U.S. per capita consumption of fresh vegetables 2023, by type

Onions and tomatoes have the highest per capita consumption in the United States of any type of fresh vegetable in 2023. That year, the average American consumed around 21.2 pounds of onions and 19.2 pounds of tomatoes. 

Vegetable production in the United States

The overwhelming majority of the vegetables produced in the United States originate from California. In 2020, California produced some 436 million centum weight of fresh and processing marketing vegetables. For perspective, the first and second runner-ups in terms of vegetable production that year were Washington and Arizona, which produced around 39 and 32 million centum weight of vegetables, respectively.

Processed vegetables

Vegetable processing typically refers to a procedure to make vegetables ready for human consumption and to make the vegetables last longer and prevent spoilage. A few examples include canning, pickling, and freezing. Though fresh vegetables are generally considered more nutritious than canned vegetables, about 60 percent of the per capita utilization of vegetables in the United States is attributed to processed vegetables as opposed to fresh vegetables.