US states by total food sales

California had the highest total food sales of 51 states in 2018, at $231.09 billion. Wyoming had the lowest, at $2.93 billion. The median was $21.6 billion. Source: Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Highest231,091California

Lowest2,929.8Wyoming

Median21,597.251 states

Map of states, 2018

Under 6,000
6,000 to 14K
14K to 22K
22K to 32K
32K to 49K
49K and over

USD million, 2018. Source: USDA ERS. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2018

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

Full ranking

Rank	States	2018 USD million	Change on 2017
1	California	231,091	+4.2%
2	Texas	152,338.6	+6%
3	Florida	115,681.7	+6.1%
4	New York	108,629	+2.6%
5	Illinois	65,444.1	+4.2%
6	Pennsylvania	63,118.1	+3%
7	Ohio	58,462.2	+3.3%
8	Georgia	56,551.3	+5.6%
9	North Carolina	50,258.7	+6.1%
10	Washington	47,504.8	+6.6%
11	New Jersey	46,989.6	+3.9%
12	Michigan	44,227.1	+3.2%
13	Virginia	44,001	+4.2%
14	Massachusetts	40,584.7	+3.6%
15	Tennessee	37,731	+5%
16	Arizona	36,921.7	+5.8%
17	Colorado	34,321.2	+4.8%
18	Indiana	31,391.8	+3.8%
19	Maryland	30,764	+4.2%
20	Missouri	30,094.8	+4.3%
21	Minnesota	26,835.5	+4.8%
22	Wisconsin	26,265.3	+3.6%
23	South Carolina	25,410.1	+6.5%
24	Oregon	22,253.6	+4.5%
25	Alabama	21,946.8	+5.9%
26	Louisiana	21,597.2	+5.2%
27	Kentucky	21,594.4	+3.5%
28	Nevada	20,799.4	+5%
29	Connecticut	18,939.5	+2.5%
30	Oklahoma	15,568.9	+4.4%
31	Utah	15,556.1	+5.1%
32	Arkansas	14,541.1	+3.2%
33	Iowa	14,517.5	+3.7%
34	Kansas	14,008.6	+3.4%
35	Mississippi	12,897.9	+3.7%
36	Hawaii	10,701.7	+1%
37	New Mexico	9,890.4	+3.1%
38	Nebraska	9,275.7	+4.4%
39	New Hampshire	8,672.7	+5.1%
40	Idaho	7,988.9	+7.8%
41	Maine	7,762.1	+4%
42	West Virginia	7,584.8	+0.7%
43	District of Columbia	5,876.1	+1.5%
44	Rhode Island	5,606.5	+3.4%
45	Montana	5,309.9	+5.6%
46	Delaware	4,862.7	+5.1%
47	Alaska	4,256.9	+2.6%
48	North Dakota	4,098.9	+1.6%
49	South Dakota	4,088.5	+3.6%
50	Vermont	3,295.9	+1.2%
51	Wyoming	2,929.8	+3.5%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{economic_us_states_by_total_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/total-food-sales/us-states?period=2018.
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 $231.09 billion in 2018, according to Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Which state has the lowest total food sales?

Wyoming, with $2.93 billion in 2018.

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.