Why Are Potatoes So Popular?

Are you a fan of potatoes?  If you like tubers, you’re not alone. 

"Well, I'm not the only American interested in potatoes,” noted Catharine Weber, USDA research economist.  “They're one of the most popular vegetables in terms of consumption.” 

Weber doesn’t just offer up the latest on potato production, she has several fun facts for spud enthusiasts. 

"You can boil them, you can mash them, you can eat them fried, you can have potato chips, you can dehydrate them and reconstitute them and make mashed potatoes,” Weber said.  “There's so many things you can do with a potato.” 

Fortunately for Weber, a self-proclaimed potato fanatic, this vegetable is among the produce items she tracks as an agriculture department research economist.  Among some of the trivia and tidbits about potatoes she shares with us includes this from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. 

Fewer Acres Planted In 2025

“The USDA NASS 2025 potato planted acreage forecast is 912,000 acres, a 2% reduction from last year. If realized, the 2025 potato planted acres would be the smallest since 1954.” 

Now, before you tater lovers panic about a potato famine, Weber adds. 

“The U.S. average potato yield in 2025 is expected to be more than double the average yield in the 1950s.”

A trend occurring in growing potatoes over the last few decades. 13 states in our country grow potatoes. 

“However, The Pacific Northwest accounts for about 55% of the 2025 potato acreage forecast.” 

That's Washington, Oregon, and yes, those famous Idaho potatoes.  So now the part about eating taters. 

Americans Consume A Lot Of Potato Products

“People eat about 115 pounds of potatoes per year, which I eat more than that,” Weber said. 

And just how do we like to consume potatoes? 

“Frozen potato products accounted for about 50% of potato per capita availability on a fresh weight basis, or 58 pounds per person,” Weber pointed out.  “Fresh potato per capita availability represented one quarter of potato availability at 28 pounds per person, followed by potato chips at 18 pounds per person, dehydrated potatoes at 11 pounds, and a small quantity of canned potatoes at less than one pound per person.” 

When it comes to the top product made from all of those spuds, there’s no question, it’s French Fries, which are popular in the U.S. and abroad. 

“French fries are the top U.S. potato export in terms of value and volume. [This year alone] frozen French fry exports have totaled $967 million by value and 1.28 billion pounds by volume, year-over-year.  Major export destinations for U.S. French fries include Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, and South Korea.” 

In fact, Americans love French fries so much, we can’t get enough of them. 

“The United States was a net importer of frozen French fries during the last five marketing years, and this has continued into marking year 2024-25,” Weber added. 

U.S. fresh potatoes have also grown in consumer demand globally in recent years. 

“U.S. fresh potato exports have grown in the past two decades, exceeding 900 million pounds each season since 2010.” 

Canada Is No Longer #1

In prior years, Canada was our nation's leading potato export market. That changed in the 2023-24 marketing year. 

“Mexico ranked number one in U.S. fresh potato export volume for the first time, accounting for over 500 million pounds of the 1.2 billion pounds exported during that season,” Weber said.  “This increase followed regulatory changes the USDA announced in mid-2022 that expanded market access for U.S. fresh potato exports to Mexico.”

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