Benton County, Washington
Benton County, WA: non-irrigated cash rent $45 an acre (2024); land and buildings $4,153 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 53005. Figures as of 2026-09-20.
Irrigated cash rent 2025 runs $700 per acre, against a non-irrigated average of $45 per acre in 2024. Irrigation covers 67 percent of harvested cropland as of the 2022 census, and 17 percent of irrigation water came from groundwater in 2015. July nights have warmed: the 2017-2026 average low is 60.3 F, up from the 1991-2020 normal of 58.6 F, with a trend of 0.99 F per decade, warming. Heat and drought's share of crop insurance indemnities was 32 percent in 1989-1999, 24 percent in 2000-2009, 27 percent in 2010-2019, and 42 percent in 2020-2025. The county spent 83 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2021-2025, out of 225 such weeks over 2000-2025.
too few 2024 county surveys in the state to compare
too few 2025 county surveys in the state to compare
WA median $5,067 · 15th lowest of 34
WA median $8.03 · 5th lowest of 21
WA median 34% · 13th highest of 34
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 1989. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County | $45 2024 | $700 2025 | $4,153 | $5.97 |
| Morrow County, OR | $50 | $528 2025 | $2,202 | $5.50 |
| Umatilla County, OR | $79 2025 | $478 | $2,437 | $7.50 |
| Franklin County | $34 | $553 2025 | $5,182 | $5.54 |
| Grant County | $52 | $449 2025 | $5,216 | $5.67 |
| Klickitat County | $42 | $383 2024 | $2,482 | $8.03 |
| Walla Walla County | $74 2025 | $297 | $3,786 | $7.58 |
| Yakima County | — | $231 | $2,782 | $6.30 |
| Median next door | $46 | $297 | $2,782 | $6.30 |
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. Benton County, Washington. 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/washington/benton-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.