Data / Rankings / Milk cows on 1 January / US states

US states by milk cows on 1 January

California had the highest milk cows on 1 January of 50 states in 2017, at 1,755,000 head. Alaska had the lowest, at 300 head. The median was 71,500 head and the figure for the United States was 9,368,500 head. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,755,000California
Lowest300Alaska
Median71,50050 states
United States9,368,500History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 7,000 headAlaska: 300 headArizona: 205,000 headArkansas: 6,000 headCalifornia: 1,755,000 headColorado: 157,000 headConnecticut: 19,000 headDelaware: 5,000 headFlorida: 122,000 headGeorgia: 83,000 headHawaii: 2,400 headIdaho: 600,000 headIllinois: 93,000 headIndiana: 185,000 headIowa: 215,000 headKansas: 150,000 headKentucky: 57,000 headLouisiana: 12,000 headMaine: 30,000 headMaryland: 47,000 headMassachusetts: 11,500 headMichigan: 425,000 headMinnesota: 460,000 headMississippi: 9,000 headMissouri: 85,000 headMontana: 14,000 headNebraska: 60,000 headNevada: 30,000 headNew Hampshire: 13,500 headNew Jersey: 6,000 headNew Mexico: 325,000 headNew York: 620,000 headNorth Carolina: 45,000 headNorth Dakota: 16,000 headOhio: 262,000 headOklahoma: 37,000 headOregon: 124,000 headPennsylvania: 525,000 headRhode Island: 800 headSouth Carolina: 15,000 headSouth Dakota: 116,000 headTennessee: 41,000 headTexas: 500,000 headUtah: 92,000 headVermont: 129,000 headVirginia: 87,000 headWashington: 275,000 headWest Virginia: 8,000 headWisconsin: 1,280,000 headWyoming: 6,000 head
  • Under 10K
  • 10K to 20K
  • 20K to 70K
  • 70K to 130K
  • 130K to 320K
  • 320K and over
  • No data
head, 2017. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: USDA NASS, Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2017

