Farmland Atlas · county record

Orange County, California

Orange County, CA: irrigated cash rent $2,360 an acre (2026); land and buildings $15,003 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06059. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigation leans heavily on groundwater, which supplied 71 percent of irrigation water in 2015. The July nightly low trend since 1976 runs 0.59 F per decade warming, and heat and drought accounted for 80 percent of crop insurance indemnities in 2010-2019, up from 0 percent in 2000-2009. The county spent 106 weeks in severe drought or worse during 2021-2025, and 454 of 1357 weeks were in severe drought or worse over 2000-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$2,360/ac
2026 county average
CA median $431 · 3rd highest of 40
Land and buildings
$15,003/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 21% from 2017 while next door rose a median 36%
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$1.03
2016–2025, closed crop years
CA median $7.22 · 2nd lowest of 42
Farmland rented
33%
2022 census, rented from others
CA median 43% · 11th lowest of 55

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$400$500$600$700$800$900$1000$1100$1200$1300$1400$1500$1600$1700$1800$1900$2000$2100$2200$2300$2400$2500$26002010201520202025$1,330$2,360 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.

Irrigated, 2026$2,360/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$15,003/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$21,854/ac
Census 2017$19,094/ac
Read with care— the 2022 census value fell 21% from 2017 while the 4 counties next door rose a median 36%. The census counts buildings and small residential farms, so the change since 2017, the rent-to-value ratio and the rank are withheld

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. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$1.03
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.60claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1995–20250.12$1.1 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1996–2024heat and drought 49% · other 38% · wind 12%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202505245

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, 2000–2025454 of 1,357 weeks34% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201652 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025106 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202663.8 °F1991–2020 normal 62.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.59 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September1.3 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, 2022— NASS suppressed the irrigated acres to protect individual farms
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland549 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Irrigation wells on record390California DWR well completion reports (new wells)
Median well depth300 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202546.8 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Farmland rented from others, 202233%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Orange County—$2,360$15,003$1.03
Los Angeles County$84 2024$1,000$21,834—
Riverside County$25 2024$259$19,831$5.32
San Bernardino County$23 2024$304$47,339$4.96
San Diego County—$1,350$36,053$6.09
Median next door—$652$28,944$5.32

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. Orange 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/orange-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.