Food waste is a major issue in the United States. According to the USDA, between 30% and 40% of the national food supply goes to waste; that’s roughly 133 billion pounds of food, valued at $161 billion, according to the most recent comprehensive data available. This is slightly yet significantly higher than the roughly 28% of food that is lost and wasted globally.
Though the country as a whole produces high levels of food waste, some U.S. states are more wasteful than others. So, which states waste the most food?
We analyzed state-level data from multiple sources to find out which states waste the most food—and which ones are taking meaningful steps to reduce it.
But before we dive into our results, and the methodology we used to obtain them, let’s have a glance at some of the key findings. (Jump down to see our methodology)
Key Takeaways
- Arizona topped the list of most wasteful, owing to a combination of high waste compared to the amount of waste it “should” have produced, in addition to the relative lack of facilities and state policies aimed at reducing or mitigating waste.
- At the opposite end of the spectrum, Washington was the least wasteful state, followed by Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and South Dakota – all of which combined low waste plus intentional mitigation efforts and the availability of mitigation facilities.
First, it must be noted that food waste data—especially at the state level—is not very well tracked. So, in order to paint a clearer picture, we gathered a few different measures of food waste in each state and combined them. Because of variations in methodology between those sources, you will see that some states ranked high according to one source and low according to another. That inconsistency is exactly why we used multiple sources—to attempt to smooth out these variations.
We attempted to smooth the data even further by introducing a relative wastefulness score, which measures how much waste a state actually produced in comparison to how much it “should have” produced according to national averages; see the Methodology and Notes section for more information.
Next, when it comes to food that is produced but does not ultimately get consumed, there are two main categories:
- Food loss, which happens along the food supply chain from the farm (or other source), through processing, packaging, and shipping—in short, everything that happens up to but not including when it reaches the retail level (when it becomes available to consumers).
- Food waste, which happens at the retail and consumer level—that is, edible food that is wasted once it reaches grocery stores, restaurants, or your home.
This study looks primarily at food waste, unless otherwise noted.
Finally, a note on mitigation strategies. Because of the variability of state-level food waste data, we also factored in certain mitigation efforts on the theory that the presence (or absence) of these efforts would have a bearing on the wastefulness of each state. For more information on the specific efforts addressed by this analysis, see the Methodology and Notes section below.
With all that said, let’s take a look at the results and see which US states waste the most food.
Which U.S. States Produce the Most Food Waste?
| State | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1 | 100.00 |
| Maryland | 2 | 87.89 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 81.06 |
| Kentucky | 4 | 79.14 |
| Illinois | 5 | 78.60 |
| Alabama | 6 | 74.41 |
| Tennessee | 7 | 73.92 |
| Mississippi | 8 | 71.39 |
| Georgia | 9 | 68.56 |
| Nevada | 10 | 67.40 |
| Oklahoma | 11 | 66.45 |
| New Mexico | 12 | 65.39 |
| South Carolina | 13 | 64.77 |
| Texas | 14 | 64.59 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 60.22 |
| Louisiana | 16 | 59.86 |
| West Virginia | 17 | 59.28 |
| Florida | 18 | 58.69 |
| Indiana | 19 | 56.77 |
| Pennsylvania | 20 | 55.72 |
| Kansas | 21 | 55.37 |
| Virginia | 22 | 53.53 |
| Rhode Island | 23 | 49.06 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 48.68 |
| Massachusetts | 25 | 48.58 |
| Michigan | 26 | 48.31 |
| Colorado | 27 | 47.90 |
| Nebraska | 28 | 45.44 |
| New Jersey | 29 | 45.24 |
| Alaska | 30 | 44.88 |
| Ohio | 31 | 44.24 |
| Hawaii | 32 | 44.19 |
| Delaware | 33 | 42.35 |
| Connecticut | 34 | 42.18 |
| North Dakota | 35 | 41.25 |
| Minnesota | 36 | 39.71 |
| Missouri | 37 | 38.25 |
| Wisconsin | 38 | 38.01 |
| Wyoming | 39 | 37.70 |
| Utah | 40 | 34.21 |
| Iowa | 41 | 31.84 |
| Vermont | 42 | 26.24 |
| Montana | 43 | 26.18 |
| California | 44 | 25.10 |
| New York | 45 | 22.02 |
| South Dakota | 46 | 20.82 |
| Oregon | 47 | 17.23 |
| Maine | 48 | 15.98 |
| Idaho | 49 | 10.72 |
| Washington | 50 | 0.00 |
A few patterns stand out when looking at the rankings. Many of the most wasteful states are located in the South and Southwest, and several—like Arizona, Arkansas, and Mississippi—ranked high in part due to a combination of high household waste and limited mitigation efforts (like food banks, composting centers, or policies aimed at reducing or mitigating waste).
Meanwhile, the least wasteful states tend to be clustered in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast, regions that also have some of the strongest food waste policies and facility networks. These trends suggest that proactive investment in food recovery and composting infrastructure, combined with policy-driven mitigation strategies, may play a meaningful role in curbing food waste at the state level.
The Most (and Least) Wasteful States in America
Let’s take a closer look at some of the states that placed at the top—and bottom—of the list.
Arizona
- UC-Davis/ReFED: 1,025 pounds wasted per person annually
- MITRE/Gallup: 8.00 cups wasted per household weekly
- Escoffier Relative Wastefulness Score: 100.00/100
Arizona claimed the top spot as the most wasteful state in the country—largely on account of the fact that it had the highest per capita food waste in the UC-Davis/ReFED study and showed significantly more waste than would be expected based on its population size and density of restaurants and grocery stores.
