Nearly All Of The Carrots Sold In The US Come From This State

Carrots aren't actually able to improve your eyesight, but there's still plenty to love. At least, that's what America seems to think — they're the fourth-most popular vegetable in the country, according to a 2025 YouGov poll. They're a versatile vegetable, easy to prepare, and packed with health benefits including antioxidants, vitamin C, and fiber. And although they're readily available year-round across the country, the vast majority of carrots sold in the United States were grown in California.

Over 50,000 acres of farmland in California are dedicated to growing carrots, according to the USDA. In 2024, California produced a little over 1.8 billion pounds of carrots, worth over $1.1 billion. Over 80% of the carrots sold in the United States come from California.

Washington and Wisconsin also grow loads of carrots, but their outputs are far lower than the Golden State's. For instance, in 2022 (the most recent year for which data was available), the carrot production of Washington and Wisconsin combined was less than half of California's total, according to USDA statistics.

The carrot capital of the United States is Kern County.Located more than 100 miles north of Los Angeles, it surrounds the city of Bakersfield. Two of the country's largest carrot producers, Bolthouse and Grimmway, are both headquartered in Bakersfield and grow the vegetables in nearby rural areas.

So what makes Kern County so attractive for carrot growers? The climate is perfect, for one. Carrots like sun, which is plentiful in the warm southern California region. They also grow well in sandy soil, which the area has. Irrigation provides the moist soil that carrots need to thrive. The county also has lots of agricultural space, with around 2.4 million acres dedicated to farmland. It's a central business in Kern County — in the 2024-2025 growing season, the total agricultural production was $8 billion.

There's another, quirkier reason Bakersfield and Kern County are the country's carrot center: our love of baby carrots. The carrots aren't grown small, but instead are cut down from a larger size, and that requires special equipment. So when a Bakersfield grower invented baby carrots in the late 1980s, carrot production rapidly increased, mostly in the Bakersfield area because that's where the processing plants were. Since then, the tiny baby carrots have resulted in big growth in the industry.