California: 1,755,000 headCalifornia1,755,000Wisconsin: 1,280,000 headWisconsin1,280,000New York: 620,000 headNew York620,000Idaho: 600,000 headIdaho600,000Pennsylvania: 525,000 headPennsylvania525,000Texas: 500,000 headTexas500,000Minnesota: 460,000 headMinnesota460,000Michigan: 425,000 headMichigan425,000New Mexico: 325,000 headNew Mexico325,000Washington: 275,000 headWashington275,000Ohio: 262,000 headOhio262,000Iowa: 215,000 headIowa215,000Arizona: 205,000 headArizona205,000Indiana: 185,000 headIndiana185,000Colorado: 157,000 headColorado157,000Kansas: 150,000 headKansas150,000Vermont: 129,000 headVermont129,000Oregon: 124,000 headOregon124,000Florida: 122,000 headFlorida122,000South Dakota: 116,000 headSouth Dakota116,000Illinois: 93,000 headIllinois93,000Utah: 92,000 headUtah92,000Virginia: 87,000 headVirginia87,000Missouri: 85,000 headMissouri85,000Georgia: 83,000 headGeorgia83,000Nebraska: 60,000 headNebraska60,000Kentucky: 57,000 headKentucky57,000Maryland: 47,000 headMaryland47,000North Carolina: 45,000 headNorth Carolina45,000Tennessee: 41,000 headTennessee41,000Oklahoma: 37,000 headOklahoma37,000Maine: 30,000 headMaine30,000Nevada: 30,000 headNevada30,000Connecticut: 19,000 headConnecticut19,000North Dakota: 16,000 headNorth Dakota16,000South Carolina: 15,000 headSouth Carolina15,000Montana: 14,000 headMontana14,000New Hampshire: 13,500 headNew Hampshire13,500Louisiana: 12,000 headLouisiana12,000Massachusetts: 11,500 headMassachusetts11,500Mississippi: 9,000 headMississippi9,000West Virginia: 8,000 headWest Virginia8,000Alabama: 7,000 headAlabama7,000Arkansas: 6,000 headArkansas6,000New Jersey: 6,000 headNew Jersey6,000Wyoming: 6,000 headWyoming6,000Delaware: 5,000 headDelaware5,000Hawaii: 2,400 headHawaii2,400Rhode Island: 800 headRhode Island800Alaska: 300 headAlaska300California: 1,755,000 headCalifornia1,755,000Wisconsin: 1,280,000 headWisconsin1,280,000New York: 620,000 headNew York620,000Idaho: 600,000 headIdaho600,000Pennsylvania: 525,000 headPennsylvania525,000Texas: 500,000 headTexas500,000Minnesota: 460,000 headMinnesota460,000Michigan: 425,000 headMichigan425,000New Mexico: 325,000 headNew Mexico325,000Washington: 275,000 headWashington275,000Ohio: 262,000 headOhio262,000Iowa: 215,000 headIowa215,000Arizona: 205,000 headArizona205,000Indiana: 185,000 headIndiana185,000Colorado: 157,000 headColorado157,000Kansas: 150,000 headKansas150,000Vermont: 129,000 headVermont129,000Oregon: 124,000 headOregon124,000Florida: 122,000 headFlorida122,000South Dakota: 116,000 headSouth Dakota116,000Illinois: 93,000 headIllinois93,000Utah: 92,000 headUtah92,000Virginia: 87,000 headVirginia87,000Missouri: 85,000 headMissouri85,000Georgia: 83,000 headGeorgia83,000Nebraska: 60,000 headNebraska60,000Kentucky: 57,000 headKentucky57,000Maryland: 47,000 headMaryland47,000North Carolina: 45,000 headNorth Carolina45,000Tennessee: 41,000 headTennessee41,000Oklahoma: 37,000 headOklahoma37,000Maine: 30,000 headMaine30,000Nevada: 30,000 headNevada30,000Connecticut: 19,000 headConnecticut19,000North Dakota: 16,000 headNorth Dakota16,000South Carolina: 15,000 headSouth Carolina15,000Montana: 14,000 headMontana14,000New Hampshire: 13,500 headNew Hampshire13,500Louisiana: 12,000 headLouisiana12,000Massachusetts: 11,500 headMassachusetts11,500Mississippi: 9,000 headMississippi9,000West Virginia: 8,000 headWest Virginia8,000Alabama: 7,000 headAlabama7,000Arkansas: 6,000 headArkansas6,000New Jersey: 6,000 headNew Jersey6,000Wyoming: 6,000 headWyoming6,000Delaware: 5,000 headDelaware5,000Hawaii: 2,400 headHawaii2,400Rhode Island: 800 headRhode Island800Alaska: 300 headAlaska300
head. Source: USDA NASS, Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2017
head		Change on 2016
1California1,755,000-0.8%
2Wisconsin1,280,0000%
3New York620,0000%
4Idaho600,000+2.2%
5Pennsylvania525,000-0.9%
6Texas500,000+8.7%
7Minnesota460,0000%
8Michigan425,000+3.2%
9New Mexico325,000+3.2%
10Washington275,000-0.7%
11Ohio262,000-1.5%
12Iowa215,000+2.4%
13Arizona205,000+2.5%
14Indiana185,000+0.5%
15Colorado157,000+4.7%
16Kansas150,000+5.6%
17Vermont129,000-1.5%
18Oregon124,000-1.6%
19Florida122,000-2.4%
20South Dakota116,000+5.5%
21Illinois93,000-1.1%
22Utah92,0000%
23Virginia87,000-4.4%
24Missouri85,000-1.2%
25Georgia83,000-2.4%
26Nebraska60,000+3.4%
27Kentucky57,000-3.4%
28Maryland47,000-4.1%
29North Carolina45,000-4.3%
30Tennessee41,000-6.8%
31Oklahoma37,0000%
32Maine30,0000%
32Nevada30,000+7.1%
34Connecticut19,0000%
35North Dakota16,0000%
36South Carolina15,0000%
37Montana14,0000%
38New Hampshire13,500-3.6%
39Louisiana12,000-7.7%
40Massachusetts11,500-4.2%
41Mississippi9,000-10%
42West Virginia8,000-11.1%
43Alabama7,0000%
44Arkansas6,000-14.3%
44New Jersey6,000-14.3%
44Wyoming6,0000%
47Delaware5,0000%
48Hawaii2,400+9.1%
49Rhode Island800-11.1%
50Alaska3000%

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

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.

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

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2026). Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states (US states by milk cows on 1 January, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/

MLA 9

Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states, US states by milk cows on 1 January, 2017. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 30 Jan. 2026, https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states. US states by milk cows on 1 January, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states, US states by milk cows on 1 January, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_us_states_by_milk_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states: US states by milk cows on 1 January, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2017. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
TI  - Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states: US states by milk cows on 1 January, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/30
PB  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest milk cows on 1 January?

California, with 1,755,000 head in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which state has the lowest milk cows on 1 January?

Alaska, with 300 head in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

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