Special Report
Nearly All Chickens in the US Are Raised in These 34 States
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Last Updated:
Almost everybody loves chicken. It’s the second-most-popular meat in the world, after pork. There are few cuisines that don’t incorporate it, and it stars in some of the world’s best-known culinary specialties — among them, India’s tandoori chicken, Italy’s pollo alla cacciatore, France’s coq au vin, the chicken stew popular in West African countries, and of course our own fried chicken, chicken nuggets, and chicken wings. (These are the 30 best fried chicken places in America.)
China has the world’s largest chicken population, followed by Indonesia and then the United States — but that includes birds raised for eggs. The U.S. is by far the largest producer of what the industry calls “broiler meat” — chicken to eat — accounting for more than 18 million metric tons of it (almost 40 billion pounds) in 2019. (Brazil is in second place, with China at number three.)
The reigning champion of U.S. chicken production is Arkansas, home to Tyson — the world’s largest poultry producing company — as well as numerous other poultry firms.
Poultry is the state’s most important agricultural segment, providing almost 40% of total agricultural cash receipts and directly employing more than 37,000 people, according to the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s poultry web page.
Interestingly, Arkansas doesn’t even make the top ten for egg-producing states. The top honor in that category goes to Iowa, producing almost twice the quantity that number-two Ohio manages.
Click here to see which 34 states raise nearly all chickens in the US.
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
34. Massachusetts
> Chickens raised in 2019: 900 — the fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: Not available
> Eggs produced in 2019: 47.3 million — the fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $2.0 million — the fewest
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Source: miroslav_1 / Getty Images
33. Montana
> Chickens raised in 2019: 6,100 — 2nd fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: Not available
> Eggs produced in 2019: 330.8 million — 4th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $26.6 million — 3rd fewest
Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
32. Oregon
> Chickens raised in 2019: 14,600 — 3rd fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: Not available
> Eggs produced in 2019: 703.1 million — 7th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $56.8 million — 8th fewest
Source: David_Johnson / Getty Images
31. Washington
> Chickens raised in 2019: 34,400 — 4th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: Not available
> Eggs produced in 2019: 2.1 billion — 16th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $167.8 million — 14th most
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
30. Vermont
> Chickens raised in 2019: 95,400 — 5th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $14,600 — 3rd fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 58.3 million — 2nd fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $3.4 million — 2nd fewest
Source: pabradyphoto / Getty Images
29. South Dakota
> Chickens raised in 2019: 327,900 — 6th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $1,100 — the fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 854.0 million — 11th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $39.5 million — 5th fewest
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
28. Maryland
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.3 million — 7th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $40,100 — 6th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 792.6 million — 10th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $36.9 million — 4th fewest
Source: pabradyphoto / Getty Images
27. Illinois
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.5 million — 8th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $83,000 — 9th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.9 billion — 17th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $95.7 million — 15th fewest
Source: aheflin / Getty Images
26. West Virginia
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.7 million — 9th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $761,300 — 13th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 306.2 million — 3rd fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $55.7 million — 6th fewest
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Source: Jaimie Tuchman / Getty Images
25. Louisiana
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.8 million — 10th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $572,100 — 14th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 524.8 million — 6th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $56.4 million — 7th fewest
Source: CodyHaskell / Getty Images
24. Utah
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.8 million — 11th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $6,100 — 2nd fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.5 billion — 14th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $116.7 million — 17th fewest
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23. Tennessee
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.8 million — 12th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $773,100 — 11th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 344.6 million — 5th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $59.5 million — 9th fewest
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Source: choness / Getty Images
22. California
> Chickens raised in 2019: 1.8 million — 13th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $193,100 — 12th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 3.9 billion — 8th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $321.5 million — 10th most
Source: Gary Gray / Getty Images
21. Colorado
> Chickens raised in 2019: 2.1 million — 14th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $180,800 — 11th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.5 billion — 16th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $70.8 million — 10th fewest
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Source: JamesBrey / Getty Images
20. Wisconsin
