Watauga County, North Carolina
Watauga County, NC: non-irrigated cash rent $62 an acre (2026); land and buildings $8,870 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 37189. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent in Watauga County averages $62 per acre in 2026, down 1.6 percent from 2016. The census value of land and buildings was $8,870 per acre in 2022, with land value up 37.8 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 6.6 percent a year. July nights have averaged 60.1 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 58.9 F, and the trend since 1976 runs 0.39 F per decade, warming. Drought was severe or worse in 137 of 1357 weeks from 2000-2025, with 2008 the worst year at 43 weeks, and only 4 such weeks from 2021-2025. No solar or wind capacity operates or is proposed here.
NC median $80 · tied for 24th lowest of 85
NC median $5,711 · 7th highest of 92
NC median 35% · 44th 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watauga County | $62 | — | $8,870 | — |
| Ashe County | $92 | $235 2023 | $6,859 | — |
| Avery County | $80 | — | $8,717 | — |
| Caldwell County | $43 2024 | — | $5,873 | — |
| Wilkes County | $62 | — | $5,664 | $22.85 |
| Johnson County, TN | $30 | — | $6,031 | — |
| Median next door | $71 | — | $6,031 | $22.85 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. Watauga 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/watauga-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.