McDowell County, North Carolina
McDowell County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $67 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,524 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37111. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in McDowell County runs $67 per acre. Land value carries at $7,524 per acre, up 43.1 percent from 2017-2022, or 7.4 percent a year. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities climbed across the four periods listed: 3 percent in 1989-1999, 1 percent in 2000-2009, 9 percent in 2010-2019, and 28 percent in 2020-2025. The July nightly low has moved from 63.7 F (1991-2020 normal) to 65 F (2017-2026), with a warming trend of 0.41 F per decade since 1976. Drought weeks fell from 192 of 1357 (2000-2025) to 7 in 2021-2025. Freeze and frost remains the largest single cause of indemnities at 39 percent.
NC median $80 · tied for 28th lowest of 85
NC median $5,711 · 20th highest of 92
NC median 35% · 7th 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDowell County | $67 | — | $7,524 | — | — |
| Avery County | $80 | — | $8,717 | — | — |
| Buncombe County | $46 | $210 2023 | $11,802 | — | — |
| Burke County | $43 | $220 2023 | $6,651 | 103.5 | — |
| Mitchell County | $56 | — | $6,687 | — | — |
| Rutherford County | $44 | — | $7,087 | — | $18.76 |
| Yancey County | $45 | — | $6,261 | — | — |
| Median next door | $45 | — | $6,887 | 103.5 1 co. | $18.76 1 co. |
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. McDowell 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/mcdowell-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.