U.S. turkey meat production was 5.12 billion pounds in 2024, while domestic turkey disappearance reached 4.69 billion pounds. The latest figures also show how production, state leadership, exports, and wholesale prices have changed since 2019.
Table of contents
- Production trends and outlook
- Production value
- Leading turkey-producing states
- State production and value
- Domestic use
- Exports and wholesale prices
Production trends and outlook
U.S. turkey meat production is measured here in ready-to-cook weight. The series declined from 2019 through 2022, briefly increased in 2023, and fell again in 2024. According to the USDA’s Turkey Sector: Background & Statistics, production was 5.82 billion pounds in 2019, 5.74 billion pounds in 2020, and 5.56 billion pounds in 2021.
The decline continued to 5.22 billion pounds in 2022. Production then reached 5.46 billion pounds in 2023 before falling to 5.12 billion pounds in 2024. These annual figures describe completed years and should be kept separate from the later partial-year observation and USDA projection.
| Period | U.S. turkey meat production |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 5.82 billion lb |
| 2020 | 5.74 billion lb |
| 2021 | 5.56 billion lb |
| 2022 | 5.22 billion lb |
| 2023 | 5.46 billion lb |
| 2024 | 5.12 billion lb |
| 2025 projection | 4.807 billion lb |
The USDA projected 2025 production at 4.807 billion pounds in its November 2025 WASDE outlook. That is a forecast, not a completed-year result. Separately, observed production totaled 2.33 billion pounds in the first half of 2025, which was 9.7% below the first half of 2024. The first-half measure covers only part of the year and should not be treated as the annual total.
For readers using production statistics to understand the meat supply, the measurement definition matters. Ready-to-cook weight describes the product after processing into a form intended for cooking, so it is not the same as live-animal weight or the weight of a particular retail package.
Production value
The value of U.S. turkey production moved differently from the physical production series. The Turkey Sector: Background & Statistics reports a production value of $4.31 billion in 2019 and $5.19 billion in 2020. It rose to $5.91 billion in 2021 and $7.12 billion in 2022.
The value then fell to $6.57 billion in 2023 and $3.69 billion in 2024. These values are annual U.S. production figures; they are not retail sales totals for turkey products in grocery stores and do not describe the price of a cooked turkey meal.
| Year | Value of U.S. turkey production |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $4.31 billion |
| 2020 | $5.19 billion |
| 2021 | $5.91 billion |
| 2022 | $7.12 billion |
| 2023 | $6.57 billion |
| 2024 | $3.69 billion |
The 2024 Poultry - Production and Value 2024 Summary gives a more detailed U.S. total of $3,688.916 million. Its state table reports value in 1,000 dollars, so the more precise figure is a reporting-unit conversion of the same 2024 total rather than a separate retail estimate.
A production-value statistic can help describe the economic scale of turkey farming, but it should not be read as a direct indicator of what shoppers paid. The wholesale price series later in this article is a separate measure and covers frozen whole turkey hens in bulk.
Leading turkey-producing states
The United States raised 200.0 million turkeys in the 2024 production year. The state totals below come from the Poultry - Production and Value 2024 Summary. The production year is defined as turkeys placed from September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024.
Minnesota led the listed states with 32.0 million turkeys. North Carolina raised 27.0 million, followed by Arkansas with 25.0 million and Indiana with 20.0 million. Missouri raised 15.5 million, while Virginia raised 15.3 million.
Iowa raised 10.9 million turkeys and Pennsylvania raised 7.7 million. These numbers count turkeys raised, not pounds of meat produced. A state’s place in the bird-count ranking therefore does not automatically match its place in a pounds-produced ranking.
| State | Turkeys raised in 2024 production year |
|---|---|
| Minnesota | 32.0 million |
| North Carolina | 27.0 million |
| Arkansas | 25.0 million |
| Indiana | 20.0 million |
| Missouri | 15.5 million |
| Virginia | 15.3 million |
| Iowa | 10.9 million |
| Pennsylvania | 7.7 million |
The geography is explicitly U.S.-based, and the reporting period is not the same as a calendar-year count. That distinction is important when comparing these state figures with the annual 2019–2024 production series from the USDA Economic Research Service.
State production and value
The same 2024 production-and-value summary reports turkey meat production in 1,000 pounds and production value in 1,000 dollars. The national production total was 6,575.604 million pounds, with a value of $3,688.916 million for the 2024 production year.
