Farmland Atlas · county record

Charles City County, Virginia

Charles City County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $77 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,221 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 137.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51036. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Charles City County averages $77 per acre in 2026, up 27.3 percent from 2016. Census value of land and buildings was $4,221 per acre in 2022, up 25.1 percent from 2017, or 4.6 percent a year. Corn yields show a fitted trend of 4.3 bushels per acre a year on published years 2008-2025, with a median of 137.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 49.4 in 2010. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities has moved from 89 percent in 1989-1999, to 76 percent in 2000-2009, to 65 percent in 2010-2019, to 43 percent in 2020-2025. The county saw 0 weeks of severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, against 58 weeks total from 2000-2025.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$77/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · 18th highest of 84
Land and buildings
$4,221/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 35th lowest of 86
Dry rent per bushel of corn
$0.46
$77 ÷ 167.7 bu, recent yield 2021–2025
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
137.7 bu/ac
recent level 2021–2025: 167.7
VA median 145.9 · 9th lowest of 25
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$4.62
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 13th lowest of 67
Farmland rented
44%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 20th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$20$40$60$802014201620182020202220242026$52$77 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$77/ac
Change 2016 to 2026+27.3%nominal, $61 to $77
Dry rent per bushel of corn$0.46$77 ÷ 167.7 bu, county yield 2021–2025

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,221/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$3,756/ac
Census 2017$3,373/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+25.1%+4.6% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202475.0176.0173.0median 137.7

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

Median, 2008–2025137.7 bu/ac17 published years
Recent level, 2021–2025167.7 bu/ac5 published years, high and low dropped
Lowest published year2010: 49.4 bu/ac36% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+4.3 bu/ac a year±2.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

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$4.62
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.44claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.58$8.5 million paid
Worst year2022ratio 0.23
Largest causes of loss, 1993–2025heat and drought 63% · excess moisture 19% · other 7%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250410

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, 2000–202558 of 1,357 weeks4% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200241 weeks
Last five years, 2021–20250 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202671.2 °F1991–2020 normal 69.9 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.62 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September27.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 110% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202210%
Farmed no-till, 202265% of cropland14,489 ac
Cover crops, 202219% of cropland4,265 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210763

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

CRP enrolled, 20253 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–202812 ac
Solar and wind operating, 2025175 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 2022130−5.1% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202244%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Charles City County$77$4,221137.7$4.62
Chesterfield County$42$8,136—$20.55
Henrico County$44$7,750—$8.35
James City County—$10,715—$5.79
New Kent County$80$5,501—$3.83
Prince George County$64$4,187—$4.95
Surry County$80$2,949143.7$3.53
Median next door$64$6,626143.7 1 co.$5.37

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. Charles City County, Virginia. 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/virginia/charles-city-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.