Idaho cattle inventory
2.50 million
Cattle and calves in Idaho on January 1, 2026 (estimate)
+0.4% since 2025 (2.49 million ); +4.6% since 2016 (2.39 million ); +33.3% since 1976 (1.88 million )
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Idaho Cattle Inventory, January 1. Data period 2026. Status: estimate. Published January 30, 2026. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
What the number tells us
Cattle and calves in Idaho on January 1: 2,500,000 in 2026 (an estimate). All cattle and calves in Idaho as of January 1 each year.
Historical data
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Idaho Cattle Inventory, January 1. Published January 30, 2026. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
Data table (160 rows)
| Period | Idaho (count) |
|---|---|
| 1867 | 80,000 |
| 1868 | 80,000 |
| 1869 | 90,000 |
| 1870 | 95,000 |
| 1871 | 120,000 |
| 1872 | 140,000 |
| 1873 | 160,000 |
| 1874 | 215,000 |
| 1875 | 240,000 |
| 1876 | 260,000 |
| 1877 | 270,000 |
| 1878 | 280,000 |
| 1879 | 300,000 |
| 1880 | 320,000 |
| 1881 | 315,000 |
| 1882 | 320,000 |
| 1883 | 325,000 |
| 1884 | 325,000 |
| 1885 | 325,000 |
| 1886 | 320,000 |
| 1887 | 330,000 |
| 1888 | 330,000 |
| 1889 | 360,000 |
| 1890 | 360,000 |
| 1891 | 360,000 |
| 1892 | 360,000 |
| 1893 | 370,000 |
| 1894 | 380,000 |
| 1895 | 350,000 |
| 1896 | 330,000 |
| 1897 | 360,000 |
| 1898 | 400,000 |
| 1899 | 440,000 |
| 1900 | 475,000 |
| 1901 | 460,000 |
| 1902 | 450,000 |
| 1903 | 445,000 |
| 1904 | 440,000 |
| 1905 | 460,000 |
| 1906 | 470,000 |
| 1907 | 480,000 |
| 1908 | 421,000 |
| 1909 | 446,000 |
| 1910 | 435,000 |
| 1911 | 439,000 |
| 1912 | 452,000 |
| 1913 | 453,000 |
| 1914 | 475,000 |
| 1915 | 495,000 |
| 1916 | 530,000 |
| 1917 | 636,000 |
| 1918 | 700,000 |
| 1919 | 735,000 |
| 1920 | 715,000 |
| 1921 | 675,000 |
| 1922 | 685,000 |
| 1923 | 685,000 |
| 1924 | 705,000 |
| 1925 | 650,000 |
| 1926 | 624,000 |
| 1927 | 605,000 |
| 1928 | 588,000 |
| 1929 | 588,000 |
| 1930 | 606,000 |
| 1931 | 648,000 |
| 1932 | 684,000 |
| 1933 | 731,000 |
| 1934 | 800,000 |
| 1935 | 784,000 |
| 1936 | 745,000 |
| 1937 | 753,000 |
| 1938 | 708,000 |
| 1939 | 708,000 |
| 1940 | 748,000 |
| 1941 | 800,000 |
| 1942 | 856,000 |
| 1943 | 916,000 |
| 1944 | 980,000 |
| 1945 | 990,000 |
| 1946 | 921,000 |
| 1947 | 903,000 |
| 1948 | 930,000 |
| 1949 | 939,000 |
| 1950 | 939,000 |
| 1951 | 1,005,000 |
| 1952 | 1,126,000 |
| 1953 | 1,205,000 |
| 1954 | 1,268,000 |
| 1955 | 1,362,000 |
| 1956 | 1,389,000 |
| 1957 | 1,347,000 |
| 1958 | 1,334,000 |
| 1959 | 1,401,000 |
| 1960 | 1,415,000 |
| 1961 | 1,401,000 |
| 1962 | 1,429,000 |
| 1963 | 1,515,000 |
| 1964 | 1,621,000 |
| 1965 | 1,621,000 |
| 1966 | 1,605,000 |
| 1967 | 1,557,000 |
| 1968 | 1,619,000 |
| 1969 | 1,700,000 |
| 1970 | 1,780,000 |
| 1971 | 1,815,000 |
| 1972 | 1,888,000 |
| 1973 | 1,888,000 |
| 1974 | 2,026,000 |
| 1975 | 2,150,000 |
| 1976 | 1,875,000 |
| 1977 | 1,900,000 |
| 1978 | 1,870,000 |
| 1979 | 1,900,000 |
| 1980 | 1,860,000 |
| 1981 | 1,990,000 |
| 1982 | 1,850,000 |
| 1983 | 1,950,000 |
| 1984 | 1,890,000 |
| 1985 | 1,780,000 |
| 1986 | 1,750,000 |
| 1987 | 1,550,000 |
| 1988 | 1,600,000 |
| 1989 | 1,650,000 |
| 1990 | 1,660,000 |
| 1991 | 1,700,000 |
| 1992 | 1,720,000 |
| 1993 | 1,680,000 |
| 1994 | 1,740,000 |
| 1995 | 1,820,000 |
| 1996 | 1,820,000 |
| 1997 | 1,820,000 |
| 1998 | 1,860,000 |
| 1999 | 1,900,000 |
| 2000 | 1,950,000 |
| 2001 | 1,960,000 |
| 2002 | 1,990,000 |
| 2003 | 2,000,000 |
| 2004 | 2,000,000 |
| 2005 | 2,060,000 |
| 2006 | 2,110,000 |
| 2007 | 2,180,000 |
| 2008 | 2,210,000 |
| 2009 | 2,150,000 |
| 2010 | 2,180,000 |
| 2011 | 2,220,000 |
| 2012 | 2,220,000 |
| 2013 | 2,390,000 |
| 2014 | 2,240,000 |
| 2015 | 2,280,000 |
| 2016 | 2,390,000 |
| 2017 | 2,370,000 |
| 2018 | 2,420,000 |
| 2019 | 2,490,000 |
| 2020 | 2,470,000 |
| 2021 | 2,500,000 |
| 2022 | 2,550,000 |
| 2023 | 2,500,000 |
| 2024 | 2,550,000 |
| 2025 | 2,490,000 |
| 2026 | 2,500,000 |
Source
- Organization
- USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
- Dataset
- Idaho Cattle Inventory, January 1
- Geography
- Idaho
- Time coverage
- 1867-2026
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Published
- January 30, 2026
- Retrieved
- September 8, 2026
- Original file
- https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET/
- Methodology
- https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Cattle_Inventory/
- License
- Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
- Our copy
- nass-cattle-inventory, built by
scripts/fetch-nass-cattle-inventory.py
Caveats
- Value is the January 1 count of all cattle and calves, from Quick Stats' 'CATTLE, INCL CALVES - INVENTORY' series with reference_period_desc FIRST OF JAN; a separate July 1 mid-year count Quick Stats also carries for 1973-1981 is excluded so each year has exactly one observation.
- This is a sample survey estimate, not a full enumeration, and is revised in later NASS releases; the value stored is the figure Quick Stats currently returns, which for recent years may differ slightly from the originally published estimate.
- publisherUpdated is the load date NASS Quick Stats stamps on the newest (January 1, 2026) estimate.
Data
Download the full dataset behind this page as CSV or JSON, or browse the data catalog. Cite this page as Understand Idaho, “Idaho cattle inventory”, https://understandidaho.com/land/cattle/, retrieved on the date you read it.