Farmland Atlas · county record

Denton County, Texas

Denton County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $22 an acre (2026); land and buildings $12,287 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48121. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Denton County runs $22 per acre, up 10 percent from 2016 to 2026. Census land and buildings value stood at $12,287 per acre in 2022, up 28.7 percent from 2017 to 2022, 5.2 percent a year. Only 2 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, and July nights have warmed from a 74.3 F normal to a 75.6 F average over 2017-2026, part of a 0.57 F per decade warming trend since 1976. Crop insurance shows $32.0 million paid out over 1989-2025, closed crop years, with excess moisture and flood the largest cause at 47 percent.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$22/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27 · tied for 58th lowest of 189
Land and buildings
$12,287/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 3rd highest of 246
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 43% 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
$29.08
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48 · 85th lowest of 174
Farmland rented
49%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 71st highest of 251

Cash rent

$0$10$202010201520202025$16$22 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$22/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+10.0%nominal, $20 to $22
Pasture, 2026$15/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$12,287/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$6,111/ac
Census 2017$9,550/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+28.7%+5.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 43% 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

20082013201820230.751.981.041.00: claims equal premium

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$29.08
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.16claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.09$32.0 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium8 of 14
Worst year2015ratio 1.98
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 47% · heat and drought 32% · other 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020257450

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, 2000–2025255 of 1,357 weeks19% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200645 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202538 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202675.6 °F1991–2020 normal 74.3 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.57 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September20.0 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger5.3 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, 2022under 1% of cropland36 ac
Farmed no-till, 202217% of cropland20,100 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland1,080 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202101140

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
CRP average rental payment, FY1998$35/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025524.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202228,204−27.4% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202249%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Denton County$22$12,287—$29.08
Collin County$32$13,06668.7$29.41
Cooke County$31$4,391—$11.80
Dallas County$20 2023$8,455—$29.20
Grayson County$32$7,77472.6$21.85
Tarrant County$29$6,750——
Wise County$16$6,259——
Median next door$31$7,26270.7 2 co.$25.53

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. Denton 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/denton-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.