Data / Number of cattle / United States

Number of cattle in United States

Number of cattle in the United States was 87,157,400 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 1.9% from 2023. That is the 3rd highest of 190 countries in 2024.

2024, head87,157,400
Change on 2023-1.9%
Rank3rd of 190Countries ranked
Series high132,028,0001975
Series low87,157,4002024

Next release: Thursday, 31 December 2026, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Get an email when a new figure is out or this one is revised.

Number of cattle in United States, 1961 to 2024

80M90M100M110M120M130M140M19611971198119912001201120241961: 97,700,000 head1962: 100,369,008 head1963: 104,488,000 head1964: 107,903,008 head1965: 109,000,000 head1966: 108,862,000 head1967: 108,783,008 head1968: 109,371,008 head1969: 110,015,008 head1970: 112,369,008 head1971: 114,578,000 head1972: 117,862,000 head1973: 121,539,008 head1974: 127,788,000 head1975: 132,028,000 head1976: 127,980,000 head1977: 122,810,000 head1978: 116,375,008 head1979: 110,864,000 head1980: 111,242,000 head1981: 114,351,008 head1982: 115,444,000 head1983: 115,001,008 head1984: 113,360,000 head1985: 109,582,000 head1986: 105,378,000 head1987: 102,118,000 head1988: 99,622,000 head1989: 96,740,000 head1990: 95,816,000 head1991: 96,393,000 head1992: 97,556,000 head1993: 99,175,900 head1994: 100,973,600 head1995: 102,785,200 head1996: 103,548,200 head1997: 101,655,700 head1998: 99,744,000 head1999: 99,115,000 head2000: 98,199,000 head2001: 97,297,500 head2002: 96,723,000 head2003: 96,100,000 head2004: 94,888,000 head2005: 95,018,000 head2006: 96,701,504 head2007: 96,573,000 head2008: 96,034,500 head2009: 94,721,000 head2010: 94,081,200 head2011: 92,887,400 head2012: 91,160,200 head2013: 90,095,200 head2014: 88,526,000 head2015: 89,143,000 head2016: 91,888,000 head2017: 93,624,600 head2018: 94,298,000 head2019: 94,804,701 head2020: 93,793,300 head2021: 93,586,500 head2022: 91,788,700 head2023: 88,841,000 head2024: 87,157,400 head80M100M120M140M19611983200520241961: 97,700,000 head1962: 100,369,008 head1963: 104,488,000 head1964: 107,903,008 head1965: 109,000,000 head1966: 108,862,000 head1967: 108,783,008 head1968: 109,371,008 head1969: 110,015,008 head1970: 112,369,008 head1971: 114,578,000 head1972: 117,862,000 head1973: 121,539,008 head1974: 127,788,000 head1975: 132,028,000 head1976: 127,980,000 head1977: 122,810,000 head1978: 116,375,008 head1979: 110,864,000 head1980: 111,242,000 head1981: 114,351,008 head1982: 115,444,000 head1983: 115,001,008 head1984: 113,360,000 head1985: 109,582,000 head1986: 105,378,000 head1987: 102,118,000 head1988: 99,622,000 head1989: 96,740,000 head1990: 95,816,000 head1991: 96,393,000 head1992: 97,556,000 head1993: 99,175,900 head1994: 100,973,600 head1995: 102,785,200 head1996: 103,548,200 head1997: 101,655,700 head1998: 99,744,000 head1999: 99,115,000 head2000: 98,199,000 head2001: 97,297,500 head2002: 96,723,000 head2003: 96,100,000 head2004: 94,888,000 head2005: 95,018,000 head2006: 96,701,504 head2007: 96,573,000 head2008: 96,034,500 head2009: 94,721,000 head2010: 94,081,200 head2011: 92,887,400 head2012: 91,160,200 head2013: 90,095,200 head2014: 88,526,000 head2015: 89,143,000 head2016: 91,888,000 head2017: 93,624,600 head2018: 94,298,000 head2019: 94,804,701 head2020: 93,793,300 head2021: 93,586,500 head2022: 91,788,700 head2023: 88,841,000 head2024: 87,157,400 head
head. Source: FAOSTAT, Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-12-31.
All 64 values
Periodhead
202487,157,400
202388,841,000
202291,788,700
202193,586,500
202093,793,300
201994,804,701
201894,298,000
201793,624,600
201691,888,000
201589,143,000
201488,526,000
201390,095,200
201291,160,200
201192,887,400
201094,081,200
200994,721,000
200896,034,500
200796,573,000
200696,701,504
200595,018,000
200494,888,000
200396,100,000
200296,723,000
200197,297,500
200098,199,000
199999,115,000
199899,744,000
1997101,655,700
1996103,548,200
1995102,785,200
1994100,973,600
199399,175,900
199297,556,000
199196,393,000
199095,816,000
198996,740,000
198899,622,000
1987102,118,000
1986105,378,000
1985109,582,000
1984113,360,000
1983115,001,008
1982115,444,000
1981114,351,008
1980111,242,000
1979110,864,000
1978116,375,008
1977122,810,000
1976127,980,000
1975132,028,000
1974127,788,000
1973121,539,008
1972117,862,000
1971114,578,000
1970112,369,008
1969110,015,008
1968109,371,008
1967108,783,008
1966108,862,000
1965109,000,000
1964107,903,008
1963104,488,000
1962100,369,008
196197,700,000

Rankings

Definition

Number of cattle (domestic cattle, not buffaloes) present in the country, as published in FAOSTAT's crops and livestock products domain. FAO asks for the count on one day of the year, usually the census or survey date, so the reference day differs between countries.

FAO fills gaps in national reporting with its own estimates and imputations, which are marked as estimated, and revises past years when countries send new figures.

How to cite

FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111) (Number of cattle, United States, 1961 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip

MLA 9

Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, United States, 1961 to 2024. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 31 Dec. 2025, https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2025. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Number of cattle, United States, 1961 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/united-states.

Harvard

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, United States, 1961 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/united-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{food_number_of_cattle_united_2024,
  author = {{Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}},
  title = {{Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, United States, 1961 to 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/united-states. Publisher attribution: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production\_Crops\_Livestock\_E\_All\_Data\_\%28Normalized\%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
TI  - Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, United States, 1961 to 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
PB  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/united-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/united-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

What is the latest number of cattle in United States? Cite the source.
get_value {"indicator":"cattle_stocks","place":"us"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=cattle_stocks&place=us

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

What is the number of cattle in United States?

Number of cattle in the United States was 87,157,400 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 1.9% from 2023. That is the 3rd highest of 190 countries in 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest number of cattle in United States?

132,028,000 head in 1975, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of cattle in other countries

Related statistics for United States

All statistics for United States | United States in figures