Which state leads in barley?
🔎 Skip to the answer (ranking table)Guess
Which states grow the most barley? Tap them most-to-least.
Tapping assigns 1→4 in order
I bet… North Dakota — it wins everything up north!
Answer
The real order is…
Idaho produces about 1.51× as much as #2 Montana!
📚 Background Idaho isn’t just Famous Potatoes — it’s America’s barley king too. Cool mountain-valley nights and irrigated fields suit barley, much of it grown for malt. (USDA NASS Quick Stats) (opens in a new tab)
I bet… North Dakota — it wins everything up north!
Compare
Barley (bushels, by state, 2024)
Most: Idaho (55,590,000 bushels); least of this top group: Maryland (1,558,000 bushels).
Note: measured in bushels. Only the top states are shown; ranks can shift between years. Only the top states are shown here — smaller producers (and states USDA doesn't publish) aren't listed.
Where things grow has a reason!
Recap
🏅 Today's discovery
🏅 Idaho is the USA's #1!
🐕 States in Numbers
Quiz a friend!
📋 See the ranking table (top 8)
| Rank | State | Value | Share of U.S. total |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Idaho | 55,590,000 bushels | 38.5% |
| #2 | Montana | 36,720,000 bushels | 25.4% |
| #3 | North Dakota | 21,090,000 bushels | 14.6% |
| #4 | Colorado | 5,800,000 bushels | 4% |
| #5 | Wyoming | 5,712,000 bushels | 4% |
| #6 | Washington | 4,620,000 bushels | 3.2% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | 2,430,000 bushels | 1.7% |
| #8 | Maryland | 1,558,000 bushels | 1.1% |
| 🇺🇸 USA (total) | 144,442,000 bushels | 100% |
Only the top states are shown here — smaller producers (and states USDA doesn't publish) aren't listed.
Figures are published for 23 states; this table shows the top 8.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (2024)
Sources
Data as of: 2024
USDA NASS Quick Stats: BARLEY - PRODUCTION, MEASURED IN BU, 2024, by state (opens in a new tab) (2026-07-12) — Published estimates only. States with unpublished (suppressed) values are omitted.
↳ In Quick Stats, pick BARLEY / PRODUCTION in BU, year 2024, and compare states.