San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $27 an acre (2023); land and buildings $12,118 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06079. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Irrigated cash rent in San Luis Obispo County is $811 per acre in 2026, against $27 per acre for non-irrigated ground in 2023. Land value under the census carries $12,118 per acre, up 60.6 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 9.9 percent a year. Irrigation covers 86 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, with 71 percent of irrigation water drawn from groundwater in 2015. Crop insurance losses since 1989 total $118.6 million, led by freeze and frost at 38 percent, and the loss ratio over 2016-2025 stands at 1.24. Weeks in severe drought or worse ran 363 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 80 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025.
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
CA median $431 · 11th highest of 40
CA median $11,471 · 24th highest of 52
CA median $7.22 · 15th lowest of 42
CA median 43% · 20th lowest of 55
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Crop insurance record
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.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo County | $27 2023 | $811 | $12,118 | $5.97 |
| Kern County | $48 2023 | $445 | $10,539 | $4.95 |
| Kings County | $22 2024 | $305 | $10,391 | $7.87 |
| Monterey County | $14 2024 | $1,810 2025 | $12,799 | $5.65 |
| Santa Barbara County | $48 2024 | $2,300 | $21,172 | $7.75 |
| Median next door | — | $445 | $11,669 | $6.70 |
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. San Luis Obispo 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/san-luis-obispo-countyEvery 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.