The 21.6M Christmas Tree Market in the U.S.

Harrison

22 Dec 2025 — 1 min read

Despite the existence of over 30 commercial species, the U.S. Christmas tree market has grown into 21.6 million-unit machine powered mostly by the "Big Three" firs—Fraser, Douglas, and Noble.

Key Takeaways

The "Green Curtain": Logistics dictate tradition more than preference, as cross-country shipping costs effectively split the nation into a Fraser-dominated East and a Douglas-dominated West.

The Artificial Ceiling: The market for real trees has effectively capped at roughly 21 million units because 77% of U.S. households have now permanently switched to reusable artificial alternatives.

The Canadian Bailout: Domestic farmers actually fall short of total demand, requiring a "silent" annual import of nearly 2 million trees from Quebec and Nova Scotia to keep the Northeast fully stocked.

The Data

This report combines federal harvest data (USDA 2022 Census) with consumer behavior surveys (NCTA 2023) to map the market. Note that "Sales" figures (21.6M) often differ from "Harvest" figures (~15M) due to the inclusion of Canadian imports and the gap between wholesale cutting and retail purchase.

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