Farmland Atlas · county record

Kittitas County, Washington

Kittitas County, WA: irrigated cash rent $202 an acre (2026); land and buildings $4,287 an acre in the 2022 census; crop insurance loss ratio 1.70 since 1996. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 53037. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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All harvested cropland in Kittitas County is irrigated, 100 percent as of the 2022 census, with 14 percent of that water coming from groundwater in 2015. The county logged 134 of 1357 weeks in severe drought or worse from 2000-2025, with 39 weeks in 2005 alone and 24 weeks from 2021-2025. July nightly lows have warmed 0.94 F per decade since 1976, reaching 53.3 F for 2017-2026 against a 1991-2020 normal of 51.8 F.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
—
no dry rent published
Cash rent, irrigated
$202/ac
2026 county average
WA median $350 · 3rd lowest of 14
Land and buildings
$4,287/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WA median $5,067 · 16th lowest of 34
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.26
2016–2025, closed crop years
WA median $8.03 · 8th lowest of 21
Farmland rented
45%
2022 census, rented from others
WA median 34% · 12th highest of 34

Cash rent

$0$50$100$150$2002010201520202025$116$202 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.

Irrigated, 2026$202/acno dