How much ice cream do Americans eat weekly?

(Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 via Unsplash)

Over the span of a summer, Americans eat enough ice cream to fill 113 football stadiums, according to a recent survey.

In honor of National Ice Cream Month in July, a survey of 2,000 nationally representative Americans investigated all things ice cream and found that people really are crazy about this sweet treat.

Six in 10 (60%) survey respondents went so far as to label themselves “ice cream fanatics,” and another 60% said it’s their all-time favorite dessert.

In fact, the study found that nearly all survey respondents (95%) eat at least one scoop of ice cream during a typical week.

And on average, people polled enjoy 11 scoops of this frozen treat every week. Across the American population, that’s a lot of ice cream consumed during a summer — 113 football stadiums full, in fact.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Tillamook (TCCA), the study also explored ice cream preferences as well as ice cream knowledge — since not all frozen treats in the grocery store ice cream section are actually ice cream.

When it comes to flavors, Gen Z (44%), millennials (35%) and Gen X (32%) all agreed that cookies and cream is best, while baby boomers stand apart and prefer chocolate (41%) the most.

Toppings-wise, hot fudge was favored by millennials (25%), Gen X (40%) and baby boomers (55%), while Gen Z said they like crushed Oreos (29%) on top of their ice cream best.

The study also settled the cone vs. cup debate and revealed that Americans much prefer to eat their ice cream in a bowl or cup (61%), rather than in a cone (33%).

Along with that, the survey also explored the ins and outs and nuances of ice cream, since it turns out, not all ice cream is created the same. When something doesn’t meet the legal standards for ice cream, it’s considered a frozen dairy dessert.

(Photo by Courtney Cook via Unsplash)

"It's no surprise that 87% of Americans call ice cream one of their favorite desserts — I've been one of them since my first birthday cake,” said Hunter Clayton, senior research and development associate scientist at Tillamook. “For National Ice Cream Month, we wanted to bring attention to something most people don't realize: there's a legal difference between ice cream and frozen dairy desserts. And the results make it pretty clear that distinction hasn't been on most people's radar, until now."

Before seeing the definition in the survey, the majority of people (60%) didn’t know that ice cream actually has a legal definition. Although younger people seem to be more informed about ice cream nuances, as more Gen Z (50%) and millennials (44%) knew that ice cream was legally defined compared to Gen X (30%) and baby boomers (22%).

After learning the difference between ice cream and frozen dairy desserts, most people (70%) said that going forward, they’re very or somewhat likely to check the label now before looking to purchase a frozen treat.

This corresponds with nearly a fifth of respondents (19%) admitting they feel they’ve been making uninformed purchases when buying ice cream, after learning that there’s such a thing as frozen dairy desserts, and 29% being surprised that there’s even a difference between the two things.

Looking at other factors that go into the ice cream buying decision, ice cream creaminess also came out as a highly important consideration.

Nearly all survey respondents (79%) said creaminess is important to them when eating ice cream. And when looking to purchase a pint of ice cream, flavor (64%), price (51%) and ingredient quality (30%) also ranked among the top considerations.

In fact, 59% of people said they’re more ingredient-conscious than ever when purchasing ice cream. And most respondents (78%) emphasized that they want their desserts to have the highest quality ingredients possible, with 80% prioritizing recognizable ingredients and 74% preferring pronounceable ones.

"I've been reading ingredient labels since I was old enough to reach the grocery store shelf — my mom can confirm,” said Clayton. “So when we started asking questions about how much Americans really understand about what's in their ice cream, the results genuinely caught my attention. Most people had no idea ice cream even has a legal definition, which means a lot of people have been reaching for what they think is ice cream and getting something different entirely. That felt like something worth shining a light on in our continued quest to overdeliver for our customers.”

Summer ice cream consumption by the numbers:

• 95% of people consume ice cream each week, and on average, they have 11 four-ounce scoops of ice cream each week
• Ounces of ice cream consumed per summer, per person: 572 ounces
• Pounds of ice cream consumed per summer, per person: 35.75 pounds
• Total national pounds of ice cream consumed over the span of a summer (based on the 95% who eat ice cream each week): 11.4 billion
• Total national gallons of ice cream consumed over the span of a summer (based on the 95% who eat ice cream each week): 2.53 billion
• 53 billion gallons of ice cream fills roughly 113 football stadiums

Research methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 nationally representative Americans who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by Tillamook and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between June 4 and June 8, 2026. A link to the questionnaire can be found here.

To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.