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 2022, at 1,720,000 head. Alaska had the lowest, at 200 head. The median was 63,500 head and the figure for the United States was 9,381,000 head. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,720,000California
Lowest200Alaska
Median63,50050 states
United States9,381,000History

Map of states, 2022

Alabama: 3,000 headAlaska: 200 headArizona: 194,000 headArkansas: 5,000 headCalifornia: 1,720,000 headColorado: 202,000 headConnecticut: 18,500 headDelaware: 2,800 headFlorida: 105,000 headGeorgia: 83,000 headHawaii: 800 headIdaho: 652,000 headIllinois: 81,000 headIndiana: 186,000 headIowa: 225,000 headKansas: 169,000 headKentucky: 45,000 headLouisiana: 9,000 headMaine: 26,000 headMaryland: 41,000 headMassachusetts: 9,500 headMichigan: 434,000 headMinnesota: 460,000 headMississippi: 7,000 headMissouri: 69,000 headMontana: 11,000 headNebraska: 58,000 headNevada: 33,000 headNew Hampshire: 10,500 headNew Jersey: 4,200 headNew Mexico: 292,000 headNew York: 620,000 headNorth Carolina: 39,000 headNorth Dakota: 15,000 headOhio: 248,000 headOklahoma: 40,000 headOregon: 125,000 headPennsylvania: 470,000 headRhode Island: 500 headSouth Carolina: 9,000 headSouth Dakota: 170,000 headTennessee: 27,000 headTexas: 625,000 headUtah: 95,000 headVermont: 120,000 headVirginia: 71,000 headWashington: 261,000 headWest Virginia: 5,000 headWisconsin: 1,275,000 headWyoming: 9,000 head
  • Under 10K
  • 10K to 20K
  • 20K to 60K
  • 60K to 150K
  • 150K to 290K
  • 290K and over
  • No data
head, 2022. 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, 2022

