States That Eat the Most Fruits and Vegetables

Although some picky eaters despise fruits and vegetables, most Americans enjoy at least one of the two, if not both. I mean, what's more refreshing and delicious than a slice of watermelon or grilled veggies during the summer? Fruits and vegetables offer many nutritional benefits, and you can combine them with any meal throughout the day to add some extra nutrients. 

At Ensō Superfoods, we take pride in helping people reach their nutritional goals, and we couldn't help but wonder how Americans' fruit and vegetable intake varies across the country. We've compiled the nation's fruit & vegetable consumption statistics to understand America's love (or lack thereof) of fruits and vegetables, and the results may surprise you!

Interesting Findings

• Residents in Vermont eat more fruit and vegetables than anyone else in America. 
• On the other hand, Louisiana ranks as the lowest fruit and vegetable-consuming state. 
• The top five fruit and vegetable-consuming states–Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and the District of Columbia–are all located along the East Coast. 
• New York ranks 4th in the country for fruit consumption but 28th for vegetable consumption–enforcing the nickname "The Big Apple." 
• Despite being known for its peaches, Georgia only ranks 34th for fruit consumption but 14th for vegetables. 

Methodology

We analyzed CDC data sets for fruit and vegetable consumption among adults. We ranked each data set, number one being the states that consume the most fruits or vegetables, then combined the rankings to get an average ranking. We then gave a final ranking based on the average overall ranking. New Jersey did not have data available across any of the data sets, so we did not include it in the report.

The data sets we analyzed are:

• CDC: The Percentage of Adults Report Consuming Fruit Less That One Time Daily
• CDC: The Percentage of Adults Report Consuming Vegetables Less That One Time Daily

State	Final Rank	Average Rank	Rank - Fruit Consumption	Rank - Vegetable Consumption
Vermont	1	1.5	1	2
Massachusetts	2	2.5	2	3
Maine	3	3	5	1
New Hampshire	4	5.5	7	4
District of Columbia	5	6	6	6
Oregon	6	6.5	8	5
Idaho	7	9.5	12	7
Connecticut	8	10.5	3	18
Washington	9	12	10	14
North Carolina	10	12.5	16	9
Minnesota	11	13.5	5	22
Colorado	12	14	13	15
Virginia	12	14	17	11
South Dakota	13	15	20	10
Rhode Island	14	15.5	9	22
New York	15	16	4	28
Pennsylvania	15	16	15	17
Delaware	16	17	13	21
Montana	16	17	26	8
Utah	17	18	11	25
Maryland	18	19.5	14	25
Florida	19	21	17	25
Wyoming	19	21	30	12
Missouri	20	22	30	14
Michigan	21	22.5	22	23
Nebraska	21	22.5	21	24
Alaska	22	23	32	14
Arizona	23	23.5	18	29
Kansas	23	23.5	28	19
Tennessee	23	23.5	33	14
Georgia	24	24	34	14
South Carolina	24	24	35	13
California	25	24.5	10	39
Ohio	26	25.5	31	20
Hawaii	27	26.5	23	30
Kentucky	27	26.5	37	16
Wisconsin	27	26.5	19	34
Illinois	28	27	17	37
Indiana	28	27	29	25
North Dakota	29	28	25	31
West Virginia	29	28	39	17
Iowa	30	28.5	24	33
Texas	31	31.5	27	36
Arkansas	32	33.5	40	27
Oklahoma	33	34.5	43	26
Alabama	34	35	38	32
New Mexico	35	36	34	38
Nevada	36	38	36	40
Mississippi	37	38.5	42	35
Louisiana	38	41	41	41
New Jersey	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A