North Carolina produced the most among the listed states at 1,020.600 million pounds, followed by Minnesota at 918.400 million pounds and Indiana at 848.000 million pounds. Arkansas produced 512.500 million pounds, Iowa 504.670 million pounds, and Virginia 429.930 million pounds. Missouri produced 334.800 million pounds, while Pennsylvania produced 219.450 million pounds.
| State | Turkey production | Production value |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1,020.600 million lb | $572.557 million |
| Minnesota | 918.400 million lb | $515.222 million |
| Indiana | 848.000 million lb | $475.728 million |
| Arkansas | 512.500 million lb | $287.513 million |
| Iowa | 504.670 million lb | $283.120 million |
| Virginia | 429.930 million lb | $241.191 million |
| Missouri | 334.800 million lb | $187.823 million |
| Pennsylvania | 219.450 million lb | $123.111 million |
North Carolina’s production total was higher than Minnesota’s in this table even though Minnesota raised more turkeys by count. The two measures capture different parts of the production picture: bird numbers count animals, while pounds reflect the reported meat output.
The state value figures were $572.557 million for North Carolina, $515.222 million for Minnesota, and $475.728 million for Indiana. Arkansas reached $287.513 million, Iowa $283.120 million, and Virginia $241.191 million. Missouri’s value was $187.823 million and Pennsylvania’s was $123.111 million.
Domestic use
USDA domestic turkey disappearance is a supply-availability proxy for domestic use, not a direct household survey. It does not mean that every pound was individually recorded as eaten by a consumer. The Turkey Sector: Background & Statistics reports 5.26 billion pounds in 2019, 5.20 billion pounds in 2020, and 5.09 billion pounds in 2021.
Disappearance fell to 4.88 billion pounds in 2022, increased to 4.95 billion pounds in 2023, and reached 4.69 billion pounds in 2024. USDA projected domestic turkey disappearance at 4.48 billion pounds in 2025. That 2025 figure is explicitly a projection and is not a completed-year observation.
| Year or outlook | Domestic turkey disappearance |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 5.26 billion lb |
| 2020 | 5.20 billion lb |
| 2021 | 5.09 billion lb |
| 2022 | 4.88 billion lb |
| 2023 | 4.95 billion lb |
| 2024 | 4.69 billion lb |
| 2025 projection | 4.48 billion lb |
For cooking and meal-planning readers, this measure is best used as a broad indicator of turkey supply availability in the U.S. market. It should not be presented as a direct per-household consumption survey, and the dataset does not provide a separate quantified per-person series.
Exports and wholesale prices
U.S. turkey meat exports were 639 million pounds in 2019, according to the Turkey Sector: Background & Statistics. Exports declined to 571 million pounds in 2020 and 548 million pounds in 2021, then fell to 407 million pounds in 2022. They recovered to 490 million pounds in 2023 and 486 million pounds in 2024.
USDA projected 2025 exports at 407 million pounds. Like the domestic-use and production outlooks, this is a forecast rather than a completed-year result.
The average U.S. wholesale price for frozen whole turkey hens was $0.89 per pound in 2019 and $1.07 in 2020. It rose to $1.23 in 2021 and $1.55 in 2022, then eased to $1.40 in 2023 and $0.94 in 2024. USDA projected an average 2025 price of $1.35 per pound.
| Year or outlook | Exports | Frozen whole turkey hen wholesale price |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 639 million lb | $0.89/lb |
| 2020 | 571 million lb | $1.07/lb |
| 2021 | 548 million lb | $1.23/lb |
| 2022 | 407 million lb | $1.55/lb |
| 2023 | 490 million lb | $1.40/lb |
| 2024 | 486 million lb | $0.94/lb |
| 2025 projection | 407 million lb | $1.35/lb |
These are bulk wholesale prices for frozen whole turkey hens, not retail consumer prices. A supermarket price, a fresh turkey price, a boneless breast price, and the cost of a prepared dish are different measurements and should not be substituted for this series.
Taken together, the statistics describe a U.S. turkey sector with lower 2024 production and domestic disappearance than in 2019, alongside state-level concentration in a group of major producing regions. The 2025 production, domestic-use, export, and wholesale-price entries remain USDA projections, while the first-half 2025 production figure is an observed partial-year measurement.