Farmland Atlas · county record

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2024); land and buildings $4,578 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06023. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Humboldt County runs $22 per acre; irrigated cash rent for 2026 is $405 per acre. Land value in the 2022 census was $4,578 per acre, up 48.2 percent from 2017-2022, or 8.2 percent a year. Irrigation covers 76 percent of harvested cropland, and 71 percent of that water came from groundwater in 2015. Drought was present in 274 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2014 the worst year at 52 weeks, and 77 weeks from 2021-2025. July nightly lows averaged 54.7 F for 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 53.8 F, warming at 0.46 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2024 county average
CA median of 2024 surveys $22 · tied for 6th lowest of 13
Cash rent, irrigated
$405/ac
2026 county average
CA median $431 · 16th lowest of 40
Land and buildings
$4,578/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CA median $11,471 · 11th lowest of 52
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
48%
2022 census, rented from others
CA median 43% · 18th highest of 55

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$400$5002010201520202025$53$22 dry$335$405 irrigated

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2024$22/ac
Irrigated, 2026$405/ac
Pasture, 2026$19/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,578/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$2,584/ac
Census 2017$3,090/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+48.2%+8.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1995. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in.

Drought and weather

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, 2000–2025274 of 1,357 weeks20% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201452 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202577 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202654.7 °F1991–2020 normal 53.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.46 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September9.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 91% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202276%
Drained by tile, 20222% of cropland328 ac
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland366 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland251 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210290283

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

CRP enrolled, 2025283 ac2.9% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$17/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Irrigation wells on record596California DWR well completion reports (new wells)
Median well depth180 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20259.2 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202259,575−16.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202248%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Humboldt County$22 2024$405$4,578—
Del Norte County—$620$10,206—
Mendocino County—$1,290$6,511$7.96
Siskiyou County$21 2023$250$4,174$27.49
Trinity County——$2,661—
Median next door—$620$5,343$17.73 2 co.

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Humboldt County, California. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/california/humboldt-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. 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.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over 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. 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 dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.