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# GRAPHIC: Sales of cows' milk continues decades-long decline
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/graphic-sales-of-cows-milk-continues-decades-long-decline/
- Published: 2022-07-14T16:56:33.000Z
- Updated: 2022-07-14T16:56:33.000Z
- Description: The decrease could be attributed to, in part, the popularity of almond and oat milk.
- Author: Marley Schultz, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Data Harvest, National, TP::Explainer, graphic of the week, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

*Marley Schultz is a Gary Marx Journalism Fund fellow.*

For some Americans, milk has been a traditional staple in cereal, coffee, or even straight out of the carton.

But U.S. Department of Agriculture [data](https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2022/june/fluid-milk-consumption-continues-downward-trend-proving-difficult-to-reverse/?ref=investigatemidwest.org) shows its significance in the American diet is at its lowest point in five decades.

This decrease could be attributed to a variety of factors, including generational changes, environmental impact of dairies and the increased popularity of non-dairy alternatives such as almond and oat milk, [according to some research](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-agricultural-and-applied-economics/article/are-plantbased-analogues-replacing-cows-milk-in-the-american-diet/F78AE2E32B77214BD3D26A060EC70451?ref=investigatemidwest.org#article).

That said, cow’s milk still stocks many fridges, even as prices rise, with 2% and whole milk accounting for about 70% of conventional milk [sales](https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/DataFiles/48685/fluidmilk.xlsx?v=7249.5&ref=investigatemidwest.org) in 2020.

The average price for a gallon of milk in the 1970s was just over $1.50, but [prices](https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/RetailMilkPrices.pdf?ref=investigatemidwest.org) now sit around $4.

*Top image: Cows at a large Wisconsin dairy farm. photo by Kate Golden, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism*