Mitchell County, North Carolina
Mitchell County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $56 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,687 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37121. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Mitchell County runs $56 per acre, against a census land value of $6,687 per acre. July nights average 60 F over 2017-2026, up from a 59.1 F normal for 1991-2020, and the long trend since 1976 runs 0.3 F per decade, warming. No July since 1900 has averaged a nightly low at or above 70 F. Drought weeks ran 138 of 1357 from 2000-2025, with 2021-2025 at 0 weeks. Crop insurance losses from 1989-2012 totaled $4.8 million, mostly excess moisture and flood at 39 percent; heat and drought's share fell from 45 percent in 1989-1999 to 26 percent in 2000-2009 and 29 percent in 2010-2019. No solar or wind capacity is operating or proposed here.
NC median $80 · 22nd lowest of 85
NC median $5,711 · 31st highest of 92
NC median 35% · 26th 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 | Land value |
|---|---|---|
| Mitchell County | $56 | $6,687 |
| Avery County | $80 | $8,717 |
| McDowell County | $67 | $7,524 |
| Yancey County | $45 | $6,261 |
| Carter County, TN | $35 | $6,540 |
| Unicoi County, TN | $59 | $10,994 |
| Median next door | $59 | $7,524 |
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. Mitchell 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/mitchell-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.