US states by total food sales

California had the highest total food sales of 51 states in 2016, at $208.99 billion. Wyoming had the lowest, at $2.74 billion. The median was $19.81 billion. Source: Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Highest208,994.7California

Lowest2,744.2Wyoming

Median19,807.751 states

Map of states, 2016

Under 6,000
6,000 to 13K
13K to 20K
20K to 30K
30K to 45K
45K and over

USD million, 2016. Source: USDA ERS. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

USD million. Source: USDA ERS. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2016 USD million	Change on 2015
1	California	208,994.7	+5.2%
2	Texas	136,533.7	+4.3%
3	Florida	103,338.3	+4.7%
4	New York	101,245.9	+3.8%
5	Illinois	60,710.6	+2.9%
6	Pennsylvania	57,831.4	+4%
7	Ohio	54,315.4	+3%
8	Georgia	50,487.6	+5%
9	North Carolina	45,329.9	+3.4%
10	New Jersey	43,549.5	+2.7%
11	Washington	41,899.2	+5.2%
12	Michigan	40,676.3	+4.4%
13	Virginia	40,574.2	+3.1%
14	Massachusetts	37,329.5	+3.5%
15	Tennessee	33,889.4	+5.1%
16	Arizona	32,907.3	+5.2%
17	Colorado	30,769.3	+5.4%
18	Indiana	29,148.9	+2.5%
19	Maryland	28,601.7	+2.3%
20	Missouri	27,643.3	+3.3%
21	Minnesota	24,773	+2.3%
22	Wisconsin	24,366.7	+2.8%
23	South Carolina	22,456.5	+5.4%
24	Oregon	20,289.6	+4.1%
25	Kentucky	20,014	+3.4%
26	Alabama	19,807.7	+4.1%
27	Louisiana	19,474	+5.6%
28	Nevada	18,784	+5.1%
29	Connecticut	18,006.3	+1.5%
30	Oklahoma	14,445.6	+2.5%
31	Utah	13,805.8	+5.9%
32	Arkansas	13,521.1	+3.6%
33	Iowa	13,501.7	+2.3%
34	Kansas	13,157.1	+2.4%
35	Mississippi	12,038.4	+2.4%
36	Hawaii	9,799.1	+6.7%
37	New Mexico	9,246.9	+2.6%
38	Nebraska	8,504.9	+3.3%
39	New Hampshire	7,848.5	+2.8%
40	West Virginia	7,358	+1.3%
41	Maine	7,089.3	+3.7%
42	Idaho	7,005.7	+4.3%
43	District of Columbia	5,510.3	+5.4%
44	Rhode Island	5,128.4	+4.5%
45	Montana	4,780.2	+3.9%
46	Delaware	4,436	+3.2%
47	Alaska	4,034.5	+1.6%
48	South Dakota	3,793.3	+2.4%
49	North Dakota	3,733.9	+6%
50	Vermont	3,126.7	+3%
51	Wyoming	2,744.2	+1.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual sales of food at home and food away from home together in the state, including sales taxes and tips, to all purchasers, in millions of US dollars at current prices (USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series).

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Expenditure Series. US states and DC only; no national value is served because the national tables of the series are compiled differently and do not add up to the states. Sales include sales taxes and tips and cover purchases by households, businesses and governments, at current prices. Food at home is food bought at grocery stores, supercenters, convenience stores and other outlets for preparation at home; food away from home is meals and snacks bought at restaurants, schools, hotels and other places. Alcoholic drinks are not included. Recent years are revised when ERS updates the series.

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, Economic Research Service. Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars. https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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

Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2026). Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars (US states by total food sales, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730

MLA 9

Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars, US states by total food sales, 2016. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 June 2026, https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2026. Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars. US states by total food sales, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2016.

Harvard

Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2026) Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars, US states by total food sales, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{economic_us_states_by_total_2016,
  author = {{Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture}},
  title = {{Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars: US states by total food sales, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2016. Publisher attribution: USDA, Economic Research Service. Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars. https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
TI  - Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars: US states by total food sales, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/01
PB  - Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: USDA, Economic Research Service. Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars. https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5204/state-food-sales-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=55730. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest total food sales?

California, with $208.99 billion in 2016, according to Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Which state has the lowest total food sales?

Wyoming, with $2.74 billion in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Expenditure Series, state food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers, total food sales, millions of nominal US dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-12.