Between 25 million and 30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. each year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. Even more artificial trees, mostly made in China, are also sold. In preparation for future Christmas seasons, some 350 million trees are now growing, likely many in North Carolina, the state that produces the most Christmas trees.
The National Retail Federation reports that Americans will spend about $1,000 for the holidays this year. About $650 of that will be spent on gifts. Another $250 will be spent on decorations, including a tree. PickYourOwnChristmasTree.org puts the average price of a tree at $81. Of course, that varies by size and type of tree. Fraser firs are the most popular, followed by Noble firs and Douglas firs.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s 2017 Census of Agriculture reports data on cultivated Christmas trees. A total of just over 15,000 farms, covering 295,000 acres, produce trees. These farms produced 15 million trees in 2017, the most recent period reported. (If you’re looking for some extra work this holiday season, this retailer is hiring the most people for the holidays.)
To determine the states producing the most Christmas trees, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the USDA report and ranked states by the number of cultivated Christmas trees cut in 2017. Supplemental data on the number of Christmas tree farms and total acreage also came from the USDA. Data is from 2017, unless it was unavailable, in which case 2012 data was used.
Two states produce the most Christmas trees by far. North Carolina produced 4,714,298 trees, and Oregon produced 4,031,864 trees. The third state, Michigan, was far behind at 1,551,185 trees. (Can’t wait for Christmas? These are the best holiday movies to watch until Christmas is here.)
What will happen to the trees after the holiday? Since the trees hold a considerable amount of carbon, environmentalists hope people will recycle them — either by turning them into wood chips and mulch or returning them to a forest.
Poor choices include burning the trees, which sends the carbon back to the atmosphere, or dumping them in a landfill. The latter causes the creation of methane, a gas which, according to Popular Science, does more than 20 times as much damage to global temperatures as carbon dioxide does.
Click here to see the state that produces the most Christmas trees
50. Nevada
> Christmas trees cut annually: N/A
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 6
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 612 acres
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49. Alaska
> Christmas trees cut annually: 24
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 4
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 10 acres
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48. Wyoming
> Christmas trees cut annually: 180
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 4
> Area used for Christmas tree production: N/A acres
47. Arizona
> Christmas trees cut annually: 300
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 6
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 15 acres
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46. North Dakota
> Christmas trees cut annually: 581
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 14
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 44 acres
45. New Mexico
> Christmas trees cut annually: 938
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 34
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 626 acres
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44. Utah
> Christmas trees cut annually: 1,700
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 35
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 206 acres
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43. South Dakota
> Christmas trees cut annually: 2,648
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 14
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 95 acres
42. Hawaii
> Christmas trees cut annually: 3,727
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 29
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 61 acres
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41. Delaware
> Christmas trees cut annually: 5,401
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 24
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 246 acres
40. Kentucky
> Christmas trees cut annually: 5,869
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 90
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 567 acres
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39. Montana
> Christmas trees cut annually: 7,586
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 45
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 380 acres
38. Arkansas
> Christmas trees cut annually: 7,938
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 29
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 266 acres
37. Kansas
> Christmas trees cut annually: 8,444
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 69
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 599 acres
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36. Oklahoma
> Christmas trees cut annually: 8,546
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 29
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 172 acres
35. Nebraska
> Christmas trees cut annually: 9,907
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 64
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 434 acres
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34. Colorado
> Christmas trees cut annually: 10,173
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 137
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,681 acres
33. Louisiana
> Christmas trees cut annually: 11,545
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 81
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 340 acres
32. Mississippi
> Christmas trees cut annually: 12,889
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 116
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 1,051 acres
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31. Florida
> Christmas trees cut annually: 13,968
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 158
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 1,758 acres
30. Alabama
> Christmas trees cut annually: 17,038
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 82
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 984 acres
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29. Rhode Island
> Christmas trees cut annually: 17,121
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 65
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 592 acres
28. Missouri
> Christmas trees cut annually: 26,557
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 115
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 1,565 acres
27. Iowa
> Christmas trees cut annually: 27,387
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 139
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 1,257 acres
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26. South Carolina
> Christmas trees cut annually: 27,578
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 138
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 1,697 acres
25. Idaho
> Christmas trees cut annually: 31,811
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 120
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 728 acres
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24. Georgia
> Christmas trees cut annually: 32,161
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 205
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,412 acres
23. Texas
> Christmas trees cut annually: 34,578
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 125
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 945 acres
22. West Virginia
> Christmas trees cut annually: 42,830
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 231
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,363 acres
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21. Maryland
> Christmas trees cut annually: 52,677
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 187
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,177 acres
20. Tennessee
> Christmas trees cut annually: 54,005
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 137
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 1,969 acres
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19. Massachusetts
> Christmas trees cut annually: 82,524
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 390
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,801 acres
18. Illinois
> Christmas trees cut annually: 84,442
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 272
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 3,748 acres
17. New Jersey
> Christmas trees cut annually: 85,781
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 888
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 5,288 acres
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16. Indiana
> Christmas trees cut annually: 90,519
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 205
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,663 acres
15. Connecticut
> Christmas trees cut annually: 98,500
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 538
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 4,149 acres
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14. New Hampshire
> Christmas trees cut annually: 106,703
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 234
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 2,892 acres
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13. Vermont
> Christmas trees cut annually: 110,459
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 260
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 3,650 acres
12. Maine
> Christmas trees cut annually: 128,601
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 332
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 4,012 acres
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11. California
> Christmas trees cut annually: 138,803
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 324
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 9,836 acres
10. Ohio
> Christmas trees cut annually: 155,572
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 737
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 7,714 acres
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9. Minnesota
> Christmas trees cut annually: 182,532
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 321
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 7,337 acres
8. New York
> Christmas trees cut annually: 295,260
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 1,187
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 19,762 acres
7. Virginia
> Christmas trees cut annually: 474,902
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 464
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 11,151 acres
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6. Washington
> Christmas trees cut annually: 535,046
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 670
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 7,985 acres
5. Wisconsin
> Christmas trees cut annually: 700,341
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 859
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 23,373 acres
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4. Pennsylvania
> Christmas trees cut annually: 1,050,159
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 1,281
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 30,793 acres
3. Michigan
> Christmas trees cut annually: 1,551,185
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 1,233
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 36,986 acres
2. North Carolina
> Christmas trees cut annually: 4,031,864
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 854
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 38,893 acres
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1. Oregon
> Christmas trees cut annually: 4,714,298
> No. of Christmas tree farms: 1,431
> Area used for Christmas tree production: 45,283 acres
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