Pumpkin production is widely dispersed throughout the United States, with crop conditions varying by region. All U.S. States produce pumpkins, but the top 5 States produced nearly 72 percent of the 2025 crop. Every year, USDA surveys the top pumpkin-producing States and publishes the data the following year.
In 2025, total U.S. pumpkin production reached 1.47 billion pounds, up about 4 percent from 2024 yet falling 7 percent below the 2022–2024 3-year average of 1.58 billion pounds. Farmers in the top 5 pumpkin-producing States harvested close to 1.05 billion pounds of pumpkins combined in 2025. Leading in pumpkin acreage harvested and yield, Illinois produced about 533 million pounds in 2025, slightly more than the combined output of the other 4 most productive States. California produced about 162 million pounds, Indiana about 135 million pounds, Michigan about 115 million pounds, and Pennsylvania about 105 million pounds.
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In 2025, total U.S. pumpkin acreage was 68,100 acres. Illinois maintained its leading position in pumpkin acreage, harvesting nearly twice as many acres as any of the other top States, at 14,800 acres. In the same year, California, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania each harvested between 4,900 and 7,700 acres.
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U.S. pumpkin production serves two primary markets: the fresh and ornamental market, and the processing market. The fresh and ornamental market includes pumpkins sold for decorative purposes—particularly during the fall season—as well as for direct consumption. In contrast, the processing market targets pumpkin varieties that are intended for food applications such as canning and pureeing. Pumpkins sold in the processing market are primarily used in products like pie fillings, soups, and other prepared foods.
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, about 85 percent of U.S. pumpkin-producing acreage was allocated to the fresh and ornamental market. This pattern was consistent across most pumpkin-producing States, with Illinois being an exception. In Illinois, nearly 70 percent of pumpkin acreage was devoted to processing, compared to roughly 3 percent in Pennsylvania and less than 1 percent in Indiana and California.
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According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, more than 15,000 farms across the United States produced fresh market pumpkins, with operations broadly distributed among the States. New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan each reported more than 1,000 such farms, while Ohio and Wisconsin recorded between 960 and 970 farms. In contrast, farms specializing in processing pumpkins were more geographically concentrated. Illinois led this category, accounting for nearly 15 percent of the nation’s 959 processing pumpkin farms.
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Pumpkin yields vary substantially among States and from year to year within a State, depending on pumpkin varieties and growing conditions. On average for 2022–25, Illinois grew about 37,000 pounds of pumpkin per acre (predominantly pie varieties for processing into products like pumpkin puree). California grew about 28,000 pounds of pumpkin per acre on average, Indiana about 22,000 pounds, Michigan about 19,000 pounds, and Pennsylvania about 17,000 pounds per acre. Pumpkin yield can fluctuate each year. From 2024 to 2025, California’s yield increased by 10,500 pounds per acre, Indiana’s decreased by 5,000 pounds per acre, and Michigan’s was unchanged.
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Annual U.S. per capita availability of pumpkins averaged about 6 pounds from 2022 to 2025, compared to about 4 pounds from 2001 to 2004. This measurement includes both fresh and processing markets and is converted to a fresh farm-weight basis. From 2001 to 2025, per capita availability of fresh pumpkins generally trended upward. Reduced pumpkin availability in 2015 corresponded to a drop in domestic production, due in large part to the effects of poor weather on Illinois pumpkin production. Pumpkin availability rebounded in 2016 and was 5.2 pounds per person in 2025.
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All States see year-to-year changes in the price of pumpkins received by growers. In 2025, among the 5 top producing States, Pennsylvania received the highest price for its pumpkins, at about $269 per 1,000 pounds. Indiana and Michigan received prices of about $237 and $198 per 1,000 pounds each in 2025, while California’s pumpkin price was lower at around $160 per 1,000 pounds. These prices reflect all utilization types, including both fresh and processing markets. Illinois growers primarily produce pumpkins for processing, which are typically priced lower than fresh market varieties, such as jack-o’-lantern pumpkins. As a result, Illinois reported the lowest average price in 2025, at $48 per 1,000 pounds. For retail price data, refer to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Market News retail reports.
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The total U.S. pumpkin production value decreased from $286 million in 2022 to $259 million in 2025. Between 2024 and 2025, the value of U.S. pumpkin production declined across most top-producing States, with decreases ranging from 5 percent in California, down 13 percent in Pennsylvania, and down 23 percent in Indiana while Illinois and Michigan rose by 32 and 33 percent respectively. In 2025, Indiana produced the most pumpkins by value at $32 million, followed by Pennsylvania at $28 million.
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Commercial pumpkin production relies on pollinators to enhance both yield and crop quality, with growers commonly utilizing a combination of managed honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) and native bee species. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts an annual Cost of Pollination Survey to understand the use of managed honeybees for pollinator-dependent crops, and the data are published at a regionally aggregated level.
Between 2022 and 2025, Region 1, which includes several top pumpkin-producing States such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, used an average of about 7,600 managed honeybee colonies annually for pumpkin pollination. The only other publicly available data on pumpkin from the USDA Cost of Pollination Survey pertain to Region 2, which reported approximately 1,800 colonies used for pumpkin pollination over the same period (see the figure notes for a complete list of States included in each region). In 2025, Region 1 reported 7,500 colonies and Region 2 reported 2,100 colonies, with both totals lower than in 2024 by 21 and 28 percent, respectively.
