Small breweries remain a large and varied part of the U.S. beer landscape. In 2024, the country had 9,922 breweries in total and 9,796 operating craft breweries, while small craft brewers produced 23.1 million barrels and generated an estimated $28.8 billion in retail dollar sales. The Brewers Association’s annual craft brewing reports and national beer statistics also show a market with continued breadth, but with more closures than openings in 2024.
Contents
- Small brewery industry snapshot
- Craft brewing trends from 2021 to 2024
- How U.S. craft breweries are categorized
- Openings, closures, and independence
- Small brewery counts by state
- What the state totals show
Small brewery industry snapshot
The Brewers Association reported 9,796 operating craft breweries in 2024. That was part of a total U.S. brewery count of 9,922, up from 9,838 in 2023. The 2024 total included every brewery category counted in the national statistics, while the operating craft brewery figure identifies the craft segment.
Small craft brewers produced 23.1 million barrels in 2024, down 3.9% from 23.4 million barrels in 2023. Craft beer represented 13.3% of U.S. beer volume in 2024. The overall U.S. beer market fell 1.2% by volume that year, according to the Brewers Association’s 2024 annual craft brewing report.
The value picture was different from the volume picture. Craft beer retail dollar sales were estimated at $28.8 billion in 2024, up 3.0% from $28.5 billion in 2023. Craft beer accounted for 24.7% of total U.S. beer market retail dollar sales in 2024. These figures describe retail dollars, not brewery production volume, so they should be read as separate measures of market performance.
Craft brewing employment reached 197,112 in 2024, up 3.0% year over year from 191,742 in 2023. The employment measure and the retail-sales measure both increased even as small craft brewer production declined, showing why a single statistic does not describe the entire industry.
The Brewers Association defines a small craft brewer as a brewer producing 6 million barrels of beer or less. It says that segment represents about 3% of annual U.S. beer sales. The definition is a production threshold; it is not the same as counting every brewery with a taproom, brewpub, or microbrewery label.
Craft brewing trends from 2021 to 2024
The four-year figures show gradual movement in several directions. Production declined from 24.8 million barrels in 2021 to 24.3 million in 2022, 23.4 million in 2023, and 23.1 million in 2024. Craft beer’s volume share was 13.1% in 2021, 13.2% in 2022, and 13.3% in both 2023 and 2024.
The following figures come from the Brewers Association annual craft brewing reports for the named year.
| Measure | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small and independent brewer production | 24.8 million barrels | 24.3 million barrels | 23.4 million barrels | 23.1 million barrels |
| Craft beer volume share | 13.1% | 13.2% | 13.3% | 13.3% |
| Craft brewing employment | Not reported in supplied 2021 figures | 189,413 | 191,742 | 197,112 |
| Estimated craft beer retail dollar sales | Not reported in supplied 2021 figures | $28.4 billion | $28.5 billion | $28.8 billion |
| Operating craft breweries | 9,118 | 9,552 | 9,761 | 9,796 |
| Total U.S. breweries | 9,247 | 9,709 | 9,906 | 9,922 |
The supplied 2021 report figures include craft volume share, brewery counts, and subtype counts, but not employment or retail dollar sales. Those cells are therefore left unfilled rather than inferred.
The count of operating craft breweries rose each year in this period: 9,118 in 2021, 9,552 in 2022, 9,761 in 2023, and 9,796 in 2024. Total U.S. breweries followed the same direction, rising from 9,247 in 2021 to 9,709 in 2022, 9,906 in 2023, and 9,922 in 2024. A rising count can coexist with weaker production because the number of breweries and the barrels produced measure different things.
How U.S. craft breweries are categorized
The Brewers Association’s 2024 subtype count included 2,029 microbreweries, 3,552 brewpubs, 3,936 taproom breweries, and 279 regional craft breweries. These categories describe the composition of the 9,796 operating craft breweries reported for the year.
The 2023 subtype counts were 2,092 microbreweries, 3,502 brewpubs, 3,910 taproom breweries, and 257 regional craft breweries. In 2022, the corresponding counts were 2,035, 3,418, 3,838, and 261. The 2021 counts were 1,886 microbreweries, 3,307 brewpubs, 3,702 taproom breweries, and 223 regional craft breweries.
Across the supplied years, taproom breweries were the largest listed subtype, reaching 3,936 in 2024. Brewpubs were next at 3,552. Microbreweries totaled 2,029, and regional craft breweries totaled 279. The subtype figures are counts of breweries, not a ranking by barrels, revenue, or employment.
The Brewers Association’s national beer statistics table reports 4,803 craft breweries in 2015 and 9,796 in 2024. It also reports regional craft breweries rising from 178 in 2015 to 279 in 2024, brewpubs rising from 1,941 to 3,552, and total U.S. breweries rising from 4,847 to 9,922 over the same years.
The national table also reports microbreweries at 2,684 in 2015 and 2,029 in 2024. Its supplied summary notes a 2024-to-2025 microbrewery change of -4.4%. Because the 2025 subtype count itself was not supplied here, that percentage should not be turned into an unstated count.
