Mapped: The Top Agricultural Commodity in Every U.S. State
See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- Cattle is the highest-value agricultural commodity in 18 states, more than any other product.
- Corn dominates much of the Midwest, while poultry is the leading commodity across much of the Southeast.
- California’s largest agricultural commodity isn’t almonds or grapes—it’s dairy, which generated $8.6 billion in farm income in 2024.
America’s farm economy looks very different from state to state.
Using 2024 U.S. Department of Agriculture data, this map shows the highest-value agricultural commodity in every U.S. state based on gross farm income, highlighting the industries behind America’s $573 billion farm economy.
The Top Agricultural Commodity in Every State
The table below shows each state’s highest-value agricultural commodity by 2024 gross farm income.
| State | Top Agricultural Commodity | Gross Farm Income 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Cattle | $1.5B |
| Colorado | Cattle | $5.3B |
| Hawaii | Cattle | $97M |
| Kansas | Cattle | $14.8B |
| Kentucky | Cattle | $1.5B |
| Missouri | Cattle | $3.3B |
| Montana | Cattle | $2.1B |
| Nebraska | Cattle | $17.8B |
| Nevada | Cattle | $564M |
| New Mexico | Cattle | $1.9B |
| Oklahoma | Cattle | $5.2B |
| Oregon | Cattle | $1.5B |
| South Dakota | Cattle | $3.9B |
| Texas | Cattle | $13.6B |
| Utah | Cattle | $826M |
| Washington | Cattle | $2.5B |
| West Virginia | Cattle | $303M |
| Wyoming | Cattle | $1.5B |
| Illinois | Corn | $10.2B |
| Indiana | Corn | $4.5B |
| Iowa | Corn | $11.7B |
| Minnesota | Corn | $5.9B |
| California | Dairy | $8.6B |
| Idaho | Dairy | $3.9B |
| Michigan | Dairy | $2.7B |
| New York | Dairy | $3.8B |
| Pennsylvania | Dairy | $2.3B |
| Vermont | Dairy | $588M |
| Wisconsin | Dairy | $7.0B |
| New Hampshire | Eggs | $68M |
| Rhode Island | Eggs | $17M |
| Alaska | Nurseries | $13M |
| Connecticut | Nurseries | $170M |
| Florida | Nurseries | $1.2B |
| Massachusetts | Nurseries | $80M |
| New Jersey | Nurseries | $308M |
| Maine | Potatoes | $227M |
| Alabama | Poultry | $4.8B |
| Arkansas | Poultry | $5.6B |
| Delaware | Poultry | $1.6B |
| Georgia | Poultry | $6.1B |
| Maryland | Poultry | $1.5B |
| Mississippi | Poultry | $3.3B |
| North Carolina | Poultry | $6.0B |
| South Carolina | Poultry | $1.3B |
| Tennessee | Poultry | $1.3B |
| Virginia | Poultry | $1.3B |
| Ohio | Soybeans | $2.9B |
| North Dakota | Soybeans | $2.4B |
| Louisiana | Sugarcane | $1.0B |
In AK, CT, FL, HI, MA, NJ, OR, and RI, the USDA groups the top category as “miscellaneous crops,” which includes multiple specialty products. To make the map more informative, we show each state’s next-largest individual commodity instead.
The results reveal several clear regional patterns. Cattle leads across much of the West and Great Plains, poultry is concentrated in the Southeast, and crops such as sugarcane in Louisiana and potatoes in Maine stand out as state-specific specialties.
California’s Biggest Farm Commodity May Surprise You
California, America’s largest agricultural producer, is famous for almonds, grapes, strawberries, and lettuce. Yet dairy is its biggest agricultural industry.
Dairy generated $8.6 billion in gross farm income in 2024. With 1.7 million dairy cows, or about one-fifth of the U.S. total, California remains America’s largest milk producer.
This shows how agricultural value does not always match public perception. California may be known globally for fruits, vegetables, and nuts, but dairy remains its largest agricultural business by value.
The Corn Belt Powers More Than the Grocery Store
The Midwest produces far more than the corn Americans eat on the cob. Most of the region’s harvest becomes livestock feed, ethanol, or ingredients used throughout the food industry, while soybeans are processed into cooking oil and high-protein animal feed.
Together with cattle across the Great Plains and poultry in the Southeast, these commodities support America’s food supply and agricultural exports, illustrating their importance to the U.S. economy.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the states with the most farmland.
