907 | -9.3% |
| February | 0.953 | -4.7% |
| March | 1.036 | +3.6% |
| April | 1.006 | +0.6% |
| May | 1.064 | +6.4% |
| June | 1.010 | +1.0% |
| July | 0.977 | -2.3% |
| August | 0.986 | -1.4% |
| September | 1.006 | +0.6% |
| October | 1.035 | +3.5% |
| November | 0.955 | -4.5% |
| December | 1.066 | +6.6% |
December is the strongest month in Texas at +6.6% against the average, and January the weakest at -9.3%. A January that looks like a collapse is usually just January.
How this is calculated
21,217 venues that filed a mixed beverage return with receipts above zero in the last 12 months of published data, ending September 2026 — the last month every venue has had the chance to file for, so no partial month is included. Event and concession permits are excluded — a stadium caterer files tens of millions against the address where its permit is registered, not where the drinks were poured, and leaving those in distorts every figure on this page. Months with a zero return are excluded from medians, because a zero filing means nothing was reported, which is not the same as nothing being sold.
Figures are as filed by the businesses themselves and are subject to restatement by the state. This is market data, not advice: do not use it as the sole basis for valuing a business or extending credit.
Look up a specific venue
Every one of the 21,217 venues above has its own page, with its reporting status, its trend and how far back its record goes.
Or browse every Texas city. A subscription opens the monthly receipts themselves, back to 2007, with the liquor, beer and wine split and every operator who has held the permit.