How much is a gallon of milk? In 2024, the average retail price of whole fortified milk in the United States was *** U.S. dollars, which was a decrease from the previous year. Milk production Dairy farming is an agricultural business which is engaged in the long-term milk production within the dairy industry. Dairy farming is a large contributor to the overall economy in many states. California, Wisconsin, and Idaho had the highest milk supply in 2022. Continuing the trend of each year breaking the record for milk production, an estimated ***** billion pounds of milk were produced in 2023. Milk consumption Since 2011, there has been a steady decline in milk consumption in the United States, with just **** liters consumed per capita compared to **** in 2011. This could be explained by consumers’ increasing shift towards plant-based dairy alternatives. In 2019, ** percent of consumers consumed soy products at least once a week, up from ** percent in 2010.

Fresh whole milk, fortified, sold per gallon regardless of packaging type. Includes organic and non-organic milk."

Monthly average retail prices for selected products, for Canada and provinces. Prices are presented for the current month and the previous four months. Prices are based on transaction data from Canadian retailers, and are presented in Canadian current dollars.

The average retail price for homogenized milk hit an all-time high with **** Canadian dollars per four liters in February 2022 in Canada.

What is homogenized milk?

Homogenization is the process of breaking down the fat molecules within milk to ensure that they do not separate. This prevents the fat molecules rising to the top and creating a layer of cream, therefore creating a more consistent product with a longer shelf life. Homogenization generally occurs after pasteurization, which is a heating process to eliminate bacteria.

The Canadian milk market

The volume of milk produced in Canada has steadily risen year-on-year to reach approximately ***** million hectoliters in 2020. Quebec and Ontario are the provincial frontrunners in milk production, both producing over ** million hectoliters in that year. Quebec and Ontario are also home to the largest number of certified organic milk producers in Canada.

Milk rose to 17.67 USD/CWT on September 18, 2025, up 0.17% from the previous day. Over the past month, Milk's price has risen 1.49%, but it is still 24.23% lower than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Milk - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on September of 2025.

This statistic shows the average retail price for * liters of partly skimmed milk in Canada from January 2016 to February 2022. The retail price stayed fairly constant for most of 2021, at around *** Canadian dollars, but jumped up to *** Canadian dollars in February 2022.

In 2021, the retail price of one liter of milk in Canada was on average **** Canadian dollars, with some regional differences. For instance, in Quebec, one liter of milk cost **** Canadian dollars on average, while it cost **** Canadian dollars in Ontario.

Milk production in Canada

Canada featured among the leading producers of cow milk worldwide, with a production volume exceeding ** million metric tons in 2021. Although this production volume pales in comparison to that of the EU-27 or the United States, Canada’s dairy farming industry is among the most important agricultural sectors in the country. Dairy farms in Canada were home to more than ******* milk cows in 2021. In addition to being the provinces with the largest number of milk cows in the country, Quebec and Ontario also produced the largest volume of milk in Canada in 2020, at around ** million and ** million hectoliters, respectively.

Milk consumption in Canada

Since 2004, consumption of milk per capita in Canada has been steadily declining, with a significant decrease of more than twenty liters per capita between 2004 and 2019. This can be attributed to the emergence of new consumption habits and the rise of non-dairy substitutes for milk such as soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk and others, which appeal primarily but not exclusively to people following plant-based diets. It was estimated that the milk substitute market in Canada would generate approximately *** million U.S. dollars in revenues in 2022.

The United States produced about ***** billion pounds of milk for human consumption in 2024. In 2000, this figure amounted to around ***** billion pounds. The volume of cow milk produced worldwide has risen steadily over the last several years. U.S. milk market While milk production has seen an increase over the last several years, milk retail sales have been dropping. The retail price of milk has been fluctuating for the past several years and peaked in 2022 at **** U.S. dollars per gallon. Leading U.S. milk brands Among the dairy brands in the U.S., private label milk has a higher level of sales than any name brand whole milk. Among name brands of whole milk, Hood generated the most dollar sales, at over *** million U.S. dollars in 2022. In the flavored milk category, the leading name brand was TruMoo, which sold nearly ** million units in 2018. However, private label flavored milk sold many more units than even the leading name brand.

In 2024, egg substitutes saw their dollar sales value grow by *** percent in the U.S. market. In the 52 weeks ending December 1, 2024, the dollar sales value growth rate of meat and seafood substitutes was at approximately minus ***** percent. Egg substitutes have the lowest dollar sales value in the market for plant-based foods. Plant-based food in the U.S. Plant-based foods tend to be more expensive than their animal-based counterparts. The average price of milk, for example, is *** U.S. dollars per gallon, compared to **** U.S. dollars per gallon of milk alternatives. The average price for meat is **** U.S. dollars, whereas meat alternatives are about twice as expensive. Sales of plant-based foods in the U.S. had been growing much faster in recent years than the sales of the total food retail market. However, in 2023 and 2024, while total food retail has experienced positive growth, sales of plant-based foods dipped into negative numbers for the first time, perhaps signaling some stagnation in the market. Plant-based milk in the U.S. Milk alternatives have the highest sales share of plant-based food alternatives. Plant-based milk alternatives account for approximately ** percent of all U.S. plant-based alternative sales. By comparison, plant-based meat only accounts for *** percent of all meat dollar sales. The volume of milk substitutes consumed in the United States was almost *** million kilograms in 2024. This figure is forecast to reach close to *** billion kilograms in 2030. The leading milk alternative brand ranked by brand awareness in the U.S. is Silk, followed by Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze and Chobani.