When you ask which county offers your state's best duck hunting, you will generally hear a specific name. A handful of states have most of their estimated harvest in that county. In many others its portion is small. We identified the leading county and its portion of estimated statewide duck harvest for each of 48 states using county harvest figures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Harvest Information Program. Those figures combine survey results into an average covering roughly ten years.
IDifferent patterns
Ducks can lead you toward a county or a broader region
For the median leading county the share of estimated statewide duck harvest is 14.6 percent. State leaders vary widely on either side of that midpoint. Washington County in Rhode Island accounts for a 62.1 percent share. Delaware has a 47.7 percent share in Kent County. In Minnesota the Otter Tail County figure is 5.8 percent. Oklahoma has a 5.7 percent share in Wagoner County. Eight states place more than a quarter of their statewide total in the leading county. Eleven give that county less than a tenth.
That difference affects trip planning. In the concentrated group you can mark a county on your map. Where harvest is more dispersed the leading county is one among many sharing the harvest. That county deserves less weight when considered alone.
IIHarvest clustered together
Five states give one county more than 35 percent
At 62.1 percent the Washington County share in Rhode Island is the nation's highest. Its harvest estimate is 5.2 times the figure for runner-up Providence. Washington County has a small estimate of about 4,000 ducks per year. In Delaware a 47.7 percent share belongs to Kent County. Its estimate reaches 1.7 times the Sussex County figure.
Two western states show nearly as much concentration. Churchill County accounts for a 41.6 percent share of Nevada's estimated harvest. Its figure is 3.51 times the Douglas estimate. Socorro County represents 37.7 percent of New Mexico's estimated total. That estimate reaches 2.38 times the Valencia figure. To complete the five, New Hampshire has Rockingham County at 35.5 percent. Its estimate is 2.11 times the Merrimack figure.
Vermont joins Connecticut and Utah above the quarter mark. The shares are 27.4 percent for Addison County in Vermont, 27.1 percent for Fairfield County in Connecticut and 25.9 percent for Box Elder County in Utah. Even a moderate statewide share can accompany a big advantage over the next county. At 21.9 percent North Carolina's Hyde County has an estimate 3.24 times the Pamlico figure. Jackson County in Alabama accounts for a 21.2 percent share. Its estimate reaches 3.0 times the Morgan figure.
IIIHarvest shared widely
Leading counties account for little of the statewide total
Minnesota offers the clearest example. With about 33,700 ducks estimated, Otter Tail County ranks first in the state. That is far above Rhode Island's leading county. It still amounts to just 5.8 percent of Minnesota's total estimate spanning 87 counties. Otter Tail's figure is 1.2 times the Itasca estimate. Wagoner County represents 5.7 percent of Oklahoma's estimated harvest across 77 counties. The shares elsewhere are 6.4 percent for Nebraska's Clay County, 6.7 percent for Illinois's Mason County and 7.9 percent for Iowa's Allamakee County.
Texas also fits this group. An estimate of about 97,700 ducks puts Jefferson County first. That amounts to 8.9 percent of Texas's estimate across 254 counties. The national runner-up by estimated duck harvest is Cameron Parish in Louisiana at about 244,300. Even so it represents just 12.9 percent of Louisiana's estimated harvest.
Even the country's leading county does not dominate its state's total. California's Merced County ranks first nationwide with about 335,400 ducks. Its portion of California's estimate is 24.6 percent. The Merced figure is 2.17 times the Colusa estimate.
IVThin margins
A narrow gap separates some leaders from second place
Some top counties have only a slight advantage over the county behind them. Jefferson County in Texas has an estimate 1.03 times Colorado County's figure. In Washington the Grant County figure is 1.03 times Skagit's. The Allamakee estimate in Iowa is 1.03 times Fremont's. Illinois has Mason County at 1.03 times Woodford. Rounding puts Nebraska's Clay County at 1.0 times Lincoln County's estimate. Survey noise affects these estimates. Do not read those rankings as evidence that these leading counties are clearly ahead of their runners-up. Cameron Parish in Louisiana has an estimate 1.11 times Vermilion's. That gap is also small.
