Farmland Atlas · county record

Austin County, Texas

Austin County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $38 an acre (2026); land and buildings $6,189 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 91.2 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48015. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Austin County runs $38 per acre, up 65.2 percent from 2016 to 2026. Land value carries $6,189 per acre, with the census showing a 58.4 percent change from 2017 to 2022, 9.6 percent a year. Corn yield trend is 1.6 bushels per acre a year over 2010-2025, with a median of 91.2 bushels per acre and a worst year of 19.5 in 2011. July nights average 75.3 F over 2017-2026 against a 73.8 F normal, and the long trend since 1976 runs 0.72 F per decade, warming. Heat and drought made up 47 percent of indemnities across 1990-2025, and drought weeks ran 238 of 1357 since 2000, with 53 of those weeks falling in 2021-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$38/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27 · 41st highest of 189
Land and buildings
$6,189/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 17th highest of 246
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 19% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, 2010–2025 median
91.2 bu/ac
11 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$16.61
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48 · 41st lowest of 174
Farmland rented
36%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 99th lowest of 251

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$25$38 dry

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$38/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+65.2%nominal, $23 to $38
Pasture, 2025$13/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$6,189/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,086/ac
Census 2017$3,906/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+58.4%+9.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 19% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

2010201220142016201820202022202486.719.5108.091.2105.668.5127.3113.188.084.099.8median 91.2

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2010–202591.2 bu/ac11 published years
Lowest published year2011: 19.5 bu/ac21% of median
Trend, 2010–2025+1.6 bu/ac a year±3.9 (95% interval)

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$16.61
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.00claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.95$13.7 million paid
Worst year2023ratio 0.59
Largest causes of loss, 1990–2025heat and drought 47% · excess moisture 33% · wind 13%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025195210

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, 2000–2025238 of 1,357 weeks18% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201152 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202553 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202675.3 °F1991–2020 normal 73.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.72 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September23.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 107% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.4 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20224%
Drained by tile, 20221% of cropland303 ac
Farmed no-till, 20224% of cropland2,004 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland488 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202107154

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

CRP enrolled, 202554 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac
Solar and wind operating, 202510 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202261,617−2.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202236%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Austin County$38—$6,189—$16.61
Colorado County$57$106$4,396102.2$22.74
Fayette County$26—$5,48186.1$8.91
Fort Bend County$42$98 2023$4,398105.2$13.28
Waller County$45$65 2024$5,777—$14.29
Washington County$29—$4,646—$29.66
Wharton County$63$105$4,064113.8$15.83
Median next door$43$106 2 co.$4,522103.7$15.06

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. Austin County, Texas. 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/texas/austin-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.