Agriculture · FF-010

U.S. Farms & Farmland

Explore how the number of U.S. farms, farmland acreage, and average farm size have changed — plus the structure of farms by size.

Data 2022 Census of AgricultureSource USDA NASSUpdate cadence Every 5 yearsStatus Current

U.S. farms1.90M1,900,487 farms

Land in farms880.1Macres · 39% of U.S. land

Average farm size463acres · up 5.0% from 2017

Change in farm count−6.9%2017 → 2022

20-year trend

Number of U.S. farms

Census years 2002–2022.

Compare by

What the data shows

Fewer farms and fewer farm acres, but larger farms on average

Farms since 2017−141,7332,042,220 → 1,900,487

Farmland since 2017−20.1M acresA 2.2% decline

Average farm size+22 acres441 → 463 acres

Farms with internet access79%Up from 75% in 2017

Farm size structure

Most farm-size classes declined

Number of farms by acreage class, 2017 versus 2022. The 5,000+ acre class was the only class shown here to increase.

Farm size	2017	2022	Change
1–49 acres	856K	802K	−54K
50–179 acres	565K	531K	−34K
180–499 acres	315K	288K	−27K
500–999 acres	133K	120K	−13K
1,000–4,999 acres	147K	133K	−14K
5,000+ acres	26K	27K	+1K

Farm economics & operations

Agriculture is concentrated, but farms vary enormously in scale

Average farm income$79,7902022 average farm income

Positive net cash income43%Share of farms in 2022

Renewable energy systems153,101farms and ranches · +15% vs. 2017

Direct-to-consumer sales$3.3B116,617 farms · +16% vs. 2017

Farms with $1 million or more in sales represented about 6% of farms but sold more than three-fourths of all agricultural products.

Census-year table

U.S. farms and farmland, 2002–2022

Use the chart above to switch among farms, land, and average farm size.

Year	Farms	Land in farms	Average size
2002	2.13M	938M acres	440 acres
2007	2.20M	922M acres	418 acres
2012	2.11M	915M acres	434 acres
2017	2.04M	900.2M acres	441 acres
2022	1.90M	880.1M acres	463 acres

Methodology & source

About these figures

The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. USDA defines a farm as a place that produced and sold, or normally would have sold, at least $1,000 of agricultural products during the census year. The 2022 Census counted 1,900,487 farms and 880,100,848 acres of land in farms.

Primary sources: USDA Farms and Farmland highlights · 2022 Census of Agriculture · State and county profiles.

CalculateMeasure refresh: Aug. 22, 2026 · Review cadence: Every 5 years, with source monitoring for revised Census products and related special studies.

Related calculators