Reference desk
U.S. Ice Cream Statistics: 2026 Snapshot
Clear, citable numbers on America’s favorite frozen dairy treats, gathered from public USDA reporting.
Updated October 27, 2026
A quick read on the scoop.
This reference brings together the latest comparable federal production figures with the most recent USDA per-person availability series. Use the linked source beneath each figure for the original table or report.
845.1M
gallons of regular ice cream
U.S. producers made 845.1 million gallons of regular ice cream in 2025.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 20259.2%
year-over-year decline
Regular ice cream production in 2025 was 9.2 percent lower than the 2024 total.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2025393
plants making hard regular ice cream
NASS counted 393 U.S. plants producing hard regular ice cream during 2025.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 20251.386B
gallons of frozen dairy products
U.S. output of ice cream and other frozen dairy products reached 1.386 billion gallons in 2024.
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, 202560–65%
of production was regular ice cream
Regular ice cream remained the largest part of U.S. ice cream production across 2000 through 2024.
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, 202520.3 lb
frozen dairy per person
U.S. per-capita availability of frozen dairy products was 20.3 pounds in 2021, the latest complete series in this USDA release.
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, 202312.0 lb
regular ice cream per person
Regular ice cream accounted for 12.0 pounds per person in the same 2021 USDA series.
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, 202310%
minimum milkfat for regular ice cream
The federal standard cited by NASS sets a minimum 10 percent milkfat content for regular hard ice cream.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2025Method and sources
How to read these numbers.
Production figures describe what U.S. plants made, not retail sales or individual servings. Per-person figures are USDA availability estimates and do not measure exactly what any one person ate. The dates matter: the annual production report currently reaches 2025, while the complete per-person frozen-dairy series cited here reaches 2021.
- USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, released April 24, 2026. This is the source for 2025 production, plant count, and the regular ice cream standard.
- USDA Economic Research Service, Ice cream and frozen dairy production dipped from 2000 to 2024, published July 16, 2025. This is the source for the 2024 total and long-run category share.
- USDA Economic Research Service, Ice cream consumption melts from 2000 to 2021, published July 6, 2023. This is the source for the per-person availability figures.
Cite this page
Make the source trail easy to follow.
Whistler’s Ice Cream Extraordinaire. “U.S. Ice Cream Statistics: 2026 Snapshot.” Updated October 27, 2026. https://whistlersicecream.com/ice-cream-statistics