Industry on Tap: Wineries : Spotlight on Statistics : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

August 2021

Industry on Tap: Wineries

Erin Delaney

This Spotlight on Statistics examines historical employment trends for wineries and other components of the beverage manufacturing industry. Additionally, the Spotlight looks at trends for wages, number of establishments, and consumer prices in the winery industry and compares them to trends among distilleries, breweries, and soft drink and ice manufacturing. Let's take a look.

Employment in wineries, U.S. total, 2001–20
Year	Employment
2001	25,363
2002	26,620
2003	29,905
2004	31,470
2005	33,565
2006	35,899
2007	37,921
2008	40,160
2009	40,100
2010	40,830
2011	42,231
2012	45,351
2013	48,386
2014	52,879
2015	57,003
2016	60,436
2017	64,212
2018	67,832
2019	70,596
2020	63,820

Nearly 64,000 people worked in wineries across the United States in 2020

U.S. employment in the winery industry exceeded 60,000 for the first time in 2016. Aside from a small decrease from 2008 to 2009, employment increased steadily from 2001⸺when the data were first collected⸺until 2019. From 2019 to 2020, employment decreased from 70,596 to 63,820, or 10 percent.

The largest over-the-year employment net increase in the industry occurred in 2014, adding 4,493 jobs. The largest 12-month employment percentage increases occurred in 2003 and 2014, at 12.3 and 9.3 percent, respectively.

Employment in wineries by state, 2001–20
State	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Alabama											6		14	16	13	14	13	13		33
Alaska															13
Arizona			10				52	85	94	73	73	77	104	136			283	343	349	355
Arkansas			42	48	50	53	67	74		68	67	71	78					89		88
California	19,576	20,201	22,833	23,702	24,851	25,590	26,237	27,748	26,902	26,342	26,782	28,380	29,822	32,220	34,095	35,022	36,977	38,670	39,523	36,001
Colorado	66	80				144	162	162	158	164	191	222	233	282	324
Connecticut	38	37	34	44	77	86	102	115	120	138	157	188	197	227	252	284	321	356	379	320
Delaware													7					38	34	24
District of Columbia																		9
Florida						223	187			210				225	292	344	362	393	425	354
Georgia			154		33	25	28	59	72	84	112	134			193	185	210	250	293	305
Hawaii					30	48	50	45	41	39	40								50	43
Idaho	63	66	79	100	106	122	141	147	145	148					186	200	197	217	238	241
Illinois	71	99	101	100	173	256	305	382	396	435	429	461	497	520	545	568	578	578	620	577
Indiana	133	156	164	185	204	225	274	264	412	463	511	547	595	623	656	745	875	907	879
Iowa			34				99	110	163	218	211	248	257	289	326	361	414	422	389	305
Kansas		40	35		61					75	75	60	51	61	85	87	102	115	143	133
Kentucky												161	170	162	169	156	145	165	182	162
Louisiana
Maine												50							88
Maryland	15		22	31	30	46	46	75	79	96					243	368	305	324	364	444
Massachusetts		81			77	97			90	79		101	107	120	146	167	241	277	282	275
Michigan		181		224		278	325	372	414	455	491	523	628	693	780	961	992	1,042	1,120	984
Minnesota															236	254	303	323	385
Mississippi
Missouri	166	232	274	318	344	447	499	489	530	591	624	674	735	784	823	916	890	873	841	763
Montana											19	22	25	32	34	44	59	65	62	78
Nebraska												84	96	106	122	143		149	155	145
Nevada
New Hampshire													72	83	94	121	133	146	161	139
New Jersey	62			91	89	107	132	161	198	213	235	266	331	396	470	539	609	601	643	557
New Mexico	44	56	66		130	176	218	219	136	146	158	148	165	173	158	163	205	239	272	229
New York			1,604	1,657	1,789	1,955	2,131	1,851	1,907	2,004	2,102	2,215	2,311	2,435	2,625	2,794	3,010	3,258	3,403	2,888
North Carolina	146	204	248	289	329	413	478	504	495			740	781	802	905	953	696	731	755	719
North Dakota						14	17	18	23	23	19				22	29			18	17
Ohio	143	149	169				249	304	329			496	546	544	614	723	872	1,001	1,114	995
Oklahoma				11	20	39	59	60	62	69	59	65	64	62	71	79	74	79	93	90
Oregon	837	894	1,062	1,222	1,402	1,628	1,884	1,996	2,011	2,049	2,137	2,259	2,435	2,655	2,876	2,993	3,148	3,344	3,687	3,310
Pennsylvania													878	972	1,122	1,502	1,789	1,919	1,991	1,745
Rhode Island														63
South Carolina						9	9	12	16				36		51	36	50	67	82	82
South Dakota						18					68	80	109	127	101	117	118	113	116	110
Tennessee	78	83	88	98	113	113	120	134	145	158	171	181	190	284	405	468	452	474	527	476
Texas			203	250	311	409	537	613	721	800	873	1,001	1,068	1,231	1,445	1,567	1,737	1,890	2,040	1,985
Utah												8	11	15
Vermont	78	71							70	94	115	147	180	208	219	197	191	202	201	170
Virginia				439				742	834	960	1,064	1,205	1,426	1,621	1,813	2,136	2,407	2,483	2,586	2,170
Washington	949	1,003	1,129	1,242	1,327	1,555	1,724	1,938	2,044	2,238	2,280	2,705	2,822	3,263	3,438	3,698	3,941	4,323	4,647	4,190
West Virginia	8			16	17	20	19	19	20	13	18	17	18	18	20	23	24			16
Wisconsin						212	220	220	229	257	229	272	315	388	455	520	534	602	670	584
Wyoming															19	27	25	19	19	16

