Farmland Atlas · county record

Alexander County, North Carolina

Alexander County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $56 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,886 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 130.1 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37003. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Alexander County averages $56 per acre in 2026, down 4.3 percent from 2016. Land value per the 2022 census stands at $6,886 per acre, up 22.3 percent from 2017 to 2022. Corn yields show a fitted trend of 0.8 bushels per acre a year over 2008-2024, with a median of 130.1 bushels per acre and a worst year of 59.8 in 2024. Heat and drought has driven crop insurance losses over time: its share of indemnities moved from 28 percent in 1989-1999, to 49 percent in 2000-2009, to 44 percent in 2010-2019, to 19 percent in 2020-2025. The county carries a loss ratio of 1.55 over 1989-2025, with irrigation covering only 1 percent of harvested cropland in 2022.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$56/ac
2026 county average
NC median $80 · 21st lowest of 85
Land and buildings
$6,886/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
NC median $5,711 · 26th highest of 92
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.41
$56 ÷ 134.0 bu, recent yield 2020–2024
Corn yield, 2008–2024 median
130.1 bu/ac
recent level 2020–2024: 134.0
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$26.23
2016–2025, closed crop years
NC median $14.91 · 11th highest of 78
Farmland rented
30%
2022 census, rented from others
NC median 35% · 34th lowest of 94

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$40$50$602010201520202025$31$56 dry

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$56/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−4.3%nominal, $58 to $56
Pasture, 2026$49/ac
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.41$56 ÷ 134.0 bu, county yield 2020–2024

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,886/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$5,949/ac
Census 2017$5,632/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+22.3%+4.1% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 38% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

200820102012201420162018202020222024106.0140.459.8median 130.1

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2024130.1 bu/ac13 published years
Recent level, 2020–2024134.0 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2024: 59.8 bu/ac46% of median
Trend, 2008–2024+0.8 bu/ac a year±3.2 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

202220250.952.880.531.00: 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$26.23
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.41claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.55$21.7 million paid
Worst year2024ratio 2.88
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 35% · excess moisture 21% · freeze 16%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202520370

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, 2000–2025164 of 1,357 weeks12% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200837 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202513 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202667.2 °F1991–2020 normal 66.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.48 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September25.6 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 112% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20221%
Farmed no-till, 202233% of cropland6,265 ac
Cover crops, 20226% of cropland1,231 ac
19861991199620012006201120162021135230

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202511 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202220,979+12.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202230%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Alexander County$56$6,886—$26.23
Caldwell County$43 2024$5,873——
Catawba County$47$7,785131.4$10.63
Iredell County$86$7,124—$7.99
Wilkes County$62$5,664—$22.85
Median next door$62$6,499131.4 1 co.$10.63

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. Alexander County, North Carolina. 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/north-carolina/alexander-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.