Swipe table to see every column
| State | Top county or parish | Est. ducks (nearest 100) | Share of state | Counties in state | Second county | Top to second |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Merced | 335,400 | 24.6% | 58 | Colusa | 2.17 |
| Louisiana | Cameron | 244,300 | 12.9% | 64 | Vermilion | 1.11 |
| Arkansas | Arkansas | 164,400 | 14.0% | 75 | Monroe | 1.79 |
| Texas | Jefferson | 97,700 | 8.9% | 254 | Colorado | 1.03 |
| North Carolina | Hyde | 69,400 | 21.9% | 100 | Pamlico | 3.24 |
| Oregon | Columbia | 68,000 | 17.2% | 36 | Clatsop | 1.72 |
| Utah | Box Elder | 57,100 | 25.9% | 29 | Davis | 1.18 |
| Missouri | St. Charles | 49,300 | 10.7% | 115 | Stoddard | 1.14 |
| Mississippi | Tallahatchie | 47,500 | 16.3% | 82 | Quitman | 1.6 |
| Washington | Grant | 45,300 | 11.4% | 39 | Skagit | 1.03 |
| North Dakota | Stutsman | 41,600 | 9.5% | 53 | Ramsey | 1.39 |
| Florida | Palm Beach | 40,700 | 20.8% | 67 | Brevard | 1.58 |
| Wisconsin | Buffalo | 39,600 | 9.8% | 72 | Green Lake | 1.75 |
| Idaho | Canyon | 39,500 | 16.6% | 44 | Owyhee | 1.21 |
| Alabama | Jackson | 36,700 | 21.2% | 67 | Morgan | 3 |
| Tennessee | Dyer | 34,400 | 14.9% | 95 | Stewart | 1.51 |
| Minnesota | Otter Tail | 33,700 | 5.8% | 87 | Itasca | 1.2 |
| Michigan | St. Clair | 28,200 | 9.0% | 83 | Tuscola | 1.17 |
| Kentucky | Ballard | 27,700 | 21.1% | 120 | Henderson | 2.09 |
| South Dakota | Day | 26,400 | 14.3% | 67 | Brown | 1.6 |
| Illinois | Mason | 25,300 | 6.7% | 102 | Woodford | 1.03 |
| Kansas | Barton | 24,500 | 11.9% | 105 | Reno | 2.06 |
| South Carolina | Georgetown | 23,300 | 11.8% | 46 | Clarendon | 1.17 |
| New York | Suffolk | 23,200 | 12.3% | 62 | Jefferson | 1.37 |
| Maryland | Dorchester | 23,000 | 18.3% | 24 | Talbot | 1.74 |
| Virginia | Accomack | 22,600 | 15.9% | 134 | Mecklenburg | 2.91 |
| Colorado | Weld | 21,000 | 20.4% | 64 | Morgan | 1.76 |
| Delaware | Kent | 20,100 | 47.7% | 3 | Sussex | 1.7 |
| Montana | Beaverhead | 16,700 | 12.8% | 56 | Lewis and Clark | 1.49 |
| Nevada | Churchill | 16,300 | 41.6% | 17 | Douglas | 3.51 |
| Oklahoma | Wagoner | 15,900 | 5.7% | 77 | Muskogee | 1.59 |
| Ohio | Ottawa | 14,200 | 11.8% | 88 | Lucas | 1.48 |
| Georgia | McIntosh | 14,100 | 9.0% | 159 | White | 2.52 |
| Iowa | Allamakee | 14,100 | 7.9% | 99 | Fremont | 1.03 |
| New Mexico | Socorro | 12,600 | 37.7% | 33 | Valencia | 2.38 |
| New Jersey | Ocean | 12,300 | 20.7% | 21 | Atlantic | 1.19 |
| Pennsylvania | Lancaster | 12,000 | 12.6% | 67 | Crawford | 1.12 |
| Nebraska | Clay | 10,700 | 6.4% | 93 | Lincoln | 1 |
| Indiana | LaPorte | 8,100 | 8.2% | 92 | Greene | 1.23 |
| Wyoming | Fremont | 7,600 | 19.8% | 23 | Big Horn | 1.68 |
| Vermont | Addison | 6,300 | 27.4% | 14 | Franklin | 1.36 |
| Massachusetts | Plymouth | 5,600 | 21.8% | 14 | Barnstable | 1.06 |
| New Hampshire | Rockingham | 5,600 | 35.5% | 10 | Merrimack | 2.11 |
| Arizona | Maricopa | 5,000 | 14.3% | 15 | Coconino | 1.23 |
| Connecticut | Fairfield | 4,400 | 27.1% | 8 | New London | 1.47 |
| Rhode Island | Washington | 4,000 | 62.1% | 5 | Providence | 5.2 |
| Maine | Cumberland | 3,700 | 10.8% | 16 | Aroostook | 1.16 |
| West Virginia | Jefferson | 900 | 15.1% | 55 | Wood | 1.44 |
VLimits of these figures
A reported kill does not establish public access
Harvest figures describe locations where hunters said they shot ducks. They do not tell you where ducks live or how many hunters went. Nor do they show whether any land is open for public use. The estimates cannot reveal how much county harvest comes from private land. These averages combine multiple years. They do not represent a particular season. They also cannot explain why some states have concentrated harvest while others have it spread out. Duck totals were rounded to the closest 100. The file does not rank a county for Alaska, Hawaii or the District of Columbia. For a look at the country's ten leading counties for ducks and geese, read our duck and goose map comparison.
VIHow we would use it
Pick a county or map a corridor
Our rule puts the share ahead of the county's name. A county above 35 percent of estimated statewide harvest is the place to begin scouting. That applies in Rhode Island, Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico and New Hampshire. When the leading county falls below a tenth of estimated statewide harvest, look beyond it. Compare its figure with the runner-up and with other high-ranking counties in the table. Minnesota, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa and Texas fall into that group. Before committing, confirm public access and the regulations currently in effect. Estimated harvest tells you where hunters shot ducks. It does not tell you which places allow you to hunt.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Harvest Information Program, harvestVis county and state files.
- Scope: 48 states with a ranked top duck county.
- Cleaning and exclusions: No ranked county in the file for: Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii
- Method: County duck harvest is a USFWS survey estimate averaged over about 10 years. Share = top county estimate / sum of the state's county estimates (DERIVED). Duck figures rounded to the nearest 100 because county estimates are noisy.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's analysis of public data. Harvest figures describe animals reported or estimated as harvested, not population size, and reflect hunter effort and regulations as well as animal numbers.
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