The short answers
- Production: U.S. plants made about 1.24 billion gallons of regular, lowfat and nonfat ice cream in 2025. That is our arithmetic from USDA figures, and it is in line with the industry’s figure of more than 1.23 billion gallons.
- Consumption per capita: About 17.7 pounds of ice cream per person in 2024, counting regular plus low-fat and nonfat. Regular ice cream alone was 12.0 pounds.
- Most popular ice cream flavor: Chocolate was the top answer in an industry survey from April 2026. Butter pecan came second and vanilla third.
The sections below explain where each figure comes from.
How much ice cream the U.S. makes
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) publishes ice cream production in its “Dairy Products 2025 Summary,” released in April 2026. It is a census of all known U.S. dairy manufacturers, which numbered 1,184 in 2025. Because it counts everyone rather than a sample, there is no sampling error. Reporting mistakes and other non-sampling errors are still possible. The figures are in gallons of product.
Headline ice cream production figures for 2025:
| Product (2025) | Gallons | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Regular ice cream, total | 845.1 million | down 9.2% |
| Regular ice cream, hard | 722.1 million | down 2.1% |
| Lowfat ice cream, total | 380.9 million | down 21.5% |
| Lowfat ice cream, soft | 175.1 million | down 35.9% |
| Nonfat ice cream, total | 12.1 million | up 1.9% |
The lowfat total includes milkshake made in a freezer. Most of the 2025 drop in lowfat came from the soft category.
NASS also counts related products. In 2025 it reported 34.1 million gallons of frozen yogurt, 25 million gallons of sherbet, 64.5 million gallons of water and juice ices, and 13.6 million gallons of other frozen dairy products. NASS does not publish one line for all frozen products together. If you see a single “all frozen desserts” number, it did not come from this report.
Where the 1.24 billion figure comes from
NASS reports regular, lowfat and nonfat ice cream as separate lines. Added together, they come to about 1.24 billion gallons in 2025 and about 1.43 billion in 2024. That total is our addition, not a NASS line, so cite it that way.
Months and states
For regular hard ice cream in 2025, 393 plants reported output. July was the busiest month at 69.5 million gallons, and December was the quietest at 49 million gallons.
NASS lists only some states separately. In 2025, of the states it reports separately, California made the most regular hard ice cream: 74.5 million gallons from 23 plants. Pennsylvania followed with 38.8 million gallons, then Ohio, New York, Utah, Wisconsin and Connecticut.
This is not a ranking of every state. NASS withholds a state’s figure when it has fewer than 3 plants or when one plant’s output could be identified. Those states sit inside “Other States,” which by our arithmetic held about 72% of the 2025 total. So no state can be called the top producer from this data.
For reference, NASS describes regular hard ice cream as at least 10 percent milkfat and at least 4.5 pounds per gallon.
How much ice cream Americans eat
To answer the question “how much ice cream do Americans eat,” the usual source is the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). Its table “Dairy products: Per capita consumption, United States (Annual)” was last updated December 16, 2025. The figures are in pounds per person per year.
These are disappearance estimates, not diet surveys. ERS works out how much product is available for people to eat and divides by the population. Nobody is asked what they ate.
| Pounds per person | 1975 | 2000 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular ice cream | 18.2 | 16.1 | 11.8 | 12.0 |
| Low-fat and nonfat ice cream | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 5.7 |
| Both together (our arithmetic) | 24.7 | 22.7 | 18.0 | 17.7 |
Nonfat ice cream is counted in the low-fat and nonfat column from 1995 on. It was not reported before that year.
The long-term trend is down. By our arithmetic, regular ice cream per person fell about 34% from 1975 to 2024 and about 25% from 2000 to 2024. Frozen yogurt went from 2.0 pounds in 2000 to 0.7 pounds in 2024. Sherbet went from 1.3 pounds in 1975 to 0.5 pounds in 2024. Water and juice ices rose slightly, from 1.1 pounds in 1975 to 1.5 pounds in 2024.
Industry figures from IDFA
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is an industry trade group. Its page “July is National Ice Cream Month” (no date shown) says:
- U.S. ice cream makers produced more than 1.23 billion gallons of ice cream in 2025.
- The average American eats roughly 18 pounds of ice cream a year, about 4 gallons.
- Ice cream companies contribute more than $11.6 billion directly to the U.S. economy, support more than 26,704 direct jobs, and pay $1.9 billion in direct wages. These figures come from IDFA’s Dairy Delivers tool, and the page does not give a data year.
- An IDFA survey found most ice cream companies are family owned and have operated for more than 50 years. No survey year or sample size is given.
IDFA’s “about 18 pounds” matches the ERS 2024 figure of 17.7 pounds for regular plus low-fat and nonfat ice cream. Its 1.23 billion gallons matches the NASS ice cream lines added together. For the economic figures, say they come from IDFA and that no data year is stated.
The most popular ice cream flavor
IDFA’s National Ice Cream and Frozen Novelty Trends Survey was run online by Morning Consult on April 7 to 9, 2026, among 2,205 U.S. adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 points. IDFA released the results on July 16, 2026.
The top five favorite flavors, in order, were:
- Chocolate
- Butter pecan
- Vanilla
- Cookies and cream
- Caramel or salted caramel
Vanilla had been first in IDFA’s 2024 survey.
Other answers from the 2026 survey: 97% said they love or like ice cream, 40% picked the classic cone as their favorite format, 30% chose a waffle cone as their favorite vessel, 31% named hot fudge as their favorite topping, and 58% said their favorite place to eat ice cream is at home.
These are survey answers about what people say they prefer. They are not sales or production data, so “chocolate is the most popular flavor” should be cited as a survey result.
Ice cream prices
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes a monthly U.S. city average price for a half gallon of prepackaged regular ice cream (series APU0000710411, starting January 1980). It also publishes a Consumer Price Index for ice cream and related products, starting December 1997. The price changes every month, so we don’t quote it here. Our price tracker charts both series, updates monthly, and shows the latest figure.
Older figures: the 1984 proclamation
Proclamation 5219, dated July 9, 1984, gave figures for 1983. It said more than 887 million gallons of ice cream were eaten in the United States that year, and that the industry had about $3.5 billion in annual sales. It also said nearly 10 percent of U.S. milk went into ice cream and more than 90 percent of people ate it.
These figures are useful history. They were not measured the same way as the USDA figures above, so don’t set them side by side as a trend.
FAQ
How much ice cream do Americans eat per year?
About 17.7 pounds per person in 2024, counting regular plus low-fat and nonfat ice cream, based on USDA ERS figures. IDFA rounds this to roughly 18 pounds, about 4 gallons.
How much ice cream is made in the U.S.?
About 1.24 billion gallons of regular, lowfat and nonfat ice cream in 2025, by our addition of USDA NASS lines. IDFA gives more than 1.23 billion gallons for 2025.
Which state makes the most ice cream?
NASS doesn’t publish every state’s figure, so no state can be named the top producer. Of the states NASS reports separately, California made the most regular hard ice cream in 2025.
Is chocolate really the most popular ice cream flavor?
It was the most common favorite in IDFA’s April 2026 survey of 2,205 U.S. adults. That is a measure of stated preference, not sales.
Why do per capita figures differ between sources?
They often count different things. ERS reports regular and low-fat ice cream in separate columns, and some sources add them together. Always check which categories and which year a figure covers.