How much honey a colony makes depends on a lot of things: the type of bees, the location and climate, how many flowers and how much nectar are available, and the age and health of the bees themselves. There’s no single number, but there is a typical range.
A healthy, established colony generally produces somewhere between 20 and 80 pounds (9 to 36 kg) of honey a year. Some colonies make quite a bit more or less depending on the conditions they’re dealing with. A great nectar flow and a strong population push toward the high end; a rough season pulls the other way.
One thing worth keeping in mind: honey isn’t the hive’s goal. Bees make honey as food for the colony, and left to their own devices they’ll only produce as much as they need to survive. When a hive is well established with a strong population, it makes more than it needs and stores the surplus for later. That surplus is what a beekeeper can harvest without shorting the bees.
If you want local honey, search for “(your county) beekeeper’s association” and you’ll usually turn up a list of people selling honey nearby. That’s exactly how we connect with ours here in the Cahaba region, and buying local is the best way to get fresh honey while supporting the beekeepers keeping colonies healthy.