Farmland Atlas · county record

Jim Wells County, Texas

Jim Wells County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $31 an acre (2025); land and buildings $2,446 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48249. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Jim Wells County is $31 per acre, down 27.9 percent from 2014 to 2025. July nights average 75.2 F for 2017-2026 against a 74.6 F normal, warming 0.39 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$31/ac
2025 county average
TX median of 2025 surveys $24 · 3rd highest of 16
Land and buildings
$2,446/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
TX median $2,782 · 112th lowest of 246
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 29% 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
$32.67
2016–2025, closed crop years
TX median $29.48 · 77th highest of 174
Farmland rented
47%
2022 census, rented from others
TX median 39% · 79th highest of 251

Cash rent

$0$10$20$30$402010201520202025$32$31 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, 2025$31/ac
Change 2014 to 2025−27.9%nominal, $43 to $31
Pasture, 2026$12/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$2,446/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$1,827/ac
Census 2017$2,069/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+18.2%+3.4% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 29% 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

19911996200120062011201620211.483.870.821.00: 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$32.67
Loss ratio, 2016–20251.21claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20251.47$164.4 million paid
Years claims exceeded premium17 of 32
Worst year2009ratio 3.87
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 84% · excess moisture 7% · other 6%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

200020052010201520202025105219

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, 2000–2025299 of 1,357 weeks22% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks201252 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202544 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202675.2 °F1991–2020 normal 74.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.39 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September16.3 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 96% 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, 2022none reported
Farmed no-till, 20222% of cropland2,575 ac
Cover crops, 2022under 1% of cropland266 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202107,7742,163

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

CRP enrolled, 20252,163 ac3% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$34/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 2025131 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202228,174−22.5% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202247%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Jim Wells County$31 2025—$2,446—$32.67
Brooks County$8 2023—$1,945——
Duval County$19 2024—$1,532—$64.12
Kleberg County$46—$1,396—$12.64
Live Oak County$20—$2,775—$26.49
Nueces County$70$71$2,963—$10.76
San Patricio County$84—$3,38881.4$13.90
Median next door$58$71 1 co.$2,36081.4 1 co.$13.90

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. Jim Wells 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/jim-wells-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.