United States

The United States has one of the world’s most diverse and highly developed potato industries, with production spread across many climatic regions. Potatoes are grown from the Pacific Northwest and northern Great Plains to the Midwest, Northeast and parts of the South. Production is particularly concentrated in Idaho and Washington, while Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine and California are also important producing states. The Snake River Plain of southern Idaho and the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon are among the country’s major commercial potato-growing regions, supported by irrigation, suitable soils, established infrastructure and access to processing facilities.

The U.S. potato industry serves both fresh consumption and a large processing sector. Russet potatoes are particularly important for French fries and other processed products, while round white, red and specialty potatoes supply fresh and processing markets. The Pacific Northwest has become especially important for processing potatoes, supported by large-scale production, irrigation and proximity to major potato-processing facilities. USDA data for 2025 show Idaho harvested about 314,500 acres of potatoes and produced 138.38 million cwt, while Washington harvested about 139,500 acres and produced 87.19 million cwt. Wisconsin remained another major producer, with about 67,000 harvested acres and 28.81 million cwt of production.

Potato production in the United States is closely integrated with storage, transportation, seed production, processing and food manufacturing. The country's production system includes fresh-market potatoes as well as potatoes destined for frozen French fries, chips, dehydrated products and other processed foods. The predominance of processing-oriented production has increased the importance of varieties and production practices suited to specific end uses, including requirements for tuber size, dry matter, reducing sugars, frying colour and storage performance. This integration has made the U.S. potato sector an important component of both domestic food supply and the international potato-processing industry.

Potatoes have a much longer history in North America than the development of the modern commercial U.S. potato industry. Research by USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists indicates that potatoes were cultivated by Native communities in parts of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska for generations. Genetic studies of Native American potatoes, including the Ozette potato associated with the Makah Nation, have found relationships with Chilean and Mexican potato materials, providing evidence of historical movement of potatoes through the Americas before their incorporation into modern commercial agriculture.

Commercial potato production expanded substantially during the 19^th and 20^th centuries as cultivation spread across suitable regions and transportation, irrigation, storage and processing infrastructure developed. Over time, production shifted increasingly toward the Pacific Northwest, where irrigation, land availability, favorable growing conditions and processing economics supported large-scale production. By the late 20^th century, processing had become a dominant destination for much of the U.S. crop; USDA research notes that the fall potato crop used for processing surpassed its fresh-market use in 1989. Today, Idaho and Washington remain central to the industry, alongside major production regions in the Midwest, Great Plains, Colorado and Maine.