GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The U.S. chicken, egg and turkey producers are tops in protein production. They lead in many consumer choices, as well as lead in production numbers.
“U.S. poultry products hold leading positions in both international and U.S. meat commodity markets — supported by competitive production structures, modern poultry genetics, abundant domestic feed resources, and strong consumer appeal,” USDA’s Economic Research Service notes.
With the United States being the largest producer, and second largest exporter, of poultry protein, poultry meat (which is comprised of broilers, turkeys and other chicken) totaled 51 percent of meat sold, with 13.6 percent of U.S. poultry being exported, ERS noted.
“In 2024, total poultry sector sales were $70.2 billion, up from $67.4 billion in 2023,” ERS added. “Broilers accounted for the majority of the poultry sector value in 2024, with $45.4 billion. This was an increase of 5.8 percent from 2023.”
Turkey production for 2024 was $3.7 billion, and the value of egg production was $21 billion, the agency said.
Producing chicken, the U.S. has more than 30 federally inspected companies raising, marketing and processing broilers, the National Chicken Council notes, adding that, more than 9.4 billion broilers, amounting to 62 billion liveweight pounds.
Approximately 20,000 family farmers have production contracts with companies, with 95 percent of the nation’s broilers being produced on these farms, the council added. The remaining 5 percent are raised on farms owned by companies.
The number of workers directly employed by the broiler industry comes to about 367,515, with another 1.4 million indirectly employed by allied industries, NCC said, citing USDA statistics. There are also about 160 slaughter/evisceration plants in the U.S., the group noted.
Broiler chickens are produced in large numbers in several states across the nation. The USDA reports the top broiler producing states in 2024 production numbers as: Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Table egg production was reported at the first of December 2025 for the year at 90.1 billion eggs, down 4 percent from the previous year, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported, adding that layers for 2025 averaged 365 million, down 3 percent from 2024, with average production per layer for 2025 at 288 eggs, a decrease of 1 percent.
The United Egg Producers note that, “the five largest egg-producing states are home to approximately 45.4 percent of all laying hens in the U.S., and the top 10 states comprise more than 66.2 percent of egg production.”
The top egg producing states, by number of laying hens, UEP notes, citing NASS statistics, include Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, and Michigan.
UEP adds that of the U.S. layer population, 38.7 percent are total cage-free, which amounts to 120.3 million laying hens; and 60.5 percent are conventional production, which comes to 184 million laying hens.
Into what categories are eggs being sold in the U.S.? The USDA notes that for the year, 57.1 percent (147.5 million cases) were sold as retail shell eggs; 28.8 percent (74.3 million cases) were further processed; 11.9 percent (30.7 million cases) were foodservice shell eggs; and 2.1 percent (5.5 million cases) of eggs were exported.
The National Turkey Federation notes that the U.S. is the world’s largest producer of turkey, as well as the top exporter of turkey products.
With a diversity of products, turkey is no longer considered just a holiday meal, with consumption noted as having doubled since 1970. In 2023, the total consumption of turkey in the U.S. was 4.96 billion pounds, which equals about 14.8 pounds per person.
The USDA’s Economic Research Service reports that the total value of turkey production in 2024 was $3.69 billion. The U.S. turkey meat production for 2025 is projected at 4.807 billion pounds, and total turkey production amounts to 200 million birds.
“With the value added to turkey through processing into a wide variety of cuts, parts and further processed products, turkey production in the United States has increased to meet consumer demand as more people choose turkey,” NTF says.
The eight turkey producing states, according to ERS are: Minnesota, 32 million birds; North Carolina, 27 million birds; Arkansas, 25 million birds; Indiana, 20 million birds; Missouri, 15.5 million birds; Virginia, 15.3 million birds; Iowa, 10.9 million birds; and Pennsylvania, 7.7 million birds.
All of this production leads to animal protein industry segments that are quite valuable to the U.S. economy. The USDA reported in 2024, that for the combined value of production of broilers, turkeys and eggs in the U.S., it equaled more than $70 billion. And of this total, $45.4 billion was from broilers, $3.69 billion for turkeys, and $21 billion for egg production. The total broilers produced for the year was 9.33 billion, 200 million turkeys, and 109 billion eggs.