California leads the nation in the number of jobs in wineries

In 2001, 17 states had employment data for the winery industry that met BLS publication criteria. Among those states, California had the most winery jobs (19,576), followed by Washington (949) and Oregon (837). By 2020, employment data for the winery industry were available for 40 states. Not surprisingly, California continued to hold the most winery jobs in 2020 (36,001), followed by—again—Washington (4,190) and Oregon (3,310).

Employment in component industries of beverage manufacturing, 2001–20
Year	Distilleries	Wineries	Breweries	Soft drink and ice
2001	6,915	25,363	27,805	115,369
2002	6,971	26,620	27,865	112,001
2003	7,223	29,905	26,526	105,001
2004	6,979	31,470	26,519	100,931
2005	6,954	33,565	26,340	100,209
2006	7,044	35,899	25,864	103,760
2007	7,296	37,921	26,274	103,152
2008	7,107	40,160	26,380	101,254
2009	7,189	40,100	25,058	96,018
2010	7,252	40,830	24,864	94,225
2011	7,625	42,231	26,707	92,889
2012	8,001	45,351	29,309	94,576
2013	8,872	48,386	34,519	93,854
2014	10,579	52,879	40,101	93,333
2015	11,075	57,003	48,401	94,334
2016	12,207	60,436	58,580	102,793
2017	13,759	64,212	68,148	104,743
2018	15,839	67,832	77,911	103,124
2019	17,699	70,596	86,668	101,550
2020	18,153	63,820	79,445	101,543

Wineries accounted for 24 percent of jobs in beverage manufacturing in 2020

In 2001, there were 175,451 jobs in the beverage manufacturing industry. Among the four component industries within beverage manufacturing, soft drink and ice manufacturing had the largest employment share, at 66 percent, followed by breweries (16 percent), wineries (14 percent), and distilleries (4 percent).

In 2020, the beverage manufacturing industry had a total of 262,961 jobs. Although the employment share of soft drink and ice manufacturing declined from 2001 to 2020, it was still the largest, at 39 percent. The shares of the remaining three components within the beverage manufacturing industry grew from 2001, with breweries at 30 percent, wineries at 24 percent, and distilleries at 7 percent in 2020.

Total number of wineries in the United States, 2001–20
Year	Wineries
2001	1,066
2002	1,251
2003	1,410
2004	1,565
2005	1,700
2006	1,923
2007	2,112
2008	2,311
2009	2,456
2010	2,616
2011	2,771
2012	2,978
2013	3,201
2014	3,560
2015	3,848
2016	4,083
2017	4,343
2018	4,643
2019	4,845
2020	5,024

The number of wineries in the United States grew four and a half times from 2001 to 2020

The number of winery establishments in the United States exceeded 4,000 for the first time in 2016. In 2020, there were 5,024 wineries, more than 4 times the number in 2001. The largest 12-month percentage increases in the number of wineries occurred in 2002 (17.4 percent) and 2006 (13.1 percent).

