States in Numbers / America in real numbers🏠

Where do America's bees spend New Year's?

🔎 Skip to the answer (ranking table)

Guess

Which states host the most honey bee hives on January 1? Tap them most-to-least.

Tapping assigns 1→4 in order

I bet… North Dakota — the honey champ!

Answer

The real order is…
    California hosts about 3.03× as many hives as #2 Florida!
    📚 Background On January 1, California holds close to a million hives — about 3× Florida. Why? Beekeepers from all over America truck their bees to California each winter, ready to pollinate the almond bloom in February. (The honey-making crown is a different race — that one belongs to North Dakota. See the honey quiz!) (USDA NASS Quick Stats) (opens in a new tab)
    🔍 Explore more: 🐝『The great bee road trip』→
    I bet… North Dakota — the honey champ!

    Compare

    Bee colonies (hives), Jan 1, 2024

    🇺🇸 United States (national)2,669,350 colonies (hives)
    California #1 940,000 colonies (hives)
    Most: California (940,000 colonies (hives)); least shown here: South Dakota (68,000 colonies (hives)).

    Note: measured in colonies (hives) on January 1 — summer counts look different!. 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
    🏅 California is the USA's #1!
    🐕 States in Numbers
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    Quiz a friend!

    More quizzes

    Which state leads in bell peppers? 🫑 →Which state has the most babies? 👶 →Which state leads in cabbage? 🥬 →Which state has the most candy stores? 🍬 →
    See all quizzes →
    📋 See the ranking table (top 8)
    Bee colonies (hives), Jan 1, 2024
    Rank State Value Share of U.S. total
    #1 California 940,000 colonies (hives) 35.2%
    #2 Florida 310,000 colonies (hives) 11.6%
    #3 Texas 205,000 colonies (hives) 7.7%
    #4 Idaho 195,000 colonies (hives) 7.3%
    #5 Georgia 120,000 colonies (hives) 4.5%
    #6 Oregon 90,000 colonies (hives) 3.4%
    #7 Michigan 69,000 colonies (hives) 2.6%
    #8 South Dakota 68,000 colonies (hives) 2.5%
    🇺🇸 USA (total) 2,669,350 colonies (hives) 100%

    Only the top states are shown here — smaller producers (and states USDA doesn't publish) aren't listed.

    Figures are published for 44 states; this table shows the top 8.

    Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (Jan 1, 2024)

    Sources

    Data as of: Jan 1, 2024
    USDA NASS Quick Stats: HONEY, BEE COLONIES - INVENTORY, MEASURED IN COLONIES, 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 HONEY / BEE COLONIES INVENTORY, year 2024 (first of Jan), and compare states.