Water Fact Sheet: Tomatoes (Misc.) | California Crop Water Facts

2.98

gallons of irrigation water applied per serving

One serving = 5.3 oz

California harvest, 2022: 13,491 acres across 4 counties.

Growing a pound of this crop takes about 13 gallons of water in California, compared with a world average of about 21 gallons: California uses 62 percent of the water the world average takes to grow the same pound.Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2011), green and blue water, California value regionalized

The same volume as

About this figure The gallons shown are irrigation water applied to grow tomatoes (misc.) in California, divided by the servings the 2022 harvest produced. Applied water per acre comes from the DWR California Water Plan estimate for the crop category (tomatoes); harvested acres and production come from the 2022 county agricultural commissioners' reports; the serving size comes from USDA. The result is a production-weighted statewide average of applied water only; rainfall is excluded.

Sources

Applied water: California Department of Water Resources, California Water Plan crop-category applied water.

Acreage and production: county agricultural commissioners' reports, 2022 crop year, compiled by CDFA and USDA NASS.

Serving size: USDA.

World comparison: Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2011), The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 15; green and blue water, California value regionalized; item 'Tomatoes, fresh or chilled'.

Figures as of September 25, 2026.

How to cite

California Crop Water Fact Sheet: Tomatoes (Misc.). conciseVerbosity, September 25, 2026. https://api.conciseverbosity.com/water-facts/tomatoes-misc.html