The States That Produce the Most Apples, Ranked

Autumn is the ideal time to grab some fall foods like apple pie or drink some apple cider, but which state is best for finding these types of treats? Maybe it's the one with the most apples.

Apples came to the United States with the earliest European settlers. The Massachusetts Bay Colony requested apple seeds and seedling trees from England, and apple orchards spread across the colonies in subsequent years. Today, you can find a variety of types of apples grown commercially in the United States.

In 2026, the United States is expected to produce over 10 billion pounds of apples, though some states far outpace the rest of the country. You may not be surprised by the state that leads the nation's apple production, but see if you can guess the other states that top the list.

Washington far outpaces other states

Washington is well known for being an apple-producing state, so it's probably no surprise to find that it grows the most apples of any state—and it's not even close. In 2026, the state is expected to grow 7.4 billion pounds of the country's projected 10.4 billion pounds of apples. That means more than 70% of the nation's apple production comes from Washington. The fruit is so popular in Washington that it was named the Washington State Fruit in 1989 to celebrate one of the state's largest industries.

But what about the rest of the United States? It turns out the state with a city nicknamed The Big Apple is actually a big deal among apple-growing states. New York, which is home to New York City, is projected to grow an estimated 1.4 billion pounds of apples in 2026. The state has around 600 commercial apple growers spread out mainly over six production areas in New York.

Third-place Michigan is only slightly behind New York, growing an estimated 1.1 billion pounds of apples in 2026. The state has more than 17.6 million apple trees grown on around 850 different farms. It also celebrates apples with apple festivals across both the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan in autumn months.

The rest of the apple-producing states are far behind the top three. Fourth-place Pennsylvania, for example, is estimated to produce 210 million pounds of apples in 2026. That's almost 900 million fewer pounds than third-place Michigan.

Fifth-place California is projected to produce 190 million pounds of apples. Like states on the East Coast, California got its first apple trees from settlers who moved into the area. The state's apples arrived in the 18th century with Spanish missionaries and became a popular crop in the 19th century due to the influx of residents as part of the Gold Rush.

Oregon lands in sixth place among the states that produce the most apples, with 160 million pounds of the fruit expected to be produced in 2026. Virginia, meanwhile, will grow an estimated 77 million pounds of apples this year.

China dominates the world market

While the United States may grow many pounds of apples annually, its output pales in comparison to that of the leading producer in the world.

China leads all countries in apple production, and the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that the country grew 57.5% of the world's apples in 2025. The European Union produced an additional 14.1% of the world’s apples, boosting it to second place among global apple producers.

The United States came in third place, with growers across the country delivering 6.2% of the world's apple output. Finally, India and Iran round out the top five nations in the world in terms of apple production.