State rankings

Lumber Production by State

California has the highest Total Forest Area in 2023 (31.6M acres), followed by Alaska (29.8M acres) and Oregon (29.7M acres). District of Columbia has the lowest (14.6K acres).

AgricultureManufacturing & Mining51 states · 12 metricsUpdated Jun 5, 2025Original page
17 sources
Year 202351 of 51 states
Compare this metricAdd to combined rankingOpen full map
Cost-of-living adjustmentConverts wages and incomes to what they would buy at average US prices, so $100k in a cheap state and $100k in an expensive one are not treated as equal.More in the glossary →

Total Forest Area, 2023

Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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All 51 ranked

Best first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
13.2M acres
Middle half 3.8M acres – 19M acres
Average
13M acres
51 states
Highest
31.6M acres
California
Lowest
14.6K acres
District of Columbia

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

51 states · # = rank by Total Forest Area
#
1California31.6M acres84,246$10.13B0.6%
2Alaska29.8M acres1,079$80M0.2%
3Oregon29.7M acres42,233$6.5B3.9%
4Montana26.3M acres5,315$419.94M1.3%
5New Mexico24.6M acres2,773$211.65M0.3%
6Georgia24.3M acres59,024$8.56B2.4%
7Alabama23.1M acres46,132$6.27B3.9%
8Colorado22.8M acres10,850$1.12B0.5%
9Washington22.1M acres33,447$5.06B1.4%
10Idaho21.9M acres13,728$1.39B2.6%
11Michigan20.1M acres40,419$4.5B1.6%
12Mississippi19.2M acres35,280$3.24B4.1%
13Arizona19.1M acres13,966$1.25B0.6%
14Arkansas18.9M acres26,778$3.67B4.1%
15North Carolina18.7M acres74,416$7.08B2.2%
16New York18.6M acres36,863$4.23B0.5%
17Utah18.1M acres11,531$1.44B1.1%
18Minnesota17.7M acres32,124$4.49B2%
19Maine17.5M acres14,827$1.7B4.1%
20Florida17M acres40,797$5.3B0.8%
21Wisconsin16.9M acres62,538$8.71B4.4%
22Pennsylvania16.6M acres63,960$8.71B1.9%
23Virginia16M acres34,295$3.96B1.2%
24Missouri15.4M acres25,120$2.63B1.4%
25Louisiana14.9M acres19,841$3.61B2.1%
26Tennessee13.2M acres38,755$5.45B2.2%
27South Carolina12.8M acres27,219$4.49B2.7%
28Kentucky12.4M acres25,464$2.5B2%
29West Virginia12M acres8,292$821.92M1.4%
30Texas11.8M acres74,229$8.17B0.9%
31Oklahoma11.6M acres9,185$1.52B1.1%
32Nevada10.6M acres4,802$543.33M0.5%
33Wyoming10.5M acres1,417$119.07M0.4%
34Ohio7.8M acres54,305$5.7B1.6%
35Illinois4.9M acres37,404$3.79B0.9%
36Indiana4.8M acres47,092$4.88B2.1%
37New Hampshire4.7M acres4,952$455.98M0.9%
38Vermont4.5M acres5,106$392.72M1.9%
39Massachusetts3M acres14,238$1.66B0.6%
40Iowa2.9M acres17,645$2.39B1.7%
41Kansas2.5M acres7,330$716.86M0.7%
42Maryland2.4M acres7,729$826.25M0.3%
43New Jersey2M acres18,466$2.04B0.6%
44South Dakota1.9M acres5,728$653.05M1.6%
45Hawaii1.8M acres1,218$103.51M0.2%
46Connecticut1.8M acres6,789$974.56M0.6%
47Nebraska1.5M acres5,650$530.25M0.7%
48North Dakota823.4K acres3,240$367.43M0.9%
49Delaware353.7K acres1,838$290.01M0.6%
50Rhode Island351.7K acres2,638$212.99M0.7%
51District of Columbia14.6K acres216$16.82M0.02%

What correlates with Total Forest Area (2023)?

Pearson r against 2,086 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Total Forest Area tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Forested Area (RPA)Most Forested States in the U.S.
    r = +0.84 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. Forested Area (FIA)Most Forested States in the U.S.
    r = +0.74 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  3. Public Land - USFSPublic Land by State
    r = +0.66 · strong · n = 43
    Plot
  4. Owned by USFSPublic Land by State
    r = +0.66 · strong · n = 44
    Plot
  5. Water Availability State TotalStates with the Most Water
    r = +0.65 · strong · n = 48
    Plot
  6. Scenic Beauty RankMost Beautiful StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = −0.63 · strong · n = 49
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Total Forest Area tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. Personal & Residential Safety Rank WalletHubSafest States in the USA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.69 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. Nursing Home Health Care Cost per CapitaHealth Care Costs by State
    r = −0.64 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  3. Full Funeral Service w/ BurialAverage Funeral Cost by State
    r = −0.64 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  4. Full Funeral Service w/ CremationAverage Funeral Cost by State
    r = −0.63 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  5. Affordable BurialAverage Funeral Cost by State
    r = −0.61 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  6. Medical Cannabis CostMarijuana Cost by State
    r = −0.59 · strong · n = 50
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state has the highest Total Forest Area?
California has the highest Total Forest Area in 2023, at 31.6M acres, followed by Alaska (29.8M acres) and Oregon (29.7M acres).
Which state has the lowest Total Forest Area?
District of Columbia has the lowest Total Forest Area in 2023, at 14.6K acres.
What is the median Total Forest Area across US states?
The median is 13.2M acres across the 51 US states with data in 2023.
Where does this lumber production by state data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: 2023 U.S. Forestry Economic Contribution by State - University of Arkansas at Monticello; No. 1 in softwood lumber - Oregonforests 2023; Forest Resources of the United States, 2017 - USDA; Forest Resources of the United States, 2012 - USDA.