Farmland Atlas · county record

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, CA: non-irrigated cash rent $58 an acre (2026); land and buildings $30,475 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 06097. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Irrigated cash rent in Sonoma County runs $1,300 per acre against $58 per acre for non-irrigated ground in 2026. The census value of land and buildings sits at $30,475 per acre, up 37.4 percent from 2017 to 2022, 6.6 percent a year. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has moved from 3 percent in 1989-1999 to 18 percent in 2000-2009 to 21 percent in 2010-2019 to 25 percent in 2020-2025. The county logged 105 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, out of 328 such weeks across 2000-2025. July nightly lows have warmed at 0.32 F per decade since 1976, with the 2017-2026 average at 53.7 F against a 1991-2020 normal of 53.2 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$58/ac
2026 county average
CA median $35 · 5th highest of 20
Cash rent, irrigated
$1,300/ac
2026 county average
CA median $431 · 7th highest of 40
Land and buildings
$30,475/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
CA median $11,471 · 4th highest of 52
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$8.06
2016–2025, closed crop years
CA median $7.22 · 14th highest of 42
Farmland rented
39%
2022 census, rented from others
CA median 43% · 19th lowest of 55

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$400$500$600$700$800$900$1000$1100$1200$1300$14002010201520202025$54$58 dry$787$1,300 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, 2026$58/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+49.4%nominal, $39 to $58
Irrigated, 2026$1,300/ac
Pasture, 2026$24/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$30,475/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$14,620/ac
Census 2017$22,186/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+37.4%+6.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 77% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

1996200120062011201620210.0711.062.201.00: 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$8.06
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.95claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.39$290.5 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 30
Worst year2020ratio 11.06
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025other 31% · freeze 29% · heat and drought 24%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, 2000–2025328 of 1,357 weeks24% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201452 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025105 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202653.7 °F1991–2020 normal 53.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.32 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September4.9 in1991–2020 normal
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202277%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland3,294 ac
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland1,587 ac
Cover crops, 202227% of cropland34,947 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Irrigation wells on record2,541California DWR well completion reports (new wells)
Median well depth252 ft
Solar and wind operating, 202520.1 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202252,370−40.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202239%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Sonoma County$58$1,300$30,475$8.06
Lake County—$491$7,833$12.65
Marin County$64$1,290 2025$7,636—
Mendocino County—$1,290$6,511$7.96
Napa County$21 2024$4,000$61,295$7.18
Solano County$30$257$12,901$6.37
Median next door$47 2 co.$891$7,833$7.57

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. Sonoma 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/sonoma-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.