Thanksgiving Facts from the US Census

Hewes Library is a Federal Depository Library of the US Government.  Every year, the US Census publishes Facts for Features articles which provide statistical snapshots for major US holidays.  A few of their Thanksgiving statistics are below and you can view the full article online.  Here's to getting in the Thanksgiving spirit!

A few of this year's Thanksgiving statistics:

254 million
The number of turkeys raised in the United States in 2012. That is up 2 percent from the number raised during 2011.
 Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service,
 <http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/TurkRaisSu/TurkRaisSu-09-28-2012.pdf>

$23.1 million
The value of U.S. imports of live turkeys for 2012, with 99.8 percent of them coming from Canada. When it comes to sweet potatoes, the Dominican Republic was the source of 51.1 percent ($4.6 million) of total imports ($9.1 million). The United States ran a $17.6 million trade deficit in live turkeys during the period but had a surplus of $71.2 million in sweet potatoes.
 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics
 <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/>

768 million pounds
The forecast for U.S. cranberry production in 2012. Wisconsin was estimated to lead all states in the production of cranberries, with 450 million pounds, followed by Massachusetts (estimated at 210 million).
New Jersey, Oregon and Washington were also estimated to have substantial production, ranging from 14 to 54 million pounds.
 Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service,
 <http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/Cran/Cran-08-14-2012.pdf>

2.6 billion pounds
The total weight of sweet potatoes — another popular Thanksgiving side dish — produced by major sweet potato producing states in 2012. North Carolina (1.2 billion pounds) produced more sweet potatoes than any other state, followed by California, Mississippi and Louisiana.
 Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service,
 <http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProdSu/CropProdSu-01-11-2013.pdf>

4
Number of places in the United States named after the holiday's traditional main course. Turkey Creek, La., was the most populous in 2012, with 440 residents, followed by Turkey, Texas (415), Turkey, N.C. (295) and Turkey Creek, Ariz. (294). There are also two townships in Pennsylvania with "Turkey" in the name: Upper Turkeyfoot and Lower Turkeyfoot. (Please note that the Turkey Creek, Ariz., population total pertains to the 2010 Census).
 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Population Estimates and American FactFinder, Table DP-1, 2010 Census Summary File 1
 <http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012-3.html>
 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US0477415>

7
Number of places and townships in the United States that are named Cranberry or some spelling variation of the acidic red berry (e.g., Cranbury, N.J.), a popular side dish at Thanksgiving. Cranberry Township (Butler County), Pa., was the most populous of these places in 2012, with 28,832 residents. Cranberry township (Venango County), Pa., was next (6,608). (Please note that population totals for the two places on the list that are census designated places — Cranbury, N.J., with a population of 2,181, and Cranberry Lake, N.Y., with a population of 200 — pertain to 2010.).
 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Population Estimates and 2010 Census Summary File 1
 <http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/index.html>
 <http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?fpt=table>