Farmland Atlas · county record

Chester County, South Carolina

Chester County, SC: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2026); land and buildings $3,702 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 45023. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Chester County runs $22 per acre in 2026, up 22.2 percent from 2016. Irrigation covers 2 percent of harvested cropland, so this is a rain-fed county. July nights average 69.6 F over 2017-2026, against a 1991-2020 normal of 69.1 F, with a warming trend of 0.39 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated

$22/ac

2026 county average
SC median $40 · 5th lowest of 38

Land and buildings

$3,702/ac

2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
SC median $3,802 · 21st lowest of 46

Rent as % of land value

—

not shown: cropland is 24% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield, median

—

fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Claims paid per $100 of coverage

$19.92

2016–2025, closed crop years
SC median $15.63 · 14th highest of 37

Farmland rented

18%

2022 census, rented from others
SC median 21% · 16th lowest of 46

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.

Non-irrigated, 2026$22/ac

Change 2016 to 2026+22.2%nominal, $18 to $22

Pasture, 2026$16/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$3,702/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price

Census 2012$2,820/ac

Census 2017$3,323/ac

Change 2017 to 2022+11.4%+2.2% a year, nominal

Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 24% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1993. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$19.92

Loss ratio, 2016–20251.10claims ÷ total premium

Loss ratio, 1993–20250.92$5.6 million paid

Largest causes of loss, 1993–2025heat and drought 40% · area plans 32% · excess moisture 26%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–2025218 of 1,357 weeks16% of weeks

Year with the most D2+ weeks200843 weeks

Last five years, 2021–20257 weeks

July average of daily lows, 2017–202669.6 °F1991–2020 normal 69.1 °F

Trend in July lows since 1976+0.39 °F a decadewarming

Rain, April to September22.4 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it

Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20222%

Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland150 ac

Farmed no-till, 202217% of cropland4,473 ac

Cover crops, 202213% of cropland3,381 ac

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 2025455 ac2.7% of harvested cropland + CRP

CRP expiring FY2026–202830 ac7% of enrolled acres

CRP average rental payment, FY2025$14/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer

Cattle and calves, 202213,792−0.6% since 2017

Farmland rented from others, 202218%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

County	Dry rent	Land value	Claims per $100
Chester County	$22	$3,702	$19.92
Fairfield County	$13 2024	$3,316	—
Lancaster County	$34	$5,224	$17.02
Union County	$15	$3,814	—
York County	$34	$8,629	$20.35
Median next door	$34	$4,519	$18.69 2 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. Chester County, South 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/south-carolina/chester-county

Every 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.

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