data study

Fiber Intake by State: America's Fiber Gap, Mapped and Ranked (2026)

Name: U.S. Fiber Gap Index by State (2026)
Creator: Seya Health
License: https://www.cdc.gov/other/agencymaterials.html

How every U.S. state ranks for fruit and vegetable intake, our Fiber Gap Index. Vermont leads, Kentucky trails, and no state comes close to getting enough fiber.

Seya Health Editorial Team

6 min read Sep 9, 2026

Fiber Intake by State: America's Fiber Gap, Mapped and Ranked (2026)

~95%

of Americans miss the daily fiber target

~17g

average intake, about half of what is recommended

jurisdictions ranked (49 states + DC; NJ excluded)

2x+

gap between the top and bottom state

Most Americans do not get enough fiber. About 95% fall short, and the average adult eats only around 17 grams a day, roughly half of what is recommended (American Society for Nutrition, USDA ERS). Since national surveys do not measure fiber gram-by-gram in every state, we used the best state-level data there is: how many adults in each state meet the daily recommendations for fruits and vegetables, the foods most of our fiber comes from. We combined the two into a Fiber Gap Index and mapped every state.

Which states eat the most (and least) fiber-rich food

The short version: Vermont eats the most produce and Kentucky the least, a more than twofold difference. But no state is doing well: even the top state leaves most adults short. Hover any state on the map below for its score.

Bigger gapSmaller gap

Each state is colored by its Fiber Gap Index (the average of the share of adults meeting fruit and meeting vegetable recommendations). Greener means more produce and a smaller gap; redder means a bigger gap. Hover a state for its score. New Jersey is uncolored (see methodology). Data: CDC BRFSS, 2019.

Every state ranked by the Fiber Gap Index

The national average is 10.7, meaning across the country only about one in nine adults meets produce recommendations. Read the full ranking below, from the smallest fiber gap to the biggest.

Rank	State	Fruit	Vegetable	Index
1	Vermont	15.3%	16.0%	15.65
2	Connecticut	16.1%	14.1%	15.1
3	New York	15.3%	14.2%	14.75
4	Rhode Island	14.8%	13.4%	14.1
5	Arizona	14.8%	12.8%	13.8
6	District of Columbia	14.5%	12.8%	13.65
7	Texas	13.8%	11.9%	12.85
8	New Hampshire	12.9%	12.3%	12.6
9	Oregon	12.9%	12.2%	12.55
10	California	13.6%	11.3%	12.45
11	Washington	12.6%	11.9%	12.25
12	Hawaii	11.9%	12.2%	12.05
13	Massachusetts	13.4%	10.5%	11.95
14	Alaska	12.2%	11.4%	11.8
15	Indiana	13.0%	10.5%	11.75
16	Maryland	13.5%	9.9%	11.7
17	Florida	12.4%	10.5%	11.45
18	Colorado	12.4%	10.4%	11.4
19	Maine	11.9%	10.9%	11.4
20	Delaware	13.4%	9.1%	11.25
21	Arkansas	11.6%	10.8%	11.2
22	South Carolina	11.9%	10.2%	11.05
23	Illinois	12.9%	8.9%	10.9
24	Virginia	12.2%	9.6%	10.9
25	Minnesota	12.7%	8.8%	10.75
26	Kansas	10.9%	9.8%	10.35
27	New Mexico	11.5%	9.2%	10.35
28	North Carolina	11.0%	9.5%	10.25
29	Tennessee	11.0%	9.2%	10.1
30	Georgia	11.2%	8.9%	10.05
31	Idaho	10.3%	9.7%	10.0
32	Utah	11.5%	8.3%	9.9
33	Montana	10.0%	9.6%	9.8
34	Wisconsin	11.6%	7.6%	9.6
35	Pennsylvania	10.6%	8.4%	9.5
36	Nebraska	10.7%	8.0%	9.35
37	Louisiana	11.2%	7.3%	9.25
38	Michigan	11.1%	7.2%	9.15
39	Mississippi	10.5%	7.7%	9.1
40	Iowa	10.6%	7.3%	8.95
41	Wyoming	9.4%	8.4%	8.9
42	South Dakota	10.3%	7.4%	8.85
43	North Dakota	9.8%	7.3%	8.55
44	Alabama	10.3%	6.7%	8.5
45	Ohio	9.5%	7.4%	8.45
46	Missouri	8.7%	7.4%	8.05
47	Nevada	8.6%	7.4%	8.0
48	Oklahoma	8.7%	6.9%	7.8
49	West Virginia	8.4%	6.9%	7.65
50	Kentucky	8.8%	5.6%	7.2

The states with the smallest and biggest fiber gaps

Smallest fiber gap

Vermont index 15.65
Connecticut index 15.1
New York index 14.75
Rhode Island index 14.1
Arizona index 13.8

Biggest fiber gap

Kentucky index 7.2
West Virginia index 7.65
Oklahoma index 7.8
Nevada index 8.0
Missouri index 8.05

Adults in the top state are more than twice as likely to hit produce recommendations as adults in the bottom state, and Kentucky posts the lowest vegetable rate in the country at just 5.6% of adults.

Fiber gap by U.S. region: who eats the most produce

Northeast 13.1
West 11.0
South 10.2
Midwest 9.6

What is behind the regional differences

Three patterns stand out, and one is a genuine surprise.

The Northeast eats the most produce. The green cluster in the top-right (Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire) is the country's produce-eating core, and the Northeast posts the highest regional score.
The Midwest ranks lowest, not the South. This is the surprise: by our index the Midwest scores lowest of the four regions, just below the South. The region most associated with farming eats the least produce, a reminder that growing commodity crops like corn and soybeans is not the same as people eating fruits and vegetables.
The widest individual gaps span several regions. The five lowest-scoring states are Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Nevada, and Missouri, covering Appalachia, the Plains, and the West rather than one tidy area. Researchers link low produce intake to factors like food access and cost, but we are describing associations here, not proving a cause for any one place.

What the fiber gap means for you, wherever you live

Here is the part that matters most: the gap is everywhere. Even in the highest-ranked state, only about one in six adults meets produce recommendations, which means roughly 84% still fall short. No state is close to where it should be, which lines up with the national picture where about 95% of people do not get enough fiber. The ranking is a story about degree, not about anyone being fine.

Wherever you live, the odds are you are not getting enough fiber. Closing the gap starts with more produce, and a daily fiber supplement can help. Full Fiber is one simple way to help close your own fiber gap, with 6 grams per serving. For your exact target by age, see how much fiber women need per day.

How we built the Fiber Gap Index (methodology)

Source: CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2019, percent of adults meeting fruit and vegetable intake recommendations by state (CDC MMWR).
Fiber Gap Index: the average of a state's fruit-recommendation rate and vegetable-recommendation rate. It is a proxy, not measured fiber grams, because state-by-state fiber intake is not published. Produce is among the top fiber sources, which makes it a reasonable stand-in.
New Jersey is not ranked. CDC excluded it from the 2019 data set because its data did not meet the minimum requirements for inclusion.
Cross-check: a separate, more recent measure (America's Health Rankings, BRFSS 2021) shows the same top and bottom states.