The State That Produces The Most Ice Cream Isn't Wisconsin

Wisconsin may be officially nicknamed The Badger State, but it also has the longstanding (and well-earned) nickname of America's Dairyland. The U.S. state produces more cheese than many countries, and the "cheese heads" nickname for Green Bay Packers fans doesn't just come from the literal cheese hats they wear (although they do wear foam cheese hats). However, while it bears many titles, including America's blue cheese capital, Wisconsin doesn't dominate the dairy game in every field, and compared to some other states, it does curdle against the competition. For example, for as much ice cream as the state produces, Wisconsin is not number one.

The number one state for ice cream is California, if you're measuring it by pure gallons of ice cream. Going off of data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Golden State produced about 75 million gallons of regular ice cream in 2023, compared to just 10 million gallons from Wisconsin. The USDA estimates that the number was even higher in 2024, with 84.4 million gallons of ice cream made in California. It likely comes down to population, rather than enthusiasm: California has the size advantage, being the most populated U.S. state and outnumbering Wisconsin by an estimated 34 million people. For several decades, California has beaten Wisconsin in milk production as well. It's tough out there for the underdogs.

Those numbers are technically just traditional hard ice cream, which is thick and includes over 10% butterfat. If you consider all types of ice cream, including low-fat ice cream (less than 10% milk fat), California produces well over 130 million gallons per year. Wisconsin barely makes it onto the board. Different rankings place Wisconsin in slightly different spots, but it almost always comes behind Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Utah in terms of ice cream production. America's Dairyland still beats out most of the country, but it struggles against states with larger economies, and Wisconsin's GDP (gross domestic product) is only one-eighth of California's GDP. So, it's not exactly a fair fight.

When it comes to ice cream, what does Wisconsin have over other states? There are approximately 46 dairy plants across the state, and Wisconsin is small enough that the ice cream you're eating is usually fresh and never too far from its source. Plus, it's one of the few states where you can easily find the ever-mysterious blue moon ice cream, the hard-to-define flavor with a bright blue color that (presumably) originated in Milwaukee. Some folks believe it has a blue raspberry flavor, but plenty of ice cream makers across the Upper Midwest call its flavor simply indescribable. It's not easy to find anywhere else, even in California.