Nursery industry statistics show a large, diversified U.S. horticultural economy. The latest national census recorded $18.3 billion in 2024 horticultural-specialty sales, while nursery stock alone accounted for $5.340 billion; the broader total also includes floriculture, sod, mushrooms, protected food crops and related categories.
Key Nursery Industry Statistics
The most useful headline figures span sales scale, business structure, marketing, labor and protected production:
- $18.3 billion in U.S. horticultural-specialty sales was recorded in 2024.
- 23,060 U.S. operations produced horticultural products in 2024.
- $5.340 billion in U.S. nursery stock sales was recorded in 2024.
- $2.667 billion in annual bedding and garden plant sales was recorded in the United States in 2024.
- $1.704 billion in U.S. sod sales was recorded in 2024.
- Nursery stock sales were 17% higher in 2024 than in 2019 in the United States.
- Sod sales increased 34% from 2019 to 2024 in the United States.
- Wholesale marketing represented 85% of 2024 horticultural sales by value in the United States.
- Retail marketing represented 14% of 2024 horticultural sales by value in the United States.
- Five states represented 48% of U.S. horticultural sales in 2024.
- Wages, salaries and contract labor represented 42% of production expenses for U.S. greenhouse and nursery operations in 2022.
- Nursery and greenhouse H-2A certified positions increased by 6,922 from 2017 to 2018 in the United States.
- Nursery and greenhouse H-2A certified positions rose 61% from 2017 to 2018 in the United States.
- U.S. controlled-environment agriculture operations increased from 1,476 to 2,994 between 2009 and 2019.
- Controlled-environment fresh-produce production reached 7.86 million hundredweight in the United States in 2019.
- Controlled-environment fresh-produce volume increased 56% from 2009 to 2019 in the United States.
- Potted herbaceous plant sales increased 47% from 2019 to 2024 in the United States.
Contents
- U.S. nursery industry sales scale and leading sectors
- Nursery industry data by state
- Wholesale, retail and marketing channels
- Nursery production costs and seasonal labor
- Nursery and greenhouse trends
U.S. Nursery Industry Sales Scale and Leading Sectors
The 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties is the central reference point for current U.S. scale. Its totals are broader than nursery stock, so they should be read as horticultural-specialty statistics rather than as a single nursery-only market estimate. Highlights Results from the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties
| 2024 category | U.S. sales | Definition and scope |
|---|---|---|
| All horticultural specialties | $18.3 billion | Includes nursery, floriculture, sod, mushrooms and related categories |
| Nursery stock | $5.340 billion | Nursery stock category |
| Annual bedding/garden plants | $2.667 billion | Annual bedding and garden plants |
| Sod | $1.704 billion | Sod category |
| Potted herbaceous plants | $1.360 billion | Potted herbaceous category |
| Potted flowering plants | $1.287 billion | Potted flowering category |
The census counted 23,060 U.S. operations producing horticultural products in 2024. Nursery stock, annual bedding plants and sod were the three largest sectors, together representing more than $9.7 billion in reported sales; that combined figure is reported as “more than” rather than an exact sum.
Compared with 2019, nursery stock sales were 17% higher in 2024, while sod sales increased 34%. The census notes that category coverage changed for some sectors, so these comparisons are census comparisons rather than a perfectly unchanged time series.
Nursery Industry Data by State
State totals show where horticultural-specialty activity is concentrated, but the figures below include all covered horticultural specialties rather than nursery stock alone. California led state sales in 2024, while Florida had the largest number of operations.
| State | 2024 horticultural sales | 2024 operations |
|---|---|---|
| California | $3.067 billion | 1,533 |
| Florida | $2.151 billion | 1,779 |
| Oregon | $1.287 billion | Not stated in supplied count |
| Texas | $1.119 billion | Not stated in supplied count |
| Washington | $404.817 million | Not stated in supplied count |
The state operation counts reported in the census include 1,775 Michigan operations, 1,137 New York operations and 936 North Carolina operations. Florida’s 1,779 operations were the highest state count in the census, while California’s 1,533 operations accompanied the leading state sales total. Table 2. Kind of Business by Value of Sales: 2024
The five leading states represented 48% of U.S. horticultural sales and 33% of U.S. horticultural operations in 2024. These shares cover the full horticultural-specialty scope, not only nursery businesses.
