US cranberry yields have nearly doubled since the 1980s, with a 5% bigger crop forecast

Cranberry yields in the United States have risen steadily for more than four decades, and the 2026 harvest is expected to land close to that long-term trend, according to a Chart of Note from USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS).

The United States is the world's largest cranberry producer, growing about two-thirds of the global crop. Average yields climbed 90 percent, from 119 barrels (of 100 pounds) per acre in the early 1980s to 227 barrels per acre on average in 2023 to 2025. For 2026, ERS expects yields to come in slightly above the previous season.

Higher yields and a larger harvested area have together driven US production up over the past 45 years, from 2.7 million barrels in 1980 to an expected 7.87 million barrels in 2026. Output peaked at 9.6 million barrels in 2016. The 2026 crop is forecast to be 5 percent larger than last year's, with both acreage and yields expected to rise.

Production is expected to increase this season in three of the four states surveyed every year: Wisconsin, New Jersey and Oregon.

Cranberries are native to the United States and are harvested in autumn, which is why the fruit is widely available in shops from October to December, through the holiday season. The chart draws on the ERS Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook report released in September 2026.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service