A girl bites into a green apple surrounded by red and green apples

iStockPhoto/Getty Images (Teen); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

All About Apples

Let's check out the data behind this favorite fall fruit.

By Elizabeth Carney and Ashley P. Taylor

From the September 2026 Issue

Key Focus Area: Measurement and Data,

Other Focus Areas: Data Analysis

Standards

The Story
Resources

Whether they’re baked in a pie, boiled into sauce, or enjoyed with a big crunchy bite, apples are everywhere! Let’s check out the data behind this favorite fall fruit.

Favorite Kinds of Apples

A February 2025 survey asked 1,107 Americans to name their favorite apple varieties. Participants could choose more than one type. Here are some of their favorite kinds!

Which type of apple was selected about twice as many times as Pink Lady?

Apple Sweetness Scale

Here’s how the taste of popular apple varieties ranges from sugary sweet to tangy tart.

Which type of apple is sweeter than Honeycrisp but less sweet than Fuji?

Where Do Apples Grow?

Here’s where most of the apples produced in the United States are grown.

Washington: 66%

Oregon: 1%

California: 1%

Michigan: 9%

New York: 12%

Pennsylvania: 4%

Virginia: 1%

Key: Red indicates top apple-producting state
Note: Alaska and Hawaii do not appear on the map

In which state are more than half of U.S. apples grown?

video (1)

Activities (2)

Quizzes (1)

Answer Key (1)

Text-to-Speech