States With Most Flower Buyers? Results Are So Surprising!

By Jill Brooke

Guess who are the biggest flower buyers proportionally in the United States? It’s a bit of a surprise but the tiny state of Connecticut is a petal powerhouse.

As José Luis Martínez  wrote, of Connecticut’s estimated $686 million in agricultural sales in 2022, “24.4% came from floriculture.” Results came from sales and survey data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Amazing right? Flowers account for almost 25% of the state’s agricultural sales.

And compared to the rest of the country, Connecticut’s share of flower sales is the second-highest, right after Alaska, where flower sales accounted for 29% of the industry.

Okay, I know what you are thinking.  What about Florida and California, where some of the country’s largest flower farms produce fabulous vibrant blooms?

Connecticut Flower Powerhouse 

As Martinez explained, while Connecticut’s and Alaska’s flower sales made up a large portion of their state’s totals, at the national level, they only contributed 2.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

In contrast, the state with the most flower sales was Florida. The sunny state made up 17.5% of all national flower sales but only 13.6% in its state’s agricultural industry. California’s floriculture industry made up 14.3% nationally, but only 1.7% of its state farm sales.

“Because its business activities are so diverse and widespread, the green industry is often underestimated in the public eye as a driver of the economy,” the story reported. “Particularly in a northeastern, relatively urban state, such as Connecticut, the contributions of the green industry are often overlooked,” Martinez says, citing a report released three years ago by the University of Connecticut.

In the report, UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources’ Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy found that in 2017, 51% of all agricultural gross sales were made up of nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod.

This is all good news because fellow flower lovers, the more people live with flowers the better for health and happiness. Plus Connecticut is also a state that has a great flower show each year. The Connecticut Flower and Garden Show is one of the best shows in the country. It covers nearly 150,000 square feet of expansive live gardens, informative seminars, and demonstrations with creative and practical ideas for houses and apartments.  And it is a state that is home to Winston Flowers, J. Morris Flowers, Bouquets & Beyond, Flowers of Distinction, House of Flowers, Earth Blossoms Flowers and Banchet Flowers which provides the beauty grown by industrious farmers. Petal On.

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD and a contributor to Florists Review magazine.