Number of wineries by state, 2001–20
State	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Alabama				1	2	1	2	2	2	3	4	5	6	7	7	7	6	7	8	7
Alaska				1	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	5	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1
Arizona			3	7	8	9	12	12	13	13	12	13	14	20	24	27	30	41	43	48
Arkansas			3	3	4	4	6	7	7	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	9
California	619	711	789	843	885	969	1,035	1,110	1,138	1,162	1,186	1,268	1,351	1,520	1,616	1,659	1,741	1,884	1,951	1,991
Colorado	10	12		18	21	25	29	28	28	29	33	36	40	43	48	49	49	53	55	60
Connecticut	3	3	5	6	10	10	12	14	15	19	21	23	24	25	26	28	29	34	36	38
Delaware									1	2	2	1	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
District of Columbia																1	3	3	3	3
Florida				18	25	32	32	36	34	38	44	47	49	56	62	68	74	81	81	83
Georgia			5	5	5	4	5	7	10	12	14	16	21	20	25	27	33	41	42	48
Hawaii				1	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3
Idaho	8	8	8	10	11	14	17	20	18	17	17	18	21	24	23	23	23	27	25	30
Illinois	15	18	18	22	28	31	36	44	47	52	58	57	64	73	81	87	93	91	91	97
Indiana	12	14	16	19	20	21	23	25	28	32	35	38	41	41	46	51	57	63	63	63
Iowa			4	5	8	11	12	16	21	22	23	27	27	31	33	33	35	35	34	35
Kansas		5	3	3	4	5	4	5	6	8	7	5	7	9	10	12	14	16	17	14
Kentucky				1	3	5	7	12	12	13	15	28	31	32	34	32	32	32	32	34
Louisiana				1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	4	3	2	2	2
Maine				2	2	3	4	6	7	7	8	9	10	10	12	15	15	12	14	14
Maryland	6		4	7	8	12	10	9	10	13	14	19	20	28	25	30	34	40	45	52
Massachusetts		5		6	6	7	6	6	5	6	9	9	9	12	15	16	20	19	21	22
Michigan		17		24	29	34	37	43	48	50	54	60	69	79	86	94	105	109	112	122
Minnesota				9	10	14	15	17	19	21	21	19	22	25	24	29	31	32	32	32
Mississippi										1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2
Missouri	16	23	23	25	26	30	33	39	47	50	52	57	59	60	61	63	64	59	64	73
Montana				1	1	1	2	3	2	3	5	7	7	8	8	9	12	13	13	17
Nebraska				3	4	7	8	9	10	12	13	12	12	13	14	15	14	15	15	15
Nevada				1	0												0	2	2	3
New Hampshire				1	2	3	2	2	3	5	6	7	7	7	8	9	12	13	12	12
New Jersey	8			13	14	18	23	29	33	37	37	42	47	49	51	52	51	50	55	61
New Mexico	9	10	9	10	12	14	16	16	16	20	19	19	20	21	19	19	20	17	16	18
New York			74	85	93	103	121	123	128	135	143	145	155	171	185	197	228	235	247	248
North Carolina	8	9	14	16	16	23	28	34	37	41	46	51	51	59	68	77	77	80	82	92
North Dakota				2	3	3	3	3	4	4	5	4	4	4	5	6	6	5	4	5
Ohio	11	18	21	23	21	23	25	29	36	44	48	51	54	55	63	72	77	87	97	104
Oklahoma				5	6	9	10	14	17	16	15	14	15	14	18	17	17	17	18	20
Oregon	65	74	92	102	114	133	144	153	168	182	198	212	225	254	270	294	308	326	366	373
Pennsylvania				37	36	40	46	53	58	62	66	73	80	92	104	130	152	164	173	175
Rhode Island				1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	4	4	3	3	3	4	4
South Carolina				1	1	3	4	5	6	8	9	8	8	8	12	12	15	19	18	19
South Dakota				1	2	3	4	3	3	4	5	5	6	6	6	8	7	7	10	9
Tennessee	11	13	15	17	16	13	14	15	17	19	19	21	23	26	31	35	38	40	43	47
Texas			24	31	39	50	62	68	80	91	106	116	127	141	167	182	195	213	226	243
Utah									1	1	2	3	3	4	5	4	6	6	5	5
Vermont	6	5		5	5	6	6	6	7	11	11	11	12	13	15	16	17	17	17	17
Virginia				32	39	42	48	57	64	72	80	85	93	99	109	119	128	132	138	144
Washington	81	102	112	125	137	162	183	206	223	244	267	289	307	338	360	381	395	419	427	435
West Virginia	3			3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5	5	6	6	6
Wisconsin				16	18	18	18	19	21	23	27	32	38	39	46	50	54	61	65	66
Wyoming													0	2	3	4	5	4	4	4

