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 2023, at 1,720,000 head. Alaska had the lowest, at 200 head. The median was 60,000 head and the figure for the United States was 9,397,500 head. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,720,000California
Lowest200Alaska
Median60,00050 states
United States9,397,500History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 2,000 headAlaska: 200 headArizona: 195,000 headArkansas: 4,000 headCalifornia: 1,720,000 headColorado: 202,000 headConnecticut: 18,500 headDelaware: 2,600 headFlorida: 92,000 headGeorgia: 92,000 headHawaii: 600 headIdaho: 661,000 headIllinois: 79,000 headIndiana: 187,000 headIowa: 240,000 headKansas: 175,000 headKentucky: 45,000 headLouisiana: 8,000 headMaine: 25,000 headMaryland: 40,000 headMassachusetts: 9,000 headMichigan: 434,000 headMinnesota: 455,000 headMississippi: 6,000 headMissouri: 64,000 headMontana: 9,000 headNebraska: 56,000 headNevada: 33,000 headNew Hampshire: 10,000 headNew Jersey: 4,100 headNew Mexico: 281,000 headNew York: 630,000 headNorth Carolina: 39,000 headNorth Dakota: 14,000 headOhio: 250,000 headOklahoma: 39,000 headOregon: 123,000 headPennsylvania: 465,000 headRhode Island: 500 headSouth Carolina: 9,000 headSouth Dakota: 187,000 headTennessee: 26,000 headTexas: 650,000 headUtah: 92,000 headVermont: 118,000 headVirginia: 67,000 headWashington: 254,000 headWest Virginia: 5,000 headWisconsin: 1,270,000 headWyoming: 9,000 head
  • Under 10K
  • 10K to 20K
  • 20K to 60K
  • 60K to 160K
  • 160K to 280K
  • 280K and over
  • No data
head, 2023. 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, 2023

