Buncombe County, North Carolina
Buncombe County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $46 an acre (2026); land and buildings $11,802 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 142.0 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37021. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Buncombe County is $46 per acre in 2026, down 8 percent from 2016. Drought exposure has eased in the recent stretch: 0 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 193 of 1357 weeks over 2000-2025 and a worst year of 53 weeks in 2008.
NC median $80 · 12th lowest of 85
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
NC median $5,711 · 2nd highest of 92
NC median 35% · 8th lowest of 94
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
Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County | $46 | $210 2023 | $11,802 | — |
| Haywood County | $69 | $240 2024 | $8,046 | $13.88 |
| Henderson County | $117 | $190 | $11,065 | $55.53 |
| Madison County | $74 | — | $7,294 | — |
| McDowell County | $67 | — | $7,524 | — |
| Rutherford County | $44 | — | $7,087 | $18.76 |
| Yancey County | $45 | — | $6,261 | — |
| Median next door | $68 | $190 1 co. | $7,409 | $18.76 |
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. Buncombe 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/buncombe-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.