Illinois Voted State With The Best Pumpkin Patches

Jack-o-lantern or latte, Illinois has it's share of pumpkins.

By far, Illinois leads the country in pumpkin production, churning out 485 million pounds of pumpkins in 2024, which is about the equivalent to the combined total of the 4 other most productive states.

And what else is more 'fall' than pumpkin patches?

Pumpkin has pretty much infiltrated every part of fall, including the obsession with pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin-flavored anything, Instagram-worthy porches, and your dad swearing while carving a jack-o-lantern.

But like the production, Illinois has pumpkins on lock.

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A report found that Illinois is the best state in the country for pumpkin patches, and of course, they rank among USA Today's Best Pumpkin Patches in 2026.

But the cutesy pumpkin patches don't cover it for Illinois. About 90% of canned pumpkin in the U.S. comes from Illinois, so thank them for your Thanksgiving dessert too. In fact, Morton, Illinois is known as the "Pumpkin Capitol of the World" because of the Nestle Libby plant which processes that canned pumpkin you're fighting for at Thanksgiving.

Among USA Today's recognized pumpkin patches are Rader Family Farms in Normal, Illinois, and Lindberg Pumpkin Patch in Caledonia.

The actual, non-visit pumpkin patches are most of Illinois' pumpkins. Farmers say pumpkins actually do well in summer but people don't often visit pumpkin patches in summer because it doesn't feel like fall.

But when you do visit family farms and pumpkin patches this year, get yourself some pumpkins from them for whatever reason, as it does help your local economy.

Thanks to DiscoverCars.com for sharing the info on this study.