Zapata County, Texas
Zapata County, TX: non-irrigated cash rent $50 an acre (2023); land and buildings $1,569 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 48505. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Non-irrigated cash rent averaged $50 per acre in 2023. Irrigated cash rent for 2026 is $45 per acre. Cropland here leans heavily on irrigation, with 89 percent of harvested cropland irrigated as of the 2022 census, and indemnities for irrigation failure across all closed years total $798,854. The July nightly low has warmed since 1976 at 0.39 F per decade, and the 2017-2026 average of 76.4 F sits above the 1991-2020 normal of 75.5 F. Excess moisture and flood account for 53 percent of the $6.2 million paid in indemnities over the closed crop years 2005-2025, more than heat and drought, which fell from 33 percent of indemnities in 2010-2019 to 12 percent in 2020-2025.
too few 2023 county surveys in the state to compare
TX median $99 · 3rd lowest of 43
TX median $2,782 · tied for 55th lowest of 246
TX median $29.48 · 11th highest of 174
TX median 39% · 78th lowest of 251
Cash rent
Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.
Land value
Corn yield
Crop insurance record
Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 2004. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.
Drought and weather
Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.
Land, water and programs
Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.
Next door
| County | Dry rent | Irr. rent | Land value | Claims per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zapata County | $50 2023 | $45 | $1,569 | $62.17 |
| Jim Hogg County | $6 2023 | — | $2,044 | — |
| Starr County | $19 | $96 2024 | $2,289 | $34.54 |
| Webb County | $12 | — | $1,750 | — |
| Median next door | $15 2 co. | — | $2,044 | $34.54 1 co. |
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. Zapata 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/zapata-countyEvery 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.