The Pork Industry
U.S. Pork Industry Data
The U.S. pork industry represents a significant value-add to the agricultural economy and a major contributor to the overall U.S. economy. In 2023, more than 60,000 U.S. pork producers marketed 149+ million hogs valued at over $27+ billion in gross cash receipts. The sales generated from hog marketings and pork processing support a total economic contribution of $37+ billion in personal income, $62+ billion in value added (GDP), and more than 573,000 jobs in the U.S. economy.
Total Economic Contribution
All direct, indirect, and induced economic activity supported by the U.S. Pork Industry
573K+
Jobs Supported
$62.6B+
Value Added (GDP)
$37.6B+
Personal Income Generated
The United States Pork Industry 2023 Report
Download the 2023 Pork Industry ReportFrom Farm to Table
How does your pork meal end up from the farm to your kitchen?
See the 2023 InfographicState Contributions
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Hog Farms and Production
Hog inventories in the United States have varied cyclically over time but have trended upward from 59.1 million head in 2000 to 75.8 million head in December 2023. This includes 136 million pig crop born in the U.S. and in-shipments from Canada of 4.9 million feeder pigs fed in the U.S. and 1.7 million processed in U.S. packing plants.
Approximately five percent of U.S. hogs are on farms with less than 2,000 head in total inventory. 20% of the inventory is on farms with 2,000–4,999 head, and 75% are on farms with 5,000+ or more hogs. Compared with the 2017 Census of Agriculture, there are now about 5,419 fewer farms in the smallest category, 151 fewer farms in the middle category, and 60 fewer farms with inventories greater than 5,000.
<2,000 head = 52,696 Farms
2,000-4,999 head = 4,573 Farms
5,000+ head = 3,540 farms
The 2022 USDA-NASS Census of Agriculture shows that the number of farms raising hogs has declined. From 1997 to 2012, the number of farms with hogs decreased significantly from 124,889 to 63,246 but by 2017, the number of farms increased to 66,439. In 2022, the number of farms raising hogs fell to 60,809. Meanwhile, the average inventory of hogs per farm has increased from 490 in 1997 to 1,214 in 2022.
Hog Production by the Numbers
60,809
Pork Producers
149.6M
Annual Hog Marketings
$27.2B
Cash Receipts from Hog Sales
Pork Exports
In 2023, an estimated 6.8 billion pounds of U.S. pork was exported (about 25%) with 21.7 billion pounds consumed domestically. Pork export values in 2023 totaled $8.2 billion dollars, equating to an average of $64 in value from each hog marketed.
The pork industry generates significant economy activity through its purchase of inputs. Feed inputs, like corn and soybean meal, account for an estimated 52 percent of total U.S. production costs. Other costs include equipment, buildings, land, utilities, trucking, and labor.
Input Summary
1.7B
Corn Use (bushels)
11.2M
Soybean Meal (tons)
$12.9B
Average Total Feed Cost