Yellow Corn Nutritional Value per 100g: The Full USDA Numbers for Raw, Boiled and Dry Corn

Short answer: 100 grams of boiled yellow sweet corn contains 96 calories, 20.98 g of carbohydrate, 3.41 g of protein, 1.5 g of fat and 2.4 g of fiber. The same 100 grams raw contains 86 calories and 18.7 g of carbohydrate, while 100 grams of dry yellow corn grain — the form behind cornmeal and popcorn kernels — contains 365 calories and 74.26 g of carbohydrate. Almost every confusing number you will see for “yellow corn per 100g” comes from mixing up these three different foods, so this page keeps them separate, in full tables, from a single source.

All values below are transcribed from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy entries: corn, sweet, yellow, raw (FDC ID 169998); corn, sweet, yellow, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (FDC ID 169999); and corn grain, yellow (FDC ID 170288). Percent daily values (%DV) use the standard FDA daily values for a 2,000-calorie diet. For the general benefits, varieties and downsides of corn as a food, see our separate guide to corn nutrition and health benefits — this page is only about the numbers.

Boiled yellow corn per 100g: the complete table

Boiled is the form most people actually eat, so it is the reference table for this page. These are the values for kernels boiled and drained, with no salt added during cooking.

Read the table the way a dietitian would: boiled yellow corn is a low-fat, cholesterol-free, naturally very low-sodium food whose energy comes mostly from carbohydrate. No single vitamin or mineral reaches 20% of the daily value in 100 g, so corn is best described as a broad, modest contributor — a little of many things — rather than a concentrated source of any one nutrient. Its two standout figures are pantothenic acid at 16% DV and the 906 mcg of lutein plus zeaxanthin, the yellow pigments linked to eye health, which have no daily value but are unusually high for a common vegetable.

Raw yellow corn per 100g

Raw sweet corn kernels are slightly more dilute than boiled ones because they hold more water (76.05 g per 100 g, against 73.41 g after boiling). The full raw profile, from FDC ID 169998, is:

Notice that raw corn actually beats boiled corn on a few heat- and water-sensitive nutrients — folate (42 mcg raw vs 23 mcg boiled), thiamin (0.155 mg vs 0.093 mg) and vitamin C (6.8 mg vs 5.5 mg). Raw kernels are safe to eat fresh off a just-picked cob, but most people cook corn, which is why the boiled table above is the practical reference.

Dry yellow corn grain per 100g: why some sites say 365 calories

If a website tells you yellow corn has 365 calories per 100 g, it is not necessarily wrong — it is quoting a different food. “Corn grain, yellow” (FDC ID 170288) is the dried, mature kernel sold for milling into cornmeal and flour, with only 10.37 g of water per 100 g. Removing the water concentrates everything roughly fourfold:

The same USDA dataset is reproduced in full on the NutritionValue page for corn grain, yellow. The practical rule: use the 365-calorie table only for dry products weighed before cooking, such as cornmeal in a recipe. Never apply it to corn on the cob — and note that foods made from the grain, like the products compared in our cornstarch vs corn flour guide, lose the fiber and most micronutrients during processing.

How cooking changes the numbers

Comparing the raw and boiled USDA entries side by side shows exactly what a pot of water does to 100 g of yellow corn:

Two takeaways. First, boiling does not “add” calories — the per-100g values rise because the cooked kernels weigh less water. Second, steaming or microwaving with minimal water should retain more of the folate, thiamin and potassium that boiling water carries away, while the eye-health carotenoids are robust either way. If you boil corn in salted water or buy it canned in brine, check the sodium on the label instead of using the 1 mg figure above.

Yellow corn vs white corn per 100g

Yellow and white sweet corn are nutritionally close — the meaningful difference is pigment, not macros. USDA raw values (white corn: FDC ID 168538) make the point:

White corn is marginally higher in fiber and lower in sugar in the USDA sample, but yellow corn delivers about 19 times the lutein plus zeaxanthin and all of the vitamin A activity — that is the entire nutritional case for choosing yellow. After boiling, the two converge further: boiled white corn (FDC ID 168539) has 97 calories, 21.71 g carbohydrate and 2.7 g fiber per 100 g, almost identical to boiled yellow corn except for the same carotenoid gap (43 mcg vs 906 mcg).

Yellow corn vs other foods per 100g

Per-100g comparisons only make sense between foods in similar states, so this table uses cooked forms throughout (USDA SR Legacy data):

Corn sits in the middle of the starchy staples: fewer calories and less carbohydrate than the same weight of cooked white rice, with six times its fiber; close to potato on energy and carbohydrate; and behind peas on both fiber and protein. Its protein is also incomplete — low in lysine relative to its 3.41 g total — which is why our dedicated breakdown of corn protein per 100g recommends pairing corn with beans or dairy rather than counting it as a protein source on its own. For a very different corn format, compare the popped values in our popcorn nutrition guide.

How to use these numbers: portions, carbs and blood sugar

Portion math

Because the boiled table is per 100 g, scaling it is simple multiplication. USDA portion weights give the anchors: one cup of cut kernels is 149 g, a medium ear yields about 103 g of kernels, and a small ear about 89 g.

• Half a cup of kernels (about 75 g): roughly 72 calories, 15.7 g carbohydrate, 1.8 g fiber, 2.6 g protein.
• One medium ear (about 103 g kernels): roughly 99 calories, 21.6 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g fiber, 3.5 g protein.
• One cup of kernels (149 g): roughly 143 calories, 31.3 g carbohydrate, 3.6 g fiber, 5.1 g protein.

Diabetes and glycemic context

For carb counting, the working figures are 20.98 g of total carbohydrate and 2.4 g of fiber per 100 g boiled — about 18.6 g of net carbohydrate. A medium ear therefore contributes roughly 22 g of carbohydrate, comparable to a small apple or a slice and a half of bread, which is a plannable amount rather than a forbidden one for most people with diabetes. On glycemic impact, published listings put sweet corn in the low-to-moderate GI range — one widely used database, glycemic-index.net, lists a GI of 48 for sweet corn, with a low glycemic load of 8.9 per 100 g — but values vary with variety, ripeness and cooking time, and individual responses vary more. Pairing corn with protein, fat or a high-fiber food, and keeping the portion near one ear or half a cup of kernels, blunts the glucose rise far more reliably than avoiding corn outright. This is general information, not medical advice; if you manage diabetes, fit corn into the carb budget your own care team has set for you.

Three mistakes these tables prevent

1. Using the 365-calorie dry-grain figure for corn on the cob. That error overstates a medium ear by almost four times.
2. Logging canned or salt-boiled corn with the 1 mg sodium value. That figure is only for corn boiled without salt; brined products carry far more.
3. Counting corn as a protein food. At 3.41 g per 100 g with low lysine, it supports a meal’s protein but cannot anchor it.

The bottom line

Per 100 g, yellow corn is a 96-calorie boiled vegetable (86 raw) with about 21 g of carbohydrate, 2.4 g of fiber, 3.41 g of protein, meaningful B vitamins and the highest lutein-plus-zeaxanthin content of any common sweet corn color — and a completely different, 365-calorie food once dried into grain. Know which form you are eating, use the matching table above, and the numbers will do the rest.

Sources: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy entries FDC 169998 (raw yellow), 169999 (boiled yellow, without salt), 170288 (corn grain, yellow), 168538 and 168539 (white corn), 168878 (white rice, cooked), 170114 (potatoes, boiled) and 170420 (green peas, cooked), accessed November 2026. Daily values are FDA reference values for a 2,000-calorie diet. This article is educational and is not a substitute for personalised medical or dietetic advice.