Driven by Cheese, Dairy Consumption Rises Again

Propelled by record cheese use and gains in butter, cottage cheese and yogurt, U.S. per capita dairy consumption returned to 1950s levels last year, according to USDA data released just before Thanksgiving.

At 661 pounds per person, the amount of milk Americans consume is back to where it was in 2021, which in turn was on par with the year Buddy Holly died — at least in terms of dairy U.S. dairy consumption.

What’s driving the trend? Think cheese, which has doubled in per capita consumption over the past 50 years even as per capita fluid milk use has declined. Or look at butter, at its highest since the 1960s. And fermented dairy products are having a moment — cottage cheese consumption is at its highest in a decade, and yogurt is also rising.