Farmland Atlas · county record

Kings County, California

Kings County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2024); land and buildings $10,391 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06031. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Water drives this county. Irrigation covers 99 percent of harvested cropland, and groundwater supplies 95 percent of that water, so irrigation failure is the largest cause of crop insurance indemnities at 40 percent of $531.7 million in indemnities, paid out as $213.3 million. Severe drought or worse covered at least 50 percent of the county in 436 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2016 the worst year at 52 weeks. Heat and drought's share of indemnities has moved from 1 percent in 1989-1999 to 13 percent in 2000-2009 to 15 percent in 2010-2019 to 16 percent in 2020-2025. Non-irrigated cash rent stands at $22 per acre in 2024, down 55.7 percent from 2012.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2024 county average
CA median of 2024 surveys $22 · 5th lowest of 13
Cash rent, irrigated
$305/ac
2026 county average
CA median $431 · tied for 10th lowest of 40
Land and buildings
$10,391/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CA median $11,471 · 22nd lowest of 52
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.87
2016–2025, closed crop years
CA median $7.22 · 16th highest of 42
Farmland rented
23%
2022 census, rented from others
CA median 43% · 4th lowest of 55

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$350$4002010201520202025$60$22 dry$145$305 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
Change 2012 to 2024−55.7%nominal, $49 to $22
Irrigated, 2026$305/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$10,391/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,031/ac
Census 2017$10,815/ac
Change 2017 to 2022−3.9%−0.8% 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

199019952000200520102015202020256.851.661.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. 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$7.87
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.52claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.46$531.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium15 of 32
Worst year1990ratio 6.85
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025irrigation failure 40% · excess moisture 31% · heat and drought 14%share of dollars paid

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, 2000–2025436 of 1,357 weeks32% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201652 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202599 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.9 °F1991–2020 normal 66.1 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.98 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September1.0 in1991–2020 normal
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, 202299%
Drained by tile, 20227% of cropland30,120 ac
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland8,686 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland5,859 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202109140

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Irrigation wells on record3,382California DWR well completion reports (new wells)
Median well depth427 ft
Solar and wind operating, 20251,769.9 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022324,887−0.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202223%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Kings County$22 2024$305$10,391$7.87
Fresno County$22$305$16,378$5.95
Kern County$48 2023$445$10,539$4.95
Monterey County$14 2024$1,810 2025$12,799$5.65
San Luis Obispo County$27 2023$811$12,118$5.97
Tulare County$42$450$15,617$5.06
Median next door$32 2 co.$448$12,799$5.65

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. Kings 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/kings-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.