At first glance, Arizona’s per capita waste level seems eye-popping. But a note of caution: since the data in this study was gathered at the state level, variations in the way the state’s waste statistics are reported could be to blame for the excessively high numbers. Tourist contributions to food waste also might be inflating the numbers, since the figure is a per capita value based on the state’s residential population only.
However, what set Arizona apart wasn’t just its waste output, but the relative lack of infrastructure to address the issue. The state lags in the number of composting facilities and food banks, and its current mitigation policies are modest in scope. Interestingly, the data suggests that Arizona’s policies have relatively high potential for impact—projected to reduce food waste by 5.47% if fully implemented. But until that potential is realized, the state remains well above its expected waste baseline, securing its position at the top of our list.
Maryland
- UC-Davis/ReFED: 350 pounds wasted per person annually
- MITRE/Gallup: 9.79 cups wasted per household weekly
- Escoffier Relative Wastefulness Score: 82.26/100
Maryland ranked second on our list, driven largely by high levels of household food waste and waste production that exceeded expectations based on its number of households, restaurants, and grocery stores.
Despite a relatively modest per capita waste figure compared to other top-ranking states, Maryland’s self-reported household food waste was among the highest in the dataset. The state also showed minimal progress in food waste mitigation: its current policies are projected to reduce food waste by only 2.43% by 2030, one of the lowest potential impacts in the country. Additionally, Maryland has relatively few mitigation facilities, such as food banks and composting operations. Together, these factors placed Maryland near the top of the list for overall wastefulness.
Arkansas
- UC-Davis/ReFED: 171 pounds wasted per person annually
- MITRE/Gallup: 10.21 cups wasted per household weekly
- Escoffier Relative Wastefulness Score: 80.65/100
Arkansas may not have stood out for its measured food waste, but it topped the charts when it came to self-reported household waste—earning the highest weekly average in the MITRE/Gallup survey. This striking contrast between low state-reported figures and high consumer-level reporting could be a reflection of the robustness of official tracking in the state.
Regardless of the reason behind the discrepancy, the gap between Arkansas’s expected food waste and its apparent actual waste was large enough to place it firmly in the top three. The state also suffers from a limited food recovery infrastructure, with just four food banks and a single composting facility serving over three million residents. Add to that a relatively low projected reduction from existing policies—only 2.57% by 2030—and Arkansas emerges as one of the country’s most wasteful states overall.
Washington
- UC-Davis/ReFED: 293 pounds wasted per person annually
- MITRE/Gallup: 7.29 cups wasted per household weekly
- Escoffier Relative Wastefulness Score: 29.36/100
Washington came in as the least wasteful state in the nation, outperforming expectations across every major metric. Not only were its measured and self-reported food waste levels on the low end, but they were also well below what would be anticipated given the state’s population size and food infrastructure.
This strong performance likely stems from Washington’s proactive approach to food waste mitigation. The state boasts a robust network of composting facilities and food banks, along with policies that are projected to reduce food waste by 14.13%—the highest estimated impact of any state in the dataset. Taken together, these factors reflect a statewide commitment to reducing food waste at both the consumer and institutional levels, earning Washington high marks in waste avoidance.
Methodology and Notes
To determine food wastefulness, we first looked at 2 measures of food waste:
- State-reported food waste levels, from a 2025 study performed by the University of California-Davis and ReFED1
- Individual-reported household food waste levels, from a 2023 survey performed by MITRE and Gallup2
Because there was some variation between these sources (for example, Arkansas scored lowest in the UC-Davis/ReFED study and highest in the MITRE/Gallup survey), we attempted to control for this by comparing these actual waste values with each state’s “potential” waste value.
We obtained this potential waste value by looking at three sources of food waste: households,3,4,5,6 grocery stores,7,8 and restaurants.7,9 We applied national averages for waste at each of those three levels in order to determine anticipated waste levels from each source, then combined those scores into a single “potential waste” score. We then compared the deviation between each state’s actual waste and its potential waste to determine its relative wastefulness. This is defined as the Escoffier Relative Wastefulness Score. A score of 50 would indicate that the state wasted as much food as anticipated, while higher scores indicate more wastefulness and lower scores, less wastefulness.
We also factored in each state’s mitigation efforts, based on two categories: first, the availability of waste mitigation facilities (specifically, composting facilities10 and food banks11,12); and second, the potential relative food waste reduction as a percentage of current food waste based on current mitigation policies (including policies aimed at waste prevention, reclaiming food, and composting), which was obtained from the UC-Davis/ReFED study.1
All of these factors were combined into a single topline score, which we normalized to obtain the score for our final rankings.
These findings highlight the wide variation in food waste across the United States, with some states far exceeding expectations—and others leading the way in reduction efforts. As the national conversation around sustainability grows, state-level action could play a key role in cutting food waste.
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Sources
- (1) Kakadellis, Sarah et al., Nature Food, State-level policies alone are insufficient to meet the federal food waste reduction goal in the United States
- (2) MITRE, State of Food Waste: nationally representative study
- (3) United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts
- (4) USDA Economic Research Service State Food Expenditure Series, State food sales, with taxes and tips, for all purchasers
- (5) Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Cost of Living Data Series
- (6) National Resources Defense Council, Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill
- (7) USDA Economic Research Service Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System, Loss-Adjusted Food Availability
- (8) United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns
- (9) Juvan, Emil et al., Journal of Travel Research, Biting Off More Than They Can Chew: Food Waste at Hotel Breakfast Buffets
- (10) BioCycle, The State of Composting in the US
- (11) Feeding America, Partner Food Banks
- (12) Food Bank News, How Many Food Banks Are There?
