Guppies, tetras, angelfish, goldfish, koi — the fish in a home aquarium were not scooped out of a river. They are raised on farms, and in much of Florida the farm is an outdoor pond dug into the ground. Which state's fish farms sell the most of them? Tap the states most-to-least.
Tapping assigns 1→4 in order
Hawaii! Warm water, colourful fish, easy 🐾
2Answer
Among the states USDA prints a number for, the real order is…
Florida — $57,791,000 worth of ornamental fish in a single year, about three-quarters of the national total, and about 27.27× the next state on USDA's list. Now look at who that next state is: Arkansas, which has no coast at all, ahead of Indiana. The ocean has almost nothing to do with this. What Florida has, University of Florida researchers say, is a warm climate, farms clustered together, and airports nearby — because these farms ship live fish to customers throughout the United States and the world.
📚 BackgroundThe fish in a home aquarium did not swim there. Guppies, tetras, angelfish, goldfish, koi — they are farmed, and University of Florida researchers say Florida's ornamental fish farms cluster in a few counties for a short list of reasons: historic factors, a warm climate, and being close to airports. That last one matters more than it sounds: these farms ship live fish to customers throughout the United States and the world. And in much of Florida these fish are not raised in tanks at all — the most common method is the earthen pond, dug straight into the ground, outdoors.(University of Florida/IFAS Extension, EDIS FA054, “Freshwater Ornamental Fish Commonly Cultured in Florida”)↗ (opens in a new tab)
Note: this is money from sales, not a count of fish, and it counts only fish raised on farms in the United States — aquarium fish brought in from other countries are not in this table at all. The Census of Aquaculture is taken once every five years. USDA NASS, 2023 Census of Aquaculture. Only 12 states have a printed number here. USDA withholds the figure for 21 more — California, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Hawaii among them — because publishing their figures would reveal information about individual farms, and 17 states are not in the table at all. Everything the withheld states could hold together is far smaller than Florida's figure, so first place is the national one; below first place this is the order among the states with a printed number.
Farm-raised ornamental fish sales (dollars, 2023 Census of Aquaculture)
Rank
State
Value
Share of U.S. total
#1
Florida
57,791,000 dollars
75%
#2
Arkansas
2,119,000 dollars
2.7%
#3
Indiana
1,774,000 dollars
2.3%
#4
Texas
978,000 dollars
1.3%
#5
Ohio
553,000 dollars
0.7%
#6
New York
289,000 dollars
0.4%
#7
Louisiana
188,000 dollars
0.2%
#8
Michigan
44,000 dollars
0.1%
#9
North Carolina
13,000 dollars
0%
#9
South Carolina
13,000 dollars
0%
#11
Nebraska
9,000 dollars
0%
#12
Wisconsin
3,000 dollars
0%
🇺🇸 USA (total)
77,095,000 dollars
100%
Only 12 states have a printed number here. USDA withholds the figure for 21 more — California, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Hawaii among them — because publishing their figures would reveal information about individual farms, and 17 states are not in the table at all. Everything the withheld states could hold together is far smaller than Florida's figure, so first place is the national one; below first place this is the order among the states with a printed number.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (2023 (Census of Aquaculture))
Sources
Data as of: 2023 (Census of Aquaculture)
USDA NASS Quick Stats: ORNAMENTAL FISH - SALES, MEASURED IN $, 2023 Census of Aquaculture, by state↗ (opens in a new tab) (2026-08-18) — Published values only (the committed raw file holds the API response verbatim). USDA printed an ornamental-fish sales figure for 12 states. Twenty-one more — California, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Hawaii among them — are withheld because printing their figures would give away information about individual farms, and the other 17 states are not in the table at all. Everything the withheld states could hold together is far smaller than Florida's figure, so Florida's first place is the national one — a check this site re-runs on every build. Below first place, this is the order among the states with a printed number.
↳ In Quick Stats, pick ORNAMENTAL FISH / ORNAMENTAL FISH - SALES, MEASURED IN $, Census year 2023, Total domain, and compare states.