Openings, closures, and independence
The 2024 operating environment included 430 brewery openings and 529 brewery closures. The Brewers Association reported an approximately 5% brewery closure rate for 2024. In 2023, there were 495 openings and 418 closures, with an approximately 4% closure rate. In 2022, there were 549 openings and 319 closures, with an approximately 3% closure rate.
These measures describe different parts of the business cycle. Openings and closures are event counts, while a closure rate is a percentage estimate for the year. The total brewery count still reached 9,922 in 2024, despite closures exceeding openings in that year’s supplied figures.
The Brewers Association says an independent brewer must have less than 25% ownership or control by a non-craft beverage alcohol industry member. Independence is therefore defined by ownership or control, while the small craft brewer definition is based on annual production of 6 million barrels or less. A brewery can be discussed using both concepts, but they are not interchangeable.
In 2024, 41 of the top 50 overall U.S. brewing companies were small and independent craft brewers. Eight new breweries moved into the top 50 craft list compared with the prior year. These rankings provide a view of company scale and movement within the craft segment; they do not represent the number of all small breweries.
Small brewery counts by state
The TTB brewery count by state for 2024 reported the following active brewery counts. The geography is the United States by state and the District of Columbia, and the measurement year is 2024.
| State or district | Active breweries | State or district | Active breweries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 99 | Alaska | 80 |
| Arizona | 197 | Arkansas | 94 |
| California | 1,624 | Colorado | 641 |
| Connecticut | 179 | District of Columbia | 22 |
| Delaware | 60 | Florida | 618 |
| Georgia | 265 | Hawaii | 53 |
| Idaho | 138 | Illinois | 463 |
| Indiana | 311 | Iowa | 181 |
| Kansas | 112 | Kentucky | 152 |
| Louisiana | 80 | Maine | 241 |
| Maryland | 218 | Massachusetts | 367 |
| Michigan | 719 | Minnesota | 331 |
| Mississippi | 38 | Missouri | 275 |
| Montana | 142 | Nebraska | 87 |
| Nevada | 81 | New Hampshire | 161 |
| New Jersey | 232 | New Mexico | 169 |
| New York | 822 | North Carolina | 613 |
| North Dakota | 33 | Ohio | 625 |
| Oklahoma | 114 | Oregon | 459 |
| Pennsylvania | 854 | Rhode Island | 54 |
| South Carolina | 178 | South Dakota | 70 |
| Tennessee | 243 | Texas | 688 |
| Utah | 66 | Vermont | 118 |
| Virginia | 552 | Washington | 719 |
| West Virginia | 45 | Wisconsin | 419 |
| Wyoming | 64 |
California had 1,624 active breweries, the highest state count in the TTB 2024 table. Pennsylvania had 854, New York had 822, Michigan and Washington each had 719, Texas had 688, Colorado had 641, Ohio had 625, Florida had 618, and North Carolina had 613. These are active brewery counts from the TTB table, not the Brewers Association’s operating craft brewery total.
At the lower end of the supplied state table, the District of Columbia had 22 active breweries, North Dakota had 33, Mississippi had 38, West Virginia had 45, Hawaii had 53, Rhode Island had 54, Delaware had 60, Wyoming had 64, Utah had 66, and South Dakota had 70. Smaller counts can reflect a smaller geographic or population market, but the table itself reports counts rather than causes.
Other notable 2024 totals included Wisconsin with 419 active breweries, Massachusetts with 367, Minnesota with 331, Indiana with 311, Georgia with 265, Tennessee with 243, and Maine with 241. The TTB state table is useful for location-level comparisons because it keeps the geography explicit and reports each jurisdiction separately.
What the state totals show
The 2024 state figures illustrate how unevenly breweries are distributed across the country. The largest reported state count, California’s 1,624, was more than the counts listed for many states combined individually. At the same time, the national craft totals show that a large number of breweries does not automatically mean rising production: operating craft breweries increased through 2024 while small craft brewer volume fell to 23.1 million barrels.
The national figures also separate the scale of the market from its economic footprint. Craft beer held 13.3% of U.S. volume in 2024 but 24.7% of retail dollar sales, and craft brewing employment reached 197,112. Those percentages use different denominators, so they should not be compared as if they were two versions of the same market-share measure.
The Brewers Association’s supplied 2025 national beer statistics summary reports further changes after the 2024 annual report: overall U.S. beer production and imports were down 5.7% in 2025, craft brewer volume sales declined 4%, craft beer retail dollar sales fell to $27.8 billion, and craft’s retail dollar share was 24.6% of the $113 billion U.S. beer market. It also reports craft brewer share by volume at 13.3% in 2025. These are 2025 summary figures and should be kept separate from the detailed 2024 state counts and subtype counts above.
For home brewers and beer readers, the practical takeaway from these statistics is breadth with pressure: thousands of operating craft breweries span distinct business types and every U.S. region, while production, openings, closures, and retail value move at different rates. The source labels and measurement periods matter whenever those figures are compared.