Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $75 an acre (2014); land and buildings $38,401 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06087. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Irrigated cash rent in Santa Cruz County reached $2,220 per acre in 2025, and census value of land and buildings stood at $38,401 per acre in 2022, up 79.8 percent since 2017. Irrigation covers 95 percent of harvested cropland, with 71 percent of that water drawn from groundwater as of 2015. July nightly lows have moved from a 1991-2020 normal of 53.5 F to 53.9 F over 2017-2026, a warming trend of 0.52 F per decade since 1976. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities was 0 percent in 1989-1999, 17 percent in 2000-2009, 51 percent in 2010-2019, and 13 percent in 2020-2025. The county spent 89 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 267 of 1357 weeks total since 2000.
too few 2014 county surveys in the state to compare
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
CA median $11,471 · 2nd highest of 52
CA median $7.22 · 3rd lowest of 42
CA median 43% · 6th highest 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 1995. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz County | — | $2,220 2025 | $38,401 | $1.31 |
| Monterey County | $14 2024 | $1,810 2025 | $12,799 | $5.65 |
| San Benito County | $16 2024 | $651 | $5,362 | $7.64 |
| San Mateo County | $51 2023 | $550 | $12,311 | — |
| Santa Clara County | $25 2024 | $823 2025 | $13,303 | $21.33 |
| Median next door | — | $601 2 co. | $12,555 | $7.64 |
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. Santa Cruz 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/santa-cruz-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.