County farm facts

Contra Costa County, California

Contra Costa County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $31 an acre (2026); land and buildings $9,199 an acre in the 2022 census. Bids, weather, crops, land and programs for one county. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06013. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026; the rows marked with a date load the newest reading when the page opens.

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Stands out against its own record

$31

Non-irrigated cash rent, 2026: the highest of 12 surveys since 2009; up 36% from $23 in 2016.

USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, 2026

As of Oct 16, Contra Costa County cropland rented for $31 an acre in 2026, up 35.6% from $23 in 2016 and 7th lowest of 20 against a state median of $35. Irrigated ground ran $379 an acre in 2026, 15th lowest of 41. The census value of land and buildings was $9,199 an acre in 2022, up 32.9% from $6,922 in 2017, under the state median of $11,471. In 2022, 59% of the farmland here was rented.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$31/ac
2026 county average
CA median $35 · 7th lowest of 20
Cash rent, irrigated
$379/ac
2026 county average
CA median $437 · 15th lowest of 41
Land and buildings
$9,199/ac
2022: operators' own estimate of what land and buildings were worth · CA farm real estate 2026: $14,100 (land and buildings, state survey)
CA median $11,471 · 20th lowest of 52
Corn yield
n/a
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.36
2016–2025, closed crop years
CA median $7.31 · 6th lowest of 42
Farmland rented
59%
2022 census, rented from others
CA median 43% · 8th highest of 55
Open on the map Compare California cash rent by county

Grain and prices within 50 miles

Corn bid
Soybean bid
Corn basis
Soybean basis
Corn futures
Soybean futures
Hay, California price received

Bids are posted elevator prices within 50 miles of the county middle, or of your own field or saved place in this county when this device has one (each row says which), best and nearest, never a buyer's name. Not a contract; call before you haul. Livestock lines show where the 2022 Census counts 1,000 head or more: milk for milk cows, feeder cattle for beef cows, live cattle for cattle on feed, hogs for hogs, hay for all cattle.

Bids from your own ZIP or farm, in Fast Facts

Nearby buyers within 50 miles: 1 ethanol plant
Loading the list.

Straight-line miles from the middle of Contra Costa County to each buyer’s town point (the middle of its town, not the gate), rounded. Capacity as published. Where the buyers are, not what they pay. Lists from Renewable Fuels Association, read Oct 28, 2026.

Weather and the season

Rain since Jan 1
Drought this week
Hail, last 30 days

Rain so far this year in Contra Costa County, California

Drought, year by year

2000200520102015202020250520

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025392 of 1,357 weeks29% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks2015 (tied with 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022)52 weeks
Last five full years, 2021–2025105 weeks
2026 so far0 weekshalf the county or more in D2, 40 weekly maps
July average of daily lows, 2017–202659.1 °F1991–2020 normal 58.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.34 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September, usual2.2 in1991–2020 county normal, NOAA; the 2017–2026 seasons averaged 1.8 in
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail
Corn growing degree days, May to September2,849middle of 1996–2025; 2016–2025 averaged 2,932

Crops

Corn harvested
Soybeans harvested

Corn yield

County corn yieldFewer than 8 published county corn yields

Land rent, value, sales

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$4002010201520202025$27$31 dry$237$379 irrigated

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey.

Every published California county rate, side by side: California cash rent by county.

Non-irrigated, 2026$31/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+35.6%nominal, $23 to $31
Irrigated, 2026$379/ac
Pasture, 2026$24/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$9,199/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$8,425/ac
Census 2017$6,922/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+32.9%+5.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census valueNASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022
California cropland, 2026 state survey$18,430/ac+2.7% from 2025 · USDA NASS Land Values, state average
California farm real estate, 2026$14,100/acland and buildings, state average
California pasture, 2026$4,250/acstate average

The census value is this county's, from 2022. The survey figures are the California average for 2026, from the USDA NASS Land Values report. NASS publishes that survey by state, not by county, so this page does not scale one into the other.

Programs and risk

ARC or PLC sign-up

Benchmarks, payments and the choice for each crop: ARC or PLC in Contra Costa County.

Insuring pasture or hay? PRF rainfall insurance for pasture and hay in Contra Costa County: its grids, county values and record are on the county PRF page.

Crop insurance record

201620210.941.220.860.701.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 2016 with at least $1,000,000 of premium; a year under that has no bar and no ratio. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$4.36
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.81claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.84$16.7 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 37% · freeze 24% · heat and drought 22%share of dollars paid

Conservation Reserve Program

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac

What farms here look like

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202287%
Farmed no-till, 2022under 1% of cropland111 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland186 ac
Irrigation wells on record945California DWR well completion reports (new wells)
Median well depth200 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202589.3 MW solar · 116.2 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202229,568+2.6% since 2017
Hogs and pigs, 202221head, Census of Agriculture
Farmland rented from others, 202259%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

USDA Census of Agriculture 2022, except wells (state well register) and power (EIA Form 860).

Watch this county

Get an email when the published figures for Contra Costa County, California change. Usually once or twice a year. You confirm by email first, and every email has a one-tap stop. AGSIST, PO Box 243, Chetek, WI 54728.

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Contra Costa County$31$379$9,199$4.36
Alameda County$27$566 2025$13,473$0.89
Sacramento County$68$276$15,766$6.35
San Joaquin County$80 2023$425$20,649$7.30
Solano County$30$257$12,901$6.37
Median next door$30$276$14,620$6.36

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. A rent from an older survey year carries its year and stays out of the median; one more than three survey years old shows n/a.

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Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Contra Costa County, California. Figures as of Oct 19, 2026, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/california/contra-costa-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Rent ranks count every county with a published rent in the same survey year, within the state (the same counties as the state rent page); other ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. Averages, trends, ranks and estimates are calculations by AGSIST.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields. The headline trend, the one rent per bushel uses, is fitted here over the published years in the 15 years ending this year; the yearly trend card uses every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Claims paid per $100 of coverage: claims divided by liability (the insured value), times 100, same source. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A missing figure is named with its reason (in a table it reads n/a).