# US egg production The US table-egg laying flock, monthly egg production and the lay rate, from USDA NASS Chickens and Eggs _Data through Jul 2026 · source last checked Aug 20, 2026 · page revised Aug 20, 2026_ > The US table-egg laying flock stood at 312.0 million hens as of July 2026 (USDA NASS), producing 7.64 billion table eggs in June 2026 at 2,450 eggs per 100 layers. ## US table-egg supply, July 2026 | Measure | Latest | Year earlier | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Laying hens (start of month) | 312.0 million hens | 297.7 million hens | +4.8% | | Table eggs produced (month) | 7.64 billion | 7.31 billion | +4.6% | | Eggs per 100 layers (month) | 2,450 | 2,467 | -0.7% | ### Table eggs produced by state, June 2026 (states NASS breaks out) | State | Table eggs produced (month) | Share of tracked states | | --- | --- | --- | | Other states | 3.36 billion | 43.9% | | Iowa | 1.13 billion | 14.8% | | Indiana | 958 million | 12.5% | | Pennsylvania | 518 million | 6.8% | | Missouri | 348 million | 4.5% | | Georgia | 222 million | 2.9% | | Nebraska | 207 million | 2.7% | | Utah | 188 million | 2.5% | | Minnesota | 180 million | 2.4% | | Illinois | 172 million | 2.2% | | North Carolina | 133 million | 1.7% | | Wisconsin | 112 million | 1.5% | ## About US egg production This is the supply side beneath the price: how many hens are laying and how many eggs they produce, from USDA's monthly Chickens and Eggs report (NASS). The flock figure is the number of table-egg layers on hand at the start of the month; production is the table eggs those hens laid during the month; the lay rate is eggs per 100 layers, a measure of how hard the flock is working. Bird flu is the main reason the flock swings: when a commercial layer flock is confirmed infected it is depopulated, which removes hens from this count, and rebuilding takes months. This page reports the counts NASS publishes and links the [HPAI tracker](/hpai/layer-flocks) for the detections behind the moves, without attributing any specific change here to a specific cause. **How many eggs the US produces in a year.** Over the twelve months through June 2026, US table-egg production came to 92.02 billion. That is table eggs only, the ones sold in cartons and broken for egg products; it excludes hatching eggs, which are a separate NASS series and never enter the food supply. The figure moves with the size of the flock and with how hard that flock is working, which is what the lay rate in the table above measures, so a year can lose output either because there are fewer hens or because the hens on hand are younger and not yet at peak lay. **Where the flock stands.** The laying flock is 4.8% larger than it was a year ago. A flock this size does not change quickly in either direction: a pullet takes roughly five months from hatch to first egg, so a producer restocking after a loss is committing to a decision whose output arrives half a year later. That lag is why the flock line on the chart above falls in steps and recovers in slopes, and why a supply shock shows up in price well before it shows up as a smaller number here. **Egg production by state.** NASS breaks out the largest producing states each month, and the concentration is the thing to notice: Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Georgia together account for 42% of the output across every state NASS breaks out. Egg production is a concentrated industry housed in a small number of very large complexes rather than spread evenly across farm country, which is why a single confirmed infection can remove a noticeable share of national supply. Smaller states are reported together as a residual rather than individually, so the table above is the published breakout, not a full fifty-state list. **How a bird-flu detection becomes a production dip.** When highly pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed in a commercial table-egg flock, the entire flock is depopulated, and the birds leave this count in the month the depopulation happens. The site then has to be cleaned, disinfected and left empty before it can be repopulated, and the replacement pullets need those months to reach lay. So a single detection produces a sharp one-month drop in the flock line, a shallower drop in production because the remaining hens keep laying, and a recovery that takes two or three quarters rather than weeks. The [HPAI tracker](/hpai/layer-flocks) carries the detections themselves, and [why are egg prices high right now](/guides/why-are-egg-prices-high-right-now) covers how a supply loss reaches the shelf. ## Common questions ### How many eggs are produced in the US each year? 92.02 billion table eggs over the twelve months through June 2026, from USDA NASS. That counts table eggs only, the ones sold in cartons or broken for egg products, and excludes hatching eggs. The monthly figures behind it are in the table above. ### How many laying hens are there in the US? 312.0 million hens table-egg layers on hand as of July 2026, the USDA NASS count at the start of the month, 4.8% above a year earlier. The chart above carries the full history of the flock. ### Which states produce the most eggs? Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia lead the states USDA NASS breaks out, together making up about 42% of the broken-out total. NASS reports smaller producers as a combined residual rather than state by state, so the table above is the published breakout rather than a complete fifty-state ranking. ### Why does US egg production fall? Almost always because hens left the flock, and almost always because of highly pathogenic avian influenza. A confirmed detection in a commercial layer flock means the whole flock is depopulated, and the house then has to be cleaned and restocked with pullets that need about five months to reach lay. Production can also soften without any flock loss when the average bird is young or old, which shows up in the eggs-per-100-layers rate rather than in the hen count. The [HPAI tracker](/hpai/layer-flocks) follows the detections. ## About this data - Source: USDA NASS, Chickens and Eggs - Series: Table-egg layers on hand, table eggs produced, eggs per 100 layers - Geography: National, by state - Unit: head - Calculation period: Monthly; flock counted as of the first of the month - Last observation: Jul 2026 - Update frequency: Monthly --- Cite: The US table-egg laying flock was 312.0 million hens as of Jul 2026 (USDA NASS Chickens and Eggs). The Scramble. https://the-scramble.com/us-egg-production/us Canonical URL: https://the-scramble.com/us-egg-production/us