Cheese production in the U.S. 2023, by state
This statistic shows the top ten cheese producing U.S. states in 2023. In that year, Wisconsin was the market leader, where around 3.5 billion pounds of cheese were produced. In the U.S., natural cheese makes up the largest share of cheese sales, generating approximately 11.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.
Cheese in the United States
Cheese is mostly common in the Western cultural sphere, where it is one of the basic foodstuffs, and a major agricultural product. With some seven million metric tons, the European Union is the world’s leading producer of cheese. The United States follows, producing approximately 6.35 million metric tons.
The top cheese producing U.S. states are Wisconsin and California. Wisconsin’s nickname as “America’s Dairyland” punctuates the state’s leading position within the U.S. dairy industry. More than three and a half billion pounds of cheese are produced in Wisconsin. California is the second largest producer. As expected, these states also count the highest number of milk cows among all U.S. states.
Total consumption of all types of cheese in the United States stands slightly lower than the production volume. This means, that every American consumes over 40 kilograms of cheese annually. The most popular types of cheese among U.S. consumers are Italian-style varieties like, for example, Mozzarella and Parmesan.
