Farm Census

Where laying hens are kept: the leading US counties

2022 Census of Agriculture · Head on farms on December 31, 2022. Counties with a published figure: 2,667

US farms had 388,509,039 laying hens at the end of 2022; Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, had the most of any county with a published figure.

The ten leading counties hold 19.0% of the national total. Iowa is the leading state, ahead of Ohio.

The national figure is up 5.5% on the 2017 census.

Alaska: 10,134 headAKMaine: 543,946 headMEWisconsin: 6,490,101 headWIVermont: 163,054 headVTNew Hampshire: 238,651 headNHWashington: 6,024,276 headWAIdaho: 638,424 headIDMontana: 1,235,100 headMTNorth Dakota: 80,263 headNDMinnesota: 14,553,497 headMNIllinois: 7,278,610 headILMichigan: 17,234,017 headMINew York: 6,388,603 headNYMassachusetts: 182,630 headMAOregon: 3,225,396 headORNevada: 15,363 headNVWyoming: 28,750 headWYSouth Dakota: 1,026,877 headSDIowa: 43,137,355 headIAIndiana: 35,924,482 headINOhio: 38,570,322 headOHPennsylvania: 26,859,709 headPANew Jersey: 1,388,403 headNJConnecticut: none publishedCTRhode Island: 44,574 headRICalifornia: 13,454,544 headCAUtah: 6,077,427 headUTColorado: 1,726,744 headCONebraska: 7,161,783 headNEMissouri: 11,474,121 headMOKentucky: 5,542,366 headKYWest Virginia: 1,394,182 headWVVirginia: 2,374,640 headVAMaryland: 2,459,130 headMDDelaware: none publishedDEArizona: none publishedAZNew Mexico: 91,564 headNMKansas: 2,025,646 headKSArkansas: 14,421,929 headARTennessee: 2,520,707 headTNNorth Carolina: 14,535,543 headNCSouth Carolina: 6,376,328 headSCOklahoma: 3,407,879 headOKLouisiana: 3,336,175 headLAMississippi: 4,673,149 headMSAlabama: 7,588,334 headALGeorgia: 22,129,571 headGAHawaii: 298,360 headHITexas: 24,478,507 headTXFlorida: 7,096,782 headFL
none publishedunder 1%1–3%3–7%7–15%15% or moreEach square is a state, shaded by its share of the US total. Select a state for its county table.

The 25 leading counties

Ranked among the 2,667 counties with a published figure. Another 341 counties grow or keep some but have their figure withheld to protect individual farms, so they are not ranked.

#CountyStateHeadShare of US
1Lancaster CountyPennsylvania13,735,3523.5%
2Gonzales CountyTexas9,876,0022.5%
3Jay CountyIndiana9,755,1392.5%
4Darke CountyOhio8,610,5842.2%
5Allegan CountyMichigan6,495,6091.7%
6Mercer CountyOhio5,822,7291.5%
7Meeker CountyMinnesota5,700,5331.5%
8Wright CountyIowa5,087,0431.3%
9Jasper CountyGeorgia4,890,4271.3%
10Jefferson CountyWisconsin3,943,4851.0%
11Merced CountyCalifornia3,410,7130.88%
12Kershaw CountySouth Carolina3,006,1400.77%
13Pasco CountyFlorida2,636,1160.68%
14Union CountyOhio2,317,4400.60%
15Todd CountyKentucky2,266,6140.58%
16Saint Helena ParishLouisiana2,224,5150.57%
17Hall CountyGeorgia2,097,1010.54%
18Lebanon CountyPennsylvania2,091,3320.54%
19Todd CountyMinnesota2,036,3300.52%
20Nicollet CountyMinnesota1,978,5540.51%
21Carroll CountyArkansas1,932,1260.50%
22LaGrange CountyIndiana1,812,0220.47%
23Yadkin CountyNorth Carolina1,747,4570.45%
24Cullman CountyAlabama1,566,0170.40%
25Benton CountyArkansas1,469,1230.38%

Rank every county for laying hens, or filter by state

Leading states

StateHeadShare of USSince 2017
Iowa43,137,35511.1%−23.7%
Ohio38,570,3229.9%+33.6%
Indiana35,924,4829.2%+36.3%
Pennsylvania26,859,7096.9%+2.1%
Texas24,478,5076.3%+16.5%
Georgia22,129,5715.7%+23.2%
Michigan17,234,0174.4%+14.3%
Minnesota14,553,4973.7%+34.1%
North Carolina14,535,5433.7%+2.6%
Arkansas14,421,9293.7%+17.4%
California13,454,5443.5%−5.2%
Missouri11,474,1213.0%+1.5%
Alabama7,588,3342.0%−3.6%
Illinois7,278,6101.9%+33.1%
Nebraska7,161,7831.8%−2.6%

Source: USDA NASS, 2022 and 2017 Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.