> Chickens raised in 2019: 2.2 million — 15th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $219,200 — 14th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 2.2 billion — 15th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $113.1 million — 16th fewest
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
19. South Carolina
> Chickens raised in 2019: 2.2 million — 16th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $768,600 — 12th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.1 billion — 12th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $87.1 million — 13th fewest
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Source: ablokhin / Getty Images
18. Virginia
> Chickens raised in 2019: 2.3 million — 17th fewest
> Chicken sales in 2019: $1.0 million — 10th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 741.2 million — 9th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $87.9 million — 14th fewest
Source: Milosz_G / Getty Images
17. Oklahoma
> Chickens raised in 2019: 2.5 million — 17th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $1.1 million — 9th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 705.5 million — 8th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $82.5 million — 12th fewest
Source: ChrisBoswell / iStock via Getty Images
16. New York
> Chickens raised in 2019: 3.7 million — 16th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $25,900 — 5th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.7 billion — 17th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $77.1 million — 11th fewest
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Source: AndreyKrav / Getty Images
15. Minnesota
> Chickens raised in 2019: 3.9 million — 15th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $203,800 — 13th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 3.3 billion — 12th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $166.9 million — 15th most
Source: IamVagabond / Getty Images
14. Nebraska
> Chickens raised in 2019: 4.3 million — 14th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $61,300 — 7th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 2.7 billion — 13th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $140.5 million — 16th most
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
13. Michigan
> Chickens raised in 2019: 4.8 million — 13th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $16,800 — 4th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 4.5 billion — 7th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $214.3 million — 13th most
Source: alexeys / Getty Images
12. Kentucky
> Chickens raised in 2019: 4.9 million — 12th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $1.2 million — 7th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.5 billion — 15th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $126.9 million — 17th most
Source: maxmironov / Getty Images
11. Mississippi
> Chickens raised in 2019: 5.1 million — 11th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $2.0 million — 6th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 1.4 billion — 13th fewest
> Egg sales in 2019: $214.6 million — 12th most
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Source: f11photo / Getty Images
10. Missouri
> Chickens raised in 2019: 8.7 million — 10th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $1.2 million — 8th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 3.7 billion — 10th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $219.0 million — 11th most
Source: Maksymowicz / Getty Images
9. Indiana
> Chickens raised in 2019: 10.9 million — 9th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $155,000 — 10th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 10.0 billion — 3rd most
> Egg sales in 2019: $507.6 million — 4th most
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Source: Ron_Thomas / Getty Images
8. Iowa
> Chickens raised in 2019: 10.9 million — 8th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $76,200 — 8th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 17.1 billion — the most
> Egg sales in 2019: $844.5 million — the most
Source: Brian Stansberry / Wikimedia Commons
7. Alabama
> Chickens raised in 2019: 11.4 million — 7th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $5.3 million — 3rd most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 2.3 billion — 14th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $389.8 million — 9th most
6. Ohio
> Chickens raised in 2019: 12.3 million — 6th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $366,700 — 15th fewest
> Eggs produced in 2019: 10.7 billion — 2nd most
> Egg sales in 2019: $523.2 million — 3rd most
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Source: Mark Howard / iStock via Getty Images
5. North Carolina
> Chickens raised in 2019: 13.2 million — 5th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $5.2 million — 4th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 3.8 billion — 9th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $451.5 million — 6th most
Source: pamwood707 / Flickr
4. Pennsylvania
> Chickens raised in 2019: 13.2 million — 4th most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $397,100 — 15th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 9.0 billion — 4th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $448.3 million — 7th most
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Source: buburuzaproductions / Getty Images
3. Texas
> Chickens raised in 2019: 15.6 million — 3rd most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $2.4 million — 5th most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 6.1 billion — 5th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $390.0 million — 8th most
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
2. Georgia
> Chickens raised in 2019: 16.6 million — 2nd most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $6.3 million — 2nd most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 5.0 billion — 6th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $575.5 million — 2nd most
Source: Belinda Hankins Miller from U.S.A., upload by Herrick 10:33, 15 November 2007 (UTC) / Wikimedia Commons
1. Arkansas
> Chickens raised in 2019: 16.7 million — the most
> Chicken sales in 2019: $6.7 million — the most
> Eggs produced in 2019: 3.6 billion — 11th most
> Egg sales in 2019: $504.3 million — 5th most
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