The U.S. State That Produces The Most Maple Syrup

There's nothing like a sweet drizzle of maple syrup to finish off a warm stack of pancakes or fluffy waffles. Maple syrup is one of America's favorite toppings and a key ingredient for many home chefs, especially those living in the northern part of the country. This is because most of the syrup produced in the U.S. comes from the Northeast, where one state churns out more of it than any other: Vermont. Vermont has been the top producer of maple syrup in the country for decades, producing over 2 million gallons annually. 

According to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), nearly half of all the syrup produced in the U.S.in 2023 came from Vermont, and the department's annual report recorded a whopping 6.35 million maple taps in the state that year. Vermont has held its position as top maple tapper every year since 1916 and it's only been outproduced twice — in 1918 and 1926. Why has the state had such sweet success? It all starts with the trees.

Vermont is home to over 20,000 acres of sugar maple trees, which grow in groups known as sugar bushes. The valuable trees thrive on rich, well-drained soils in locations free from air pollution and they produce sap on warm spring days that follow cold nights – conditions that match Vermont's typical spring climate. One in every four trees in the state is a sugar maple, which was designated the official state tree in 1949. Sap is collected from sugar maples by drilling a small hole into the bark and inserting a tube called a spile inside. 

The sap is collected in buckets and boiled to thicken before being filtered and bottled. The tapping process usually begins before March and the sap is harvested by the end of April, when Vermont's annual Maple Festival takes place. The state has strict standards for its syrup and evaluates it on four characteristics: color, clarity, density, and flavor. Maple syrup is then placed into four different grades. While all of this leads to a delicious product, Vermont isn't the only state that makes good syrup. 

The sugar maple is also the state tree of New York, which, according to World Population Review, was the nation's second largest maple syrup producer in 2023 with a yield of 750,000 gallons. Maine came in third for syrup production in 2023 with 470,000 gallons. However, Vermont is expected to dwarf both again in 2024 with an early NASS report indicating a yield of 3.1 million gallons, which means we'll have plenty of sweetness to add to our baked goods, elevated bourbon-based cocktails, breakfasts, and to put to use in these unconventional ways for months to come. You can buy authentic Vermont maple syrup from Butternut Mountain Farm on Amazon.