Most registered goat breeds
The nine goat breeds the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) recognizes, ranked by how many animals were registered with ADGA in 2024. A registration counts an animal a breeder chose to register that year, not a census of every goat of that breed alive in the US, but it is the clearest public measure of how common each breed is among people who dairy-goat seriously enough to register their stock.
| Rank | Breed | Registrations (2024) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigerian Dwarf | 28,097 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 2 | Nubian (Anglo-Nubian) | 12,112 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 3 | Alpine | 4,568 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 4 | LaMancha | 4,431 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 5 | Saanen | 2,046 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 6 | Toggenburg | 1,576 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 7 | Oberhasli | 1,526 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 8 | Sable | 510 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
| 9 | Golden Guernsey | 289 annual registrations | ADGA 2024 Annual Report (breed registry / association) |
ADGA is one of four US goat registries and covers dairy breeds only. This ranking says nothing about meat, fiber or companion breeds, or about goats kept unregistered. See how we source and handle disagreement.