Farm Progress

What US states produce the most food? (Ranking 1-50)

California ranks first in the U.S. for agricultural cash receipts followed by Iowa, Texas, Nebraska and Illinois.

April 12, 2013

2 Min Read
sweet corn
Jen Koukol

Story updated April 12, 2024

How much does agriculture contribute to the economy? Short story: Billions. Upon billions. When you total the cash receipts for all ag commodities, California is the leader, raking first with a total of more than $58 billion, according to USDA data. Rounding out the top 10 are:

  1. California, $58 billion

  2. Iowa, $44.7 billion

  3. Nebraska, $31.6 billion

  4. Texas, $29.7 billion

  5. Illinois, $27.9 billion

  6. Minnesota, $26 billion

  7. Kansas, $23.5 billion

  8. Indiana, $18.3 billion

  9. North Carolina, $16.8 billion

  10. Wisconsin, $16.6 billion

See the ranking of the full 50 states at the USDA ERS website.

Food-specific rankings

The United States produces many different agricultural commodities, food crops, meat and more. Here are the top five ranks for some of the most commonly consumed foods, including: apples, cattle, chicken eggs, sweet corn, food grains, fruit and nuts, hogs, potatoes, vegetables and melons.

Apples

  1. Washington, $2 billion

  2. Michigan, $412 million

  3. New York, $343 million

  4. Pennsylvania, $124 million

  5. Virginia, $66 million

Cattle and calves

  1. Nebraska, $13.7 billion

  2. Kansas, $11.6 billion

  3. Texas, $11.5 billion

  4. Iowa, $5.2 billion

  5. Oklahoma, $4.5 billion

Chicken eggs

  1. Iowa, $1.9 billion

  2. Ohio, $1.9 billion

  3. Indiana, $1.7 billion

  4. Pennsylvania, $1.2 billion

  5. Texas, $1.1 billion

Sweet corn

  1. Florida, $219 million

  2. California, $177 million

  3. Washington, $114 million

  4. Minnesota, $112 million

  5. Georgia, $106 million

Food grains (cereal seeds, mainly wheat and rice)

  1. North Dakota, $2.1 billion

  2. Kansas, $2.1 billion

  3. Arkansas, $1.3 billion

  4. Montana, $1.2 billion

  5. California, $1.1 billion

Other ag crops

Aside from food crops, ag commodities including corn, soybeans and wheat make up billions in cash receipts, as well. These are the top five states for cash receipts, along with acreages, in those commodities.

Corn

  1. Iowa, $15.3 billion; 13.1 million acres

  2. Illinois, $13.6 billion; 11.2 million acres

  3. Nebraska, $10.7 billion; 9.9 million acres

  4. Minnesota, $8 billion, 8.6 million acres

  5. Indiana, $6.4 billion; 5.4 million acres

Soybeans

  1. Illinois, $9.5 billion; 10.3 million acres

  2. Iowa, $8.7 billion; 9.9 million acres

  3. Minnesota, $5.1 billion; 7.3 million acres

  4. Indiana, $4.7 billion; 5.5 million acres

  5. Ohio, $4.2 billion; 4.7 million acres

Wheat

  1. North Dakota, $2.1 billion; 6.6 million acres

  2. Kansas, $2.1 billion; 8.1 million acres

  3. Montana, $1.2 billion; 5.2 million acres

  4. Washington, $1 billion; 2.3 million acres

  5. Oklahoma, $648 million; 4.5 million acres

Read more about:

Food Production
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