The States That Produce the Most Peaches, Ranked (And No, Georgia Isn’t First)

Peaches are the perfect summer treat, especially when they come from the Peach State of Georgia. Except Georgia isn't really the Peach State. That nickname should probably go to another state, the one that produces the most peaches, or maybe the state that produces the second-most number. Perhaps the Peach State nickname can stay in the south, with the largest Southern producer of peaches.

But none of those states is Georgia, which touts itself as the Peach State. Keep reading to learn which state is the real peach champion, and why Georgia still insists on hanging onto its peachy reputation.

The West Coast is the Peach Coast

It turns out that sunny California is by far the biggest producer of peaches in the United States, aided by its warm weather and soil which makes it a great place to grow crops like peaches. Here's just how many tons California—and the other major peach-producing states—produced in 2025, ranked:

North America isn’t the biggest continent for the fruit, despite its tons of peach production. That title actually goes to Asia. Peaches are native to Asia and became popular in the United States when Europeans brought them over in the 1600s.

Why Georgia Is So Peachy Keen About Peaches

Peaches were originally planted in St. Augustine, Florida, before being introduced by Franciscan monks to islands along Georgia's coast in the late 1500s. But it wasn't until after the Civil War that peaches took off in the Peach State.

Peaches became more widespread in the 1850s, with Georgia farmers shipping them to New York and train travel spreading them across the country. The post-Civil War era brought additional opportunities for peach growers when soldiers traveling through Georgia tried them and reported back on how delicious they were.

The post-Civil War era also meant Georgia farmers were looking for other crops to plant besides cotton, especially with the reputation cotton had as a crop associated with poverty and slavery. Instead, farmers turned to fruit crops like peaches. The state even promoted them with peach festivals and celebrations to further cement the state's reputation for fruits as a way to rebrand itself after the war.

It should also be noted that the complex process to grow and pick peaches in the post-Civil War era also relied on cheap labor from formerly enslaved crop farmers to pick the fruit all day for little pay.

Peaches in the Peach State today

Georgia's Reconstruction Era plan to promote peaches saw success for the state.

The state is still home to the Georgia Peach Festival, which attracts up to 10,000 visitors each year to Fort Valley. The festival includes the world's largest peach cobbler for guests to enjoy during peach harvest season. Previous iterations of the festival in the 1920s included the queen of the festival wearing a pearl-encrusted gown that was reported to belong to silent film star Mary Pickford.

It's been reported that there are around 70 roads throughout the state with a peach name, including the legendary Peachtree Street in Atlanta. And while the state may not be the largest producer of peaches in the country, it still grows more than 40 commercial varieties of peaches throughout the Peach State.

Despite Georgia's reputation as being the Peach State, it actually wasn’t until 1995 that the peach was named its official state fruit.

More State-By-State Data: