Johnston County, North Carolina
Johnston County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $114 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,813 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 104.5 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37101. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Johnston County averages $114 per acre in 2026, up 27.4 percent from 2016. Census land value in 2022 stood at $6,813 per acre, up 43.7 percent from 2017, a pace of 7.5 percent a year. Heat and drought drove 35 percent of crop insurance indemnities since 1989, with the share at 45 percent in 2000-2009, 34 percent in 2010-2019, and 39 percent in 2020-2025. The county saw 0 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, after 84 of 1357 weeks since 2000. July nightly lows have warmed 0.67 F per decade since 1976, and only 3 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated as of the 2022 census.
NC median $80 · 21st highest of 85
too few 2017 county surveys in the state to compare
NC median $5,711 · 29th highest of 92
NC median 114.8 · tied for 8th lowest of 49
NC median $14.91 · 36th highest of 78
NC median 35% · 24th highest 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 | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnston County | $114 | — | $6,813 | 104.5 | $15.48 |
| Harnett County | $121 | $200 2023 | $6,229 | — | $19.88 |
| Nash County | $126 | $135 2023 | $4,436 | — | $7.64 |
| Sampson County | $120 | $125 | $5,166 | 109.9 | $17.28 |
| Wake County | $83 | $91 2023 | $14,718 | — | $15.99 |
| Wayne County | $134 | — | $4,258 | 107.2 | $13.94 |
| Wilson County | $154 | — | $4,325 | 106.5 | $9.98 |
| Median next door | $124 | $125 1 co. | $4,801 | 107.2 | $14.97 |
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. Johnston 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/johnston-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.