California: 1,720,000 headCalifornia1,720,000Wisconsin: 1,275,000 headWisconsin1,275,000Idaho: 652,000 headIdaho652,000Texas: 625,000 headTexas625,000New York: 620,000 headNew York620,000Pennsylvania: 470,000 headPennsylvania470,000Minnesota: 460,000 headMinnesota460,000Michigan: 434,000 headMichigan434,000New Mexico: 292,000 headNew Mexico292,000Washington: 261,000 headWashington261,000Ohio: 248,000 headOhio248,000Iowa: 225,000 headIowa225,000Colorado: 202,000 headColorado202,000Arizona: 194,000 headArizona194,000Indiana: 186,000 headIndiana186,000South Dakota: 170,000 headSouth Dakota170,000Kansas: 169,000 headKansas169,000Oregon: 125,000 headOregon125,000Vermont: 120,000 headVermont120,000Florida: 105,000 headFlorida105,000Utah: 95,000 headUtah95,000Georgia: 83,000 headGeorgia83,000Illinois: 81,000 headIllinois81,000Virginia: 71,000 headVirginia71,000Missouri: 69,000 headMissouri69,000Nebraska: 58,000 headNebraska58,000Kentucky: 45,000 headKentucky45,000Maryland: 41,000 headMaryland41,000Oklahoma: 40,000 headOklahoma40,000North Carolina: 39,000 headNorth Carolina39,000Nevada: 33,000 headNevada33,000Tennessee: 27,000 headTennessee27,000Maine: 26,000 headMaine26,000Connecticut: 18,500 headConnecticut18,500North Dakota: 15,000 headNorth Dakota15,000Montana: 11,000 headMontana11,000New Hampshire: 10,500 headNew Hampshire10,500Massachusetts: 9,500 headMassachusetts9,500Louisiana: 9,000 headLouisiana9,000South Carolina: 9,000 headSouth Carolina9,000Wyoming: 9,000 headWyoming9,000Mississippi: 7,000 headMississippi7,000Arkansas: 5,000 headArkansas5,000West Virginia: 5,000 headWest Virginia5,000New Jersey: 4,200 headNew Jersey4,200Alabama: 3,000 headAlabama3,000Delaware: 2,800 headDelaware2,800Hawaii: 800 headHawaii800Rhode Island: 500 headRhode Island500Alaska: 200 headAlaska200California: 1,720,000 headCalifornia1,720,000Wisconsin: 1,275,000 headWisconsin1,275,000Idaho: 652,000 headIdaho652,000Texas: 625,000 headTexas625,000New York: 620,000 headNew York620,000Pennsylvania: 470,000 headPennsylvania470,000Minnesota: 460,000 headMinnesota460,000Michigan: 434,000 headMichigan434,000New Mexico: 292,000 headNew Mexico292,000Washington: 261,000 headWashington261,000Ohio: 248,000 headOhio248,000Iowa: 225,000 headIowa225,000Colorado: 202,000 headColorado202,000Arizona: 194,000 headArizona194,000Indiana: 186,000 headIndiana186,000South Dakota: 170,000 headSouth Dakota170,000Kansas: 169,000 headKansas169,000Oregon: 125,000 headOregon125,000Vermont: 120,000 headVermont120,000Florida: 105,000 headFlorida105,000Utah: 95,000 headUtah95,000Georgia: 83,000 headGeorgia83,000Illinois: 81,000 headIllinois81,000Virginia: 71,000 headVirginia71,000Missouri: 69,000 headMissouri69,000Nebraska: 58,000 headNebraska58,000Kentucky: 45,000 headKentucky45,000Maryland: 41,000 headMaryland41,000Oklahoma: 40,000 headOklahoma40,000North Carolina: 39,000 headNorth Carolina39,000Nevada: 33,000 headNevada33,000Tennessee: 27,000 headTennessee27,000Maine: 26,000 headMaine26,000Connecticut: 18,500 headConnecticut18,500North Dakota: 15,000 headNorth Dakota15,000Montana: 11,000 headMontana11,000New Hampshire: 10,500 headNew Hampshire10,500Massachusetts: 9,500 headMassachusetts9,500Louisiana: 9,000 headLouisiana9,000South Carolina: 9,000 headSouth Carolina9,000Wyoming: 9,000 headWyoming9,000Mississippi: 7,000 headMississippi7,000Arkansas: 5,000 headArkansas5,000West Virginia: 5,000 headWest Virginia5,000New Jersey: 4,200 headNew Jersey4,200Alabama: 3,000 headAlabama3,000Delaware: 2,800 headDelaware2,800Hawaii: 800 headHawaii800Rhode Island: 500 headRhode Island500Alaska: 200 headAlaska200
head. Source: USDA NASS, Quick Stats, CATTLE, COWS, MILK - INVENTORY, first of January, survey, nation and states. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2022
head		Change on 2021
1California1,720,0000%
2Wisconsin1,275,000+1.2%
3Idaho652,000+0.9%
4Texas625,000+1.6%
5New York620,000-0.8%
6Pennsylvania470,000-1.1%
7Minnesota460,0000%
8Michigan434,000-1.4%
9New Mexico292,000-13.4%
10Washington261,000-6.5%
11Ohio248,000-3.9%
12Iowa225,000+2.3%
13Colorado202,000+0.5%
14Arizona194,000-2%
15Indiana186,000-3.1%
16South Dakota170,000+20.6%
17Kansas169,000-2.3%
18Oregon125,0000%
19Vermont120,0000%
20Florida105,000-5.4%
21Utah95,0000%
22Georgia83,000+2.5%
23Illinois81,000-3.6%
24Virginia71,000-4.1%
25Missouri69,000-8%
26Nebraska58,000-3.3%
27Kentucky45,000-4.3%
28Maryland41,000-4.7%
29Oklahoma40,0000%
30North Carolina39,000-2.5%
31Nevada33,000-2.9%
32Tennessee27,000-10%
33Maine26,000-3.7%
34Connecticut18,500-2.6%
35North Dakota15,0000%
36Montana11,0000%
37New Hampshire10,500-4.5%
38Massachusetts9,500-5%
39Louisiana9,000-10%
39South Carolina9,000-10%
39Wyoming9,000+12.5%
42Mississippi7,000-12.5%
43Arkansas5,0000%
43West Virginia5,0000%
45New Jersey4,200-4.5%
46Alabama3,0000%
47Delaware2,800-24.3%
48Hawaii800+33.3%
49Rhode Island5000%
50Alaska2000%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2022.

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, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2022 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_us_states_by_milk_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2022.
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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Rank US states by milk cows on 1 January using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which state has the highest milk cows on 1 January?

California, with 1,720,000 head in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which state has the lowest milk cows on 1 January?

Alaska, with 200 head in 2022.

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.

US states: more rankings