California: 1,720,000 headCalifornia1,720,000Wisconsin: 1,270,000 headWisconsin1,270,000Idaho: 661,000 headIdaho661,000Texas: 650,000 headTexas650,000New York: 630,000 headNew York630,000Pennsylvania: 465,000 headPennsylvania465,000Minnesota: 455,000 headMinnesota455,000Michigan: 434,000 headMichigan434,000New Mexico: 281,000 headNew Mexico281,000Washington: 254,000 headWashington254,000Ohio: 250,000 headOhio250,000Iowa: 240,000 headIowa240,000Colorado: 202,000 headColorado202,000Arizona: 195,000 headArizona195,000Indiana: 187,000 headIndiana187,000South Dakota: 187,000 headSouth Dakota187,000Kansas: 175,000 headKansas175,000Oregon: 123,000 headOregon123,000Vermont: 118,000 headVermont118,000Florida: 92,000 headFlorida92,000Georgia: 92,000 headGeorgia92,000Utah: 92,000 headUtah92,000Illinois: 79,000 headIllinois79,000Virginia: 67,000 headVirginia67,000Missouri: 64,000 headMissouri64,000Nebraska: 56,000 headNebraska56,000Kentucky: 45,000 headKentucky45,000Maryland: 40,000 headMaryland40,000North Carolina: 39,000 headNorth Carolina39,000Oklahoma: 39,000 headOklahoma39,000Nevada: 33,000 headNevada33,000Tennessee: 26,000 headTennessee26,000Maine: 25,000 headMaine25,000Connecticut: 18,500 headConnecticut18,500North Dakota: 14,000 headNorth Dakota14,000New Hampshire: 10,000 headNew Hampshire10,000Massachusetts: 9,000 headMassachusetts9,000Montana: 9,000 headMontana9,000South Carolina: 9,000 headSouth Carolina9,000Wyoming: 9,000 headWyoming9,000Louisiana: 8,000 headLouisiana8,000Mississippi: 6,000 headMississippi6,000West Virginia: 5,000 headWest Virginia5,000New Jersey: 4,100 headNew Jersey4,100Arkansas: 4,000 headArkansas4,000Delaware: 2,600 headDelaware2,600Alabama: 2,000 headAlabama2,000Hawaii: 600 headHawaii600Rhode Island: 500 headRhode Island500Alaska: 200 headAlaska200California: 1,720,000 headCalifornia1,720,000Wisconsin: 1,270,000 headWisconsin1,270,000Idaho: 661,000 headIdaho661,000Texas: 650,000 headTexas650,000New York: 630,000 headNew York630,000Pennsylvania: 465,000 headPennsylvania465,000Minnesota: 455,000 headMinnesota455,000Michigan: 434,000 headMichigan434,000New Mexico: 281,000 headNew Mexico281,000Washington: 254,000 headWashington254,000Ohio: 250,000 headOhio250,000Iowa: 240,000 headIowa240,000Colorado: 202,000 headColorado202,000Arizona: 195,000 headArizona195,000Indiana: 187,000 headIndiana187,000South Dakota: 187,000 headSouth Dakota187,000Kansas: 175,000 headKansas175,000Oregon: 123,000 headOregon123,000Vermont: 118,000 headVermont118,000Florida: 92,000 headFlorida92,000Georgia: 92,000 headGeorgia92,000Utah: 92,000 headUtah92,000Illinois: 79,000 headIllinois79,000Virginia: 67,000 headVirginia67,000Missouri: 64,000 headMissouri64,000Nebraska: 56,000 headNebraska56,000Kentucky: 45,000 headKentucky45,000Maryland: 40,000 headMaryland40,000North Carolina: 39,000 headNorth Carolina39,000Oklahoma: 39,000 headOklahoma39,000Nevada: 33,000 headNevada33,000Tennessee: 26,000 headTennessee26,000Maine: 25,000 headMaine25,000Connecticut: 18,500 headConnecticut18,500North Dakota: 14,000 headNorth Dakota14,000New Hampshire: 10,000 headNew Hampshire10,000Massachusetts: 9,000 headMassachusetts9,000Montana: 9,000 headMontana9,000South Carolina: 9,000 headSouth Carolina9,000Wyoming: 9,000 headWyoming9,000Louisiana: 8,000 headLouisiana8,000Mississippi: 6,000 headMississippi6,000West Virginia: 5,000 headWest Virginia5,000New Jersey: 4,100 headNew Jersey4,100Arkansas: 4,000 headArkansas4,000Delaware: 2,600 headDelaware2,600Alabama: 2,000 headAlabama2,000Hawaii: 600 headHawaii600Rhode 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

RankStates2023
head		Change on 2022
1California1,720,0000%
2Wisconsin1,270,000-0.4%
3Idaho661,000+1.4%
4Texas650,000+4%
5New York630,000+1.6%
6Pennsylvania465,000-1.1%
7Minnesota455,000-1.1%
8Michigan434,0000%
9New Mexico281,000-3.8%
10Washington254,000-2.7%
11Ohio250,000+0.8%
12Iowa240,000+6.7%
13Colorado202,0000%
14Arizona195,000+0.5%
15Indiana187,000+0.5%
15South Dakota187,000+10%
17Kansas175,000+3.6%
18Oregon123,000-1.6%
19Vermont118,000-1.7%
20Florida92,000-12.4%
20Georgia92,000+10.8%
20Utah92,000-3.2%
23Illinois79,000-2.5%
24Virginia67,000-5.6%
25Missouri64,000-7.2%
26Nebraska56,000-3.4%
27Kentucky45,0000%
28Maryland40,000-2.4%
29North Carolina39,0000%
29Oklahoma39,000-2.5%
31Nevada33,0000%
32Tennessee26,000-3.7%
33Maine25,000-3.8%
34Connecticut18,5000%
35North Dakota14,000-6.7%
36New Hampshire10,000-4.8%
37Massachusetts9,000-5.3%
37Montana9,000-18.2%
37South Carolina9,0000%
37Wyoming9,0000%
41Louisiana8,000-11.1%
42Mississippi6,000-14.3%
43West Virginia5,0000%
44New Jersey4,100-2.4%
45Arkansas4,000-20%
46Delaware2,600-7.1%
47Alabama2,000-33.3%
48Hawaii600-25%
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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2023 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_us_states_by_milk_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/milk-cows/us-states?period=2023.
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 2023, 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 2023.

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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