Watermelon Production in the United States

Of the melon varieties available to consumers, watermelons dominate melon consumption in the United States. The graph below shows the per capita availability, in pounds, of honeydew, watermelon, and cantaloupe from 1970 to 2021. Per capita availability represents the average amount of food available for consumption per person in a year. It accounts for domestic production, imports, and exports, and provides an overview of the availability of a food item to individuals. Honeydew availability remained low throughout the period, around 1–2 pounds per person. Watermelon consistently had the highest availability, ranging from 11 to 17 pounds per person, reflecting its popularity and widespread production. Cantaloupe showed moderate availability, generally increasing from 5 to 11 pounds per person, peaking in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Watermelon production in the United States is concentrated in a few key states, with Florida leading in harvested area at 35,203 acres, followed by Texas (27,971 acres), Georgia (14,866 acres), California (14,045 acres), and North Carolina (7,820 acres). These states benefit from favorable climates, making them major contributors to the nation's melon supply. In terms of the number of operations with harvested areas, Texas tops the list with 850 operations. Arizona follows with 667 operations, while North Carolina (610), South Carolina (529), and Pennsylvania (518) also have notable numbers of operations. Other states, such as California (482), Georgia (472), and Florida (448), highlight the geographic diversity of watermelon production, with both large-scale and smaller operations playing vital roles in meeting nationwide consumer demand.

Watermelon production in the U.S. has experienced shifts in harvested acreage and operations over the years. Acreage peaked at 188,547 in 1997 but declined to a low of 128,208 in 2012 before rebounding to 142,389 by 2022. Meanwhile, the number of operations grew from 9,932 in 1997 to a peak of 13,520 in 2017, before slightly dropping to 12,460 in 2022. These trends indicate a move toward more specialized or smaller-scale operations as the industry adapts to evolving market demands and challenges.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) provides yearly production statistics for the top melon-producing states: Florida, Georgia, California, Texas, Indiana, North Carolina, Arizona, South Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware. The table below highlights the most recent annual trends in U.S. watermelon production, imports, exports, and availability from 2020 to 2024. Domestic production grew modestly from 3,522 million pounds in 2020 to 3,691 million pounds in 2024, while imports consistently accounted for around 35% of the total supply. This resulted in a steady increase in total , reaching 5,473 million pounds in 2024. Exports rose from 360 million pounds in 2020 to 400 million pounds in 2024, indicating growing international demand. According to Weber et al. (2025), over 50% of watermelon exports from the United States occur during June and July, coinciding with the peak of domestic production. Nearly all of these exports are sent to Canada. Domestic availability peaked at 5,079 million pounds in 2023, before slightly declining to 5,073 million pounds in 2024. With per capita availability holding steady at around 15 pounds, the data indicate a resilient market where consistent demand is met through a combination of domestic production and strategic import reliance.

Source: Weber et al. (2025)

References:

Economic Research Service. (2025). Food availability (per capita) data system. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Weber, C., & Kramer, J. (2022, August 3). Most U.S. watermelon is produced in the South, with Florida leading output in 2021. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Weber, C., Simnitt, S., Wakefield, H., & Wechsler, S. (2025). Fruit and tree nuts outlook: March 2025. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2022). Agricultural Census. 

This study was supported by the USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative 2019-51181-30019 project number 7123