Farmland Atlas · county record

King County, Washington

King County, WA: non-irrigated cash rent $164 an acre (2026); land and buildings $38,716 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 53033. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in King County runs $164 per acre in 2026, up 31.2 percent from 2014. Irrigated ground rents at $460 per acre, and the irrigated premium has moved from 1.77 in 2013 to 2.80 in 2026, with no clear direction over that span. Census land and building value stands at $38,716 per acre, up 9.8 percent from 2017 to 2022, or 1.9 percent a year. Drought pressure has concentrated recently: 48 of the 68 severe-drought weeks recorded since 2000 fell in 2021-2025, with 24 weeks in 2025 alone.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$164/ac
2026 county average
WA median $64 · 3rd highest of 22
Cash rent, irrigated
$460/ac
2026 county average
WA median $350 · 4th highest of 14
Land and buildings
$38,716/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WA median $5,067 · highest of 34
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
—
under the premium floor for a figure
Farmland rented
28%
2022 census, rented from others
WA median 34% · 15th lowest of 34

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$400$5002010201520202025$124$164 dry$193$460 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$164/ac
Change 2014 to 2026+31.2%nominal, $125 to $164
Irrigated, 2026$460/ac
Pasture, 2025$59/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$38,716/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$21,432/ac
Census 2017$35,248/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+9.8%+1.9% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 23% of cropland is irrigated (2022 census), so dry rent over the all-land census value is not a yield on anything

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1995. 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

200020052010201520202025024

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, 2000–202568 of 1,357 weeks5% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202524 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202548 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202652.8 °F1991–2020 normal 51.6 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.65 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September20.1 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 87% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger0.0 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 202223%
Drained by tile, 20229% of cropland1,705 ac
Farmed no-till, 20226% of cropland1,132 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland1,278 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202106331

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

CRP enrolled, 202531 ac
CRP expiring FY2026–202812 ac
Cattle and calves, 202213,377−29.2% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202228%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
King County$164$460$38,716—
Chelan County—$758 2025$18,894$11.17
Kitsap County$172—$50,663—
Kittitas County—$202$4,287$7.26
Pierce County$70 2023$466$28,343—
Snohomish County$140$402$22,374$1.59
Median next door$156 2 co.$402$22,374$7.26

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. King 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/king-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.