Rutherford County, North Carolina
Rutherford County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $44 an acre (2026); land and buildings $7,087 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 96.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37161. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Rutherford County stands at $44 per acre in 2026, up 37.5 percent from 2016. Census land value reached $7,087 per acre in 2022, up 48.2 percent from 2017. Corn yields have trended up 1.1 bushels per acre a year on published years 2012-2025, with a median of 96.9 bushels per acre and a worst year of 75.2 in 2015. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities ran 6 percent in 1989-1999, 43 percent in 2000-2009, 25 percent in 2010-2019, and 16 percent in 2020-2025. Weeks in severe drought or worse fell from 212 of 1357 over 2000-2025 to 8 in 2021-2025.
NC median $80 · tied for 7th lowest of 85
NC median $5,711 · 24th highest of 92
NC median $14.91 · 22nd highest of 78
NC median 35% · 15th 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 | Corn yield | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County | $44 | — | $7,087 | — | $18.76 |
| Buncombe County | $46 | $210 2023 | $11,802 | — | — |
| Burke County | $43 | $220 2023 | $6,651 | 103.5 | — |
| Cleveland County | $43 | — | $6,086 | 102.3 | $11.40 |
| Henderson County | $117 | $190 | $11,065 | — | $55.53 |
| McDowell County | $67 | — | $7,524 | — | — |
| Polk County | $33 | — | $7,577 | — | $57.98 |
| Cherokee County, SC | $29 | — | $3,913 | — | $9.56 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | $27 | — | $9,453 | — | $20.59 |
| Median next door | $43 | $190 1 co. | $7,551 | 102.9 2 co. | $20.59 |
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. Rutherford 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/rutherford-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.