The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission publishes a free interactive dry counties in Texas map that shows the wet, dry, or partially wet status of every county, city, and justice of the peace precinct in the state. As of March 2025, only 3 of Texas’s 254 counties are completely dry, 60 are completely wet, and the remaining 191 fall into a partially wet category where the rules change depending on your exact location.1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Publishes Interactive Wet/Dry Map
Using the TABC Interactive Map
The TABC launched the map in early 2025. It is hosted on ArcGIS and reachable through the TABC’s website at no cost.1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Publishes Interactive Wet/Dry Map Select a county to see whether it is dry, partially wet, or wet, then drill into the jurisdictions inside it to see which types of alcohol sales voters have approved.
A general county-level color often hides significant variation. A county that shows up as partially wet may contain incorporated cities that allow full liquor sales while the surrounding unincorporated land prohibits all alcohol. The TABC map breaks those layers apart and shows what is allowed at the city and precinct level rather than painting each county with a single color. If you are relocating, opening a business, or trying to figure out where you can buy a bottle of wine on a road trip through West Texas, the map is the most reliable starting point.
How Many Texas Counties Are Dry, Wet, and Partially Wet
Three counties are completely dry, meaning no alcohol of any kind can be legally sold anywhere within their borders.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Local Option Elections That number has shrunk steadily for decades as more communities vote to allow sales. Sixty counties are fully wet, permitting all categories of alcohol sales throughout the county.1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Publishes Interactive Wet/Dry Map
The vast majority of counties sit in the partially wet middle. Individual cities or justice of the peace precincts inside them have voted to allow some types of alcohol sales while the county as a whole has not. Rural areas in the Panhandle and West Texas held onto dry status longer than urban corridors and the Gulf Coast, but local governments across the state have increasingly sought the tax revenue and economic activity that restaurants, breweries, and retailers bring. Most Texans now live in areas where at least some form of alcohol can be legally purchased.
Why Your Exact Address Matters More Than Your County
Texas alcohol law operates at three overlapping levels: county, city, and justice of the peace precinct. Each of these jurisdictions can hold its own election to allow or prohibit alcohol sales, and the result applies only within that jurisdiction’s boundaries.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Local Option Elections A city inside a dry county can vote itself wet. A single precinct within a dry county can do the same. Two addresses a mile apart may have completely different rules.
Justice of the peace precincts are the smallest unit where these shifts happen, and they are regularly redistricted. County-level maps tell you the general lay of the land, but businesses and buyers need to confirm that their specific physical address falls within an area that permits the type of sales they care about.
What Voters Actually Approve
When a community votes on alcohol sales, it does not simply vote wet or dry. Voters choose from specific categories that control what types of alcohol can be sold and how. The TABC enforces these categories strictly, and a permit for one type of sale does not grant the right to sell another. That is why the map lets you see which categories a jurisdiction has approved, not just an overall status.
Common ballot options include:
- Beer and wine for off-premise consumption, which lets grocery and convenience stores sell beer and wine that customers take home.
- Beer and wine for on-premise consumption, which lets restaurants and bars serve beer and wine on site.
- All alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption, which authorizes package stores to sell distilled spirits, beer, and wine for takeaway.
- Mixed beverages for on-premise consumption, which lets restaurants and bars prepare and serve cocktails containing distilled spirits.
Some communities approve mixed-drink sales only for restaurants holding a food and beverage certificate. That certificate requires the establishment to operate as a restaurant or to derive no more than 60 percent of its receipts from alcohol sales, and to maintain permanent food-service facilities. This approach lets a community allow cocktails at dinner without opening the door to standalone bars.
Private Clubs Can Serve in Dry Areas
Even in communities that have voted against alcohol sales, private clubs can legally serve drinks to their members under a Private Club Registration Permit. This is the main reason you may sometimes find a bar-like establishment in an area the TABC map shows as dry.
The requirements are significant. The club must maintain at least 50 members who reside in the county where it operates, or at least 100 members across the home county and adjacent counties. A membership committee of three or more members must review and approve every application. The club must provide regular food service, occupy a permanent space, and generate enough non-alcohol revenue to cover its rent, taxes, or mortgage costs. No employee or officer can receive compensation from alcohol sales beyond service charges. Members can bring guests, but the club cannot function as a walk-in bar for the general public. Nonprofits can obtain a Private Club Exemption Certificate that waives the state’s permit fee, and clubs can apply for a Late Hours Certificate to serve beyond standard legal hours.
Local Distance Rules Near Schools, Churches, and Hospitals
Wet status is not the only thing that controls where an alcohol-selling business can operate. A county commissioners court or city council has the authority to prohibit alcohol sales within 300 feet of a church, a public or private school, or a public hospital. For schools, the distance can be increased to 1,000 feet if the school district’s board of trustees, or the governing body of a private school with more than 100 students, requests it.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 109.33
These distance rules are permissive, not automatic. If a city or county has not adopted an ordinance imposing the restriction, there is no state-level minimum distance between an alcohol-selling location and a church, school, or hospital.4Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. FAQs Local governments also have full discretion to grant variances. The TABC map tells you whether an area allows alcohol sales; you need to check with the local government to determine whether a distance restriction applies to a particular address.
How a Community Changes Its Status
The shift from dry to wet, or wet to dry, happens through a local option election. Texas law gives voters in any county, city, or justice of the peace precinct the right to decide what alcohol sales are allowed in their area.1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Publishes Interactive Wet/Dry Map
The process starts when at least ten qualified voters in the area apply for a petition and publish notice in a local newspaper. Once approved, the county clerk or city secretary issues blank petition pages. Organizers then have 60 days to collect signatures from registered voters in the jurisdiction. For most ballot issues, the petition needs signatures from at least 35 percent of the registered voters who voted for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. A narrower category, the sale of wine on the premises of a winery permit holder, requires 25 percent of voters who participated in the most recent general election.5Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Local Option Liquor Elections
Completed petitions go to the county voter registrar for county or precinct elections, or to the city secretary for city elections, for verification. If the signatures check out, the commissioners court or city council is required to call an election on the next available uniform election date. Voters then decide the specific question stated on the petition.5Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Local Option Liquor Elections Because these elections happen at three different jurisdictional layers, the TABC map is updated to reflect the outcomes as they take effect.