If You've Eaten Broccoli Recently It Probably Came From This US State

Whether you love it or hate it, broccoli is firmly established as one of America's go-to vegetables. The tree-shaped veggie is a staple ingredient in everything from Chinese American beef and broccoli stir-fry to one of the best Panera Bread soups. This naturally begs the question: Where, exactly, does all that broccoli come from?

If you've eaten U.S.-grown broccoli recently, there's a very high probability that it came from the one state that dominates the American broccoli market: California. It's hardly a surprise that the Golden State grows a lot of broccoli, considering that California produces more crops than any other state. However, the sheer quantity of the cruciferous veggie grown in California compared to the rest of the United States is pretty mind-blowing.

In 2024, California produced over 1.2 billion pounds of broccoli. That equates to more than 90% of total U.S. broccoli production, which amounted to just over 1.35 billion pounds. Even more impressively, the majority of California's broccoli is grown in just a few counties in the state's Central Coast region. The only other state that produced a significant amount of broccoli that year was Arizona, where farmers produced a mere 143 million pounds of the cruciferous veggie. In other words, California clearly takes the crown when it comes to U.S. broccoli production. 

These days, California is chock-full of broccoli (they even use it to ruin pizza, as Riley learns the hard way in "Inside Out"), but that wasn't always the case. Broccoli has its roots in Italy (which might be why roasted broccoli tastes incredible with a creamy Italian sauce). The fiber-packed green veggie has been cultivated across the Mediterranean region since the Ancient Roman era, but it didn't make its way stateside until surprisingly recently. Broccoli first arrived in the United States in the 18th century, but it only gained widespread popularity after Italian immigrants began growing and selling it in the early 1900s.

Broccoli has only been cultivated commercially in California for slightly over a century, but the state rapidly skyrocketed to the top of the national broccoli market thanks to its advanced agricultural infrastructure and mild Mediterranean climate, which make it ideal for broccoli cultivation. These days, the U.S. is ranked third in global broccoli production, almost entirely thanks to California. So the next time you enjoy some irresistible umami roasted broccoli, remember that you quite likely have the Golden State to thank for the tasty green veggie.