Farmland Atlas · county record

El Paso County, Texas

El Paso County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $60 an acre (2026); land and buildings $2,912 an acre in the 2022 census, flagged to read with care. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48141. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cropland here rents for $60 per acre, irrigated for $140 per acre. That gap reflects water, not soil. Irrigation drives this county: 73 percent of harvested cropland is irrigated, and irrigation failure accounts for 64 percent of all crop insurance indemnities since closed crop years began in 1992, totaling $53.7 million of the $84.1 million paid out. Heat and drought's share of indemnities was 0 percent in 1989-1999, 4 percent in 2000-2009, 3 percent in 2010-2019, and 17 percent in 2020-2025. July nights have warmed from a 1991-2020 normal of 69.4 F to 71 F over 2017-2026, a trend of 0.92 F per decade.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$60/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27 · tied for 7th highest of 189
Cash rent, irrigated
$140/ac
2026 county average
TX median $99 · 11th highest of 43
Land and buildings
$2,912/ac
2022 census · read with care: fell 28% from 2017 while next door rose a median 18%
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$11.35
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48 · 12th lowest of 174
Farmland rented
81%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · highest of 251

Cash rent

$0$50$100$1502010201520202025$156$140 irrigated

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$60/ac
Irrigated, 2026$140/ac
Pasture, 2025$5/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,912/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,938/ac
Census 2017$4,015/ac
Read with care— the 2022 census value fell 28% from 2017 while the 3 counties next door rose a median 18%. The census counts buildings and small residential farms, so the change since 2017, the rent-to-value ratio and the rank are withheld

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

200320082013201820230.594.002.041.00: claims equal premium

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1992. 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$11.35
Loss ratio, 2016–20252.15claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1992–20251.58$84.1 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium12 of 23
Worst year2022ratio 4.00
Largest causes of loss, 1992–2025irrigation failure 64% · heat and drought 10% · hail 9%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025155340

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, 2000–2025311 of 1,357 weeks23% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202453 weeks
Last five years, 2021–2025141 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.0 °F1991–2020 normal 69.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.92 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September6.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 86% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.5 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202273%
Drained by tile, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 202212% of cropland6,822 ac
Cover crops, 20221% of cropland583 ac

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

CRP enrolled, 20250 ac
Solar and wind operating, 2025180 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 20225,163−8.9% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202281%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
El Paso County$60$140$2,912$11.35
Doña Ana County, NM—$296$2,316$7.01
Otero County, NM——$754$8.11
Hudspeth County—$106 2025$1,068$49.32
Median next door—$296 1 co.$1,068$8.11

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. El Paso 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/el-paso-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.