The state table also reports sales from operations in its largest displayed sales class, which is $2.5 million or more. California’s subtotal for that class was $2.677 billion, compared with $1.643 billion for Florida, $1.075 billion for Oregon, $967.741 million for Texas and $575.363 million for New Jersey; these are sales-class subtotals, not total state sales. Table 2. Kind of Business by Value of Sales: 2024
Wholesale, Retail and Marketing Channels
Marketing structure is heavily wholesale-oriented. In 2024, wholesale marketing accounted for 85% of U.S. horticultural sales by value, compared with 14% for retail marketing; the reported shares may not sum exactly to 100% because of rounding and other channels.
Wholesale horticultural sales totaled $15.6 billion in 2024. These channel statistics cover all horticultural products in the census, so they should not be treated as a nursery-stock-only channel split. Highlights Results from the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties
The state concentration figures add context to this channel mix. California’s total 2024 horticultural sales were $3.067 billion, making it the leading state by sales, while the five-state concentration reached 48% of national sales.
Nursery Production Costs and Seasonal Labor
Labor is a major nursery and greenhouse cost category. In the 2022 Census of Agriculture, wages, salaries and contract labor represented 42% of production expenses for U.S. greenhouse and nursery operations; this is a combined labor-cost share, not a wage rate or employment count. Farm Labor
Farmworkers represented less than 1% of all U.S. wage and salary workers in the broad agriculture labor context reported by USDA Economic Research Service. That statistic is not nursery-specific, so it should not be used as a nursery employment share. Farm Labor
H-2A certification data describe certified positions, not necessarily unique workers or realized employment. The available nursery and greenhouse figures show several changes:
- Certified positions increased by 6,922 from 2017 to 2018, a 61% increase.
- Individual firms accounted for at least two-thirds of certified workers in every year from 2010 through 2019.
- Farm labor contractors’ share rose from 2% in 2010 to 15% in 2019.
- The generic Nursery and Greenhouse Workers category represented almost 58% of 2019 nursery/greenhouse H-2A use.
- Christmas-tree jobs represented 17% of 2019 nursery/greenhouse H-2A use.
North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee were the top users of nursery/greenhouse H-2A labor in 2019. Florida and Kentucky showed the largest growth in nursery/greenhouse H-2A certified workers since 2011, although exact state counts require the underlying figure data. Examining the Growth in Seasonal Agricultural H-2A Labor
Nursery and Greenhouse Trends in Protected Production
Protected production provides related context, but controlled-environment agriculture is broader than nursery stock. It includes greenhouses, vertical agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics and other protected methods, with the supplied production figures focused on fresh produce.
| Measure | Earlier period | Later period | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. CEA operations | 1,476 in 2009 | 2,994 in 2019 | More than 100% increase |
| CEA fresh-produce volume | Not stated for 2009 | 7.86 million hundredweight in 2019 | 56% increase from 2009 |
| Potted herbaceous sales | 2019 baseline | 2024 sales | 47% increase |
| Foliage sales | 2019 baseline | 2024 sales | 35% increase |
U.S. controlled-environment agriculture operations increased from 1,476 in 2009 to 2,994 in 2019, an increase that USDA ERS characterizes as more than 100%. Controlled-environment fresh-produce production reached 7.86 million hundredweight in 2019, and production volume increased 56% from 2009 to 2019. Growth in greenhouses: Controlled environment agriculture production, operations on the rise
Tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers made up approximately 60% to 70% of CEA crops in both 2009 and 2019. This is an approximate crop-mix range, and it measures protected fresh-produce production rather than nursery output. Growth in greenhouses: Controlled environment agriculture production, operations on the rise
The 2024 census also recorded growth in related horticultural categories. Potted herbaceous sales increased 47% from 2019 to 2024, foliage sales increased 35%, protected food crops generated $1.011 billion in 2024 sales—44% above 2019—and propagative materials generated $780 million, up 8% from 2019.
These categories are related to nursery and greenhouse activity but are distinct from finished nursery stock. Highlights Results from the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties