# Milk cows on 1 January

Cows that have calved and are kept for milk production, on farms on 1 January, in head, as estimated by USDA NASS in its January Cattle report. Dry cows are included; heifers that have not calved are not.

## Key facts

- Milk cows on 1 January in the United States was 9,568,300 head in 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
- California had the highest milk cows on 1 January of 50 states in 2024, at 1,710,000 head, and Alaska the lowest, at 200 head. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
- Published for 51 places, with figures from 1950 to 2026.
- Figures last updated on 2026-10-18.

- Indicator id: `milk_cows_inventory`
- Unit: head
- Note: NASS also publishes an annual average number of milk cows with its milk production estimates; this series is the 1 January count. USDA NASS survey estimates for the nation and the states; the District of Columbia is not covered, and states that NASS groups as "other states" to avoid disclosing single operations have no value for that year. NASS revises recent years when it publishes later reports, and values it withholds are left out.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/milk-cows
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/milk_cows_inventory

## Latest figures

| Place | Period | head | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|
| United States | 2026 | 9,568,300 | USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Quick Stats. Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states. https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-18. |

## Rankings

- [US states](https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states.md) (50 places)