Did you know that Iowa is number one in egg production in the United States?
That’s right, Iowa’s diverse agriculture is tops in corn, soybeans, pork – and eggs! So, your favorite entree or ingredient for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, likely comes from your own backyard. In fact, in Iowa from September 2019 through August 2020, our hens laid nearly 16 billion eggs! That means Iowa farmers are responsible for about 1 in 6 eggs consumed in the United States each year. Plus, they help drive the Iowa economy through jobs and economic impact contributing more than $2-billion in total sales and more than 7,100 jobs.
Quick Egg Facts
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Currently, the top five egg producing U.S. States (ranked by number of egg layers represented in thousands) are:
State Number of Hens
- Iowa 58,195
- Ohio 36,245
- Indiana 34,646
- Pennsylvania 30,042
- Texas 22,266
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National per capita consumption is a measure of total egg production divided by the total population. (It does not represent demand.)
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| Year |
Egg Consumption |
| 2010 |
249.3 |
| 2011 |
250.0 |
| 2012 |
254.2 |
| 2013 |
258.6 |
| 2014 |
266.6 |
| 2015 |
>252.9 |
| 2016 |
267.4 |
| 2017 |
274.6 |
| 2018 |
279.0 |
| 2019 |
292.0 |
| 2020 |
*294.7 (*projected)
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Of the 254.52 million cases (estimated) of shell eggs produced in 2017:
- 76.90 million cases (30.2 percent) were further processed into liquid or dried egg
- 8.9 million cases (3.5 percent) were exported (both as shell eggs or egg products)
- Exports of processed egg products in 2017 was 100,520 tons (valued at $119.16 million), up 56 percent with respect to 2016. In 2017, the U.S. exported 1293 million shell eggs (valued at $114.62 million), down 5 percent with respect to 2016.
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Sources: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, American Egg Board and USAPEEC