California and Washington had the most wineries in 2020

In 2001, California had the most wineries (619), followed by Washington (81) and Oregon (65). California added more wineries (1,372) over the 2001–2020 period than any other state, continuing to be the state with the largest number of wineries, with 1,991 in 2020. Washington had the second largest number in 2020, at 435.

In 2001, 17 states recorded having wineries. By 2020, wineries were located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia had fewer than 10 wineries in 2020. All 50 states and the District of Columbia recorded an increase in the number of wineries over this 19-year period.

Total number of establishments in component industries of beverage manufacturing, 2001–20
Year	Distilleries	Wineries	Breweries	Soft drink and ice
2001	66	1,066	396	2,216
2002	72	1,251	365	2,107
2003	71	1,410	370	2,043
2004	70	1,565	384	1,972
2005	71	1,700	387	1,939
2006	80	1,923	398	1,952
2007	94	2,112	419	1,918
2008	117	2,311	454	1,886
2009	132	2,456	482	1,854
2010	145	2,616	527	1,845
2011	184	2,771	638	1,808
2012	243	2,978	843	1,802
2013	306	3,201	1,167	1,830
2014	424	3,560	1,616	1,864
2015	558	3,848	2,190	1,858
2016	675	4,083	2,843	1,969
2017	805	4,343	3,509	2,053
2018	964	4,643	4,156	2,065
2019	1,115	4,845	4,733	2,079
2020	1,247	5,024	5,090	2,117

Wineries had the second-largest establishment share in beverage manufacturing in 2020

In 2001, there were 3,744 establishments in the beverage manufacturing industry. Among the four component industries within beverage manufacturing, soft drink and ice manufacturing had the largest establishment share, at 59 percent, followed by wineries (28 percent), breweries (11 percent), and distilleries (2 percent).

In 2020, the beverage manufacturing industry had 13,478 establishments, with breweries (38 percent) and wineries (37 percent) having the largest share of establishments in the industry. Distilleries' shares also increased from 2001, growing to 9 percent in 2020.

Soft drink and ice manufacturing was the only component of beverage manufacturing to have a declining number of establishments since 2001, and its share within the industry fell to 16 percent in 2020.

Average weekly wages in beverage manufacturing and wineries, 2001–20
Year	Beverage manufacturing	Wineries
2001	$808	$692
2002	831	703
2003	857	759
2004	886	796
2005	904	800
2006	923	812
2007	951	806
2008	1,045	778
2009	952	770
2010	973	773
2011	988	792
2012	989	808
2013	967	789
2014	986	803
2015	1,025	833
2016	984	846
2017	974	861
2018	975	871
2019	979	889
2020	1,058	981

Average weekly wages in wineries were $981 in 2020

Average weekly wages for wineries were $981 in 2020, which was below the beverage manufacturing industry average of $1,058. Over the 2001–2020 period, wineries' average weekly wages ranged from $692 in 2001 to $981 in 2020, which were below the average for the beverage manufacturing industry in every year.

