Farmland Atlas · county record

Hidalgo County, Texas

Hidalgo County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $48 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,088 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 94.9 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48215. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Cash rent, non-irrigated
$48/ac
2026 county average
TX median $27 · tied for 21st highest of 189
Cash rent, irrigated
$109/ac
2026 county average
TX median $99 · 16th highest of 43
Land and buildings
$4,088/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 71st highest of 246
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
94.9 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 99.9 · irrigated and dryland combined
TX median 90.7 · 16th highest of 34
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$15.38
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48 · 33rd lowest of 174
Farmland rented
44%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 94th highest of 251

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$80$1002010201520202025$41$48 dry$90$109 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$48/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+18.5%nominal, $41 to $48
Irrigated, 2026$109/ac
Pasture, 2026$11/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,088/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,038/ac
Census 2017$4,319/ac
Change 2017 to 2022−5.3%−1.1% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 54% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202475.0138.7median 94.9

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

Median, 2008–202594.9 bu/ac15 published years, irrigated and dryland combined
Recent level, 2021–202599.9 bu/ac4 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2008: 75.0 bu/ac79% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+1.9 bu/ac a year±1.3 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

198919941999200420092014201920247.631.091.00: 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$15.38
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.36claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.17$675.7 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium15 of 37
Worst year1989ratio 7.63
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 24% · excess moisture 23% · freeze 23%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202512523

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, 2000–2025326 of 1,357 weeks24% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201352 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202538 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202676.8 °F1991–2020 normal 75.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.55 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September15.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 108% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.6 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202254%
Drained by tile, 20223% of cropland10,103 ac
Farmed no-till, 20221% of cropland3,170 ac
Cover crops, 20223% of cropland10,285 ac
198619911996200120062011201620217435,0872,725

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,725 ac1.3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20281,403 ac52% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$44/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20250 MW solar · 538.9 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202233,018+9.0% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202244%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Hidalgo County$48$109$4,08894.9$15.38
Brooks County$8 2023—$1,945——
Cameron County$60$94$4,268—$18.95
Kenedy County——$1,827——
Starr County$19$96 2024$2,289—$34.54
Willacy County$66$98$2,789—$18.92
Median next door$60$96 2 co.$2,289—$18.95

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. Hidalgo 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/hidalgo-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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