A medium raw pear (about 178 grams) provides a modest but useful mix of vitamins, with vitamin C as the standout at roughly 9 mg per fruit. That’s about 10% of the daily recommended intake. Pears aren’t a vitamin powerhouse like citrus or bell peppers, but they contribute meaningful amounts of several vitamins and minerals, especially when eaten with the skin on.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the most abundant vitamin in a pear. At 9 mg per medium fruit, a single pear covers about 10% of what most adults need daily. That’s less than an orange (which delivers roughly 70 mg), but it still contributes to your overall intake, particularly if you eat pears regularly alongside other fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C supports immune function, helps your body absorb iron from plant foods, and plays a role in producing collagen for skin and connective tissue.
One thing worth knowing: vitamin C levels in pears drop as the fruit ripens. Research on Conference pears found that the concentration decreases steadily from the final week before harvest through storage and ripening. So a firm, freshly picked pear will have slightly more vitamin C than one that’s been sitting on your counter for a week. The difference isn’t dramatic enough to change your eating habits, but it’s a reason not to let pears go overripe before eating them.
B Vitamins
Pears contain small amounts of several B vitamins. A medium pear provides about 12 micrograms of folate (B9), 0.05 mg of vitamin B6, and 0.04 mg of riboflavin (B2). None of these numbers are large on their own. For context, adults need about 400 micrograms of folate daily, so one pear supplies roughly 3% of that.
Still, these B vitamins play essential roles. Folate is critical for cell division and DNA repair, which is why it’s especially important during pregnancy. Vitamin B6 helps your body convert food into energy and supports brain function. Riboflavin assists with energy production at the cellular level. Pears won’t be your primary source for any of these, but they add to the cumulative intake you build across a full day of eating.
Vitamin K
Pears provide a small amount of vitamin K, a nutrient involved in blood clotting and bone health. Vitamin K activates proteins that help calcium bind to bone tissue, promoting bone formation and slowing bone loss. This is particularly relevant for people over 50, when bone density naturally declines. The amount in a single pear is modest, but it contributes alongside leafy greens and other vitamin K sources in your diet.
Copper and Other Minerals
Beyond vitamins, pears are a good source of copper. This mineral supports connective tissue health in your skin and tendons, helps your body produce red blood cells, and plays a role in immune function. Copper also assists in iron metabolism, helping your body use the iron you take in from food.
Pears also supply calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and small amounts of iron and manganese. These minerals work alongside the vitamins in pears. Magnesium, for instance, is involved in hundreds of enzymatic reactions in the body, while phosphorus pairs with calcium for bone and tooth structure.
Why You Should Eat the Skin
The peel of a pear concentrates many of its most valuable nutrients. Research comparing peeled and unpeeled pears found striking differences. In Nashi pears, unpeeled fruit had more than five times the antioxidant capacity of peeled fruit. Total polyphenols (plant compounds with protective effects) were roughly 2.5 times higher in unpeeled Nashi pears. Flavonoids, which support heart health, dropped from about 586 to 171 micrograms per gram when the peel was removed.
Minerals follow a similar pattern. Unpeeled pears generally contain more calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and manganese than their peeled counterparts. In one study, unpeeled Santa Maria pears had more than twice the iron content of peeled ones. The skin also holds more carotenoids, which your body can convert into vitamin A.
The variety matters too. Santa Maria pears retained more of their antioxidant value after peeling than Nashi pears did, suggesting that some varieties pack more nutrients into the flesh itself. But across the board, eating the whole fruit, skin included, gives you a meaningfully better nutritional return.
How Pears Compare to Other Fruits
Pears sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to vitamin content. They deliver less vitamin C than oranges, strawberries, or kiwis. They have less vitamin A than mangoes or cantaloupe. But they offer a broader spread of nutrients than many people realize, combining vitamin C, several B vitamins, vitamin K, copper, and a rich array of plant compounds in the skin.
Where pears really stand out is in their fiber content, roughly 6 grams per medium fruit, which is higher than most common fruits. That fiber works alongside the vitamins and minerals, slowing digestion and helping your body absorb nutrients more gradually. The combination of gentle sweetness, high fiber, and a wide nutrient profile makes pears a solid everyday fruit, not because they’re exceptional in any single vitamin, but because they deliver a little of many things your body needs.