Average weekly wages, number of establishments, and employment in breweries, wineries, and distilleries, 2001–20
Year	Breweries			Wineries			Distilleries
Year	Number of establishments	Average weekly wages	Employment	Number of establishments	Average weekly wages	Employment	Number of establishments	Average weekly wages	Employment
2001	396	$1,110	27,805	1,066	$692	25,363	66	$1,088	6,915
2002	365	1,158	27,865	1,251	703	26,620	72	1,139	6,971
2003	370	1,210	26,526	1,410	759	29,905	71	1,239	7,223
2004	384	1,255	26,519	1,565	796	31,470	70	1,183	6,979
2005	387	1,298	26,340	1,700	800	33,565	71	1,273	6,954
2006	398	1,293	25,864	1,923	812	35,899	80	1,363	7,044
2007	419	1,389	26,274	2,112	806	37,921	94	1,422	7,296
2008	454	2,025	26,380	2,311	778	40,160	117	1,328	7,107
2009	482	1,401	25,058	2,456	770	40,100	132	1,311	7,189
2010	527	1,321	24,864	2,616	773	40,830	145	1,352	7,252
2011	638	1,266	26,707	2,771	792	42,231	184	1,417	7,625
2012	843	1,226	29,309	2,978	808	45,351	243	1,550	8,001
2013	1,167	1,140	34,519	3,201	789	48,386	306	1,430	8,872
2014	1,616	1,129	40,101	3,560	803	52,879	424	1,415	10,579
2015	2,190	1,163	48,401	3,848	833	57,003	558	1,462	11,075
2016	2,843	969	58,580	4,083	846	60,436	675	1,362	12,207
2017	3,509	906	68,148	4,343	861	64,212	805	1,300	13,759
2018	4,156	866	77,911	4,643	871	67,832	964	1,279	15,839
2019	4,733	857	86,668	4,845	889	70,596	1,115	1,230	17,699
2020	5,090	924	79,445	5,024	981	63,820	1,247	1,298	18,153

Employment and the number of establishments in the winery industry increased over this period

From 2001 to 2020, the winery industry gained 3,958 establishments, which was a 371 percent increase. This compared to a 4,694-establishment increase in the brewery industry (1,185 percent), and a 1,181-establishment increase in the distillery industry (1,789 percent). Total employment within the winery industry increased by 152 percent over the 2001–2020 period, which was slower than the growth rate in both the brewery industry and the distillery industry. Average weekly wages in the winery industry rose 42 percent—from $692 in 2001 to $981 in 2020. Conversely, average weekly wages within the brewery industry declined 17 percent, from $1,110 in 2001 to $924 in 2020; average weekly wages in the distillery industry increased 19 percent, from $1,088 in 2001 to $1,298 in 2020.

12-month percent change in Consumer Price Index for wine away from home and alcoholic beverages away from home, 2001–20
Year	Wine away from home	Alcoholic beverages away from home
2001	5.9%	3.9%
2002	7.1	3.4
2003	1.4	2.7
2004	3.0	3.5
2005	4.5	3.3
2006	3.9	4.1
2007	4.7	4.5
2008	4.4	4.3
2009	4.1	2.9
2010	1.5	2.2
2011	1.9	3.1
2012	2.9	3.2
2013	2.3	2.4
2014	1.7	1.9
2015	1.9	2.1
2016	1.4	1.8
2017	1.5	2.0
2018	2.5	2.2
2019	2.0	1.2
2020	2.3	2.2

Consumer prices for wine away from home rose each year from 2001 to 2020

Prices for both wine away from home and alcoholic beverages away from home increased each year over the 2001–20 period. Within that time frame, wine away from home prices had its largest over-the-year increase in 2002, at 7.1 percent. Its smallest over-the-year increase was 1.4 percent in 2003 and 2016.

12-month percent change in Consumer Price Index for wine at home and alcoholic beverages at home, 2001–20
Year	Wine at home	Alcoholic beverages at home
2001	-0.1%	1.9%
2002	0.5	1.8
2003	0.5	1.5
2004	0.5	2.2
2005	1.6	1.2
2006	2.3	1.5
2007	1.9	2.4
2008	3.6	3.2
2009	2.0	2.9
2010	-1.4	0.4
2011	-0.8	0.4
2012	-0.1	0.8
2013	0.6	1.2
2014	-0.2	0.7
2015	-0.3	0.2
2016	-0.1	0.9
2017	-0.3	0.7
2018	1.2	1.1
2019	1.1	1.5
2020	0.2	1.7

Consumer prices for wine at home increased each of the last 3 years

From 2001 to 2020, over-the-year price changes for wine at home ranged from an increase of 3.6 percent in 2008 to a decrease of 1.4 percent in 2010. Within the same time frame, prices for alcoholic beverages at home rose each year, peaking at a 3.2-percent increase in 2008.

For more information

This Spotlight on Statistics was written by economist Erin Delaney in the Mid-Atlantic Economic Analysis and Information branch of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For questions about this Spotlight, please email blsinfophiladelphia@bls.gov.

The data presented in this Spotlight on Statistics are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) and the Consumer Price Index program (CPI). QCEW data are published quarterly and measure employment and wages reported by employers covering more than 95 percent of all U.S. jobs. QCEW data are available for counties, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, states, and the nation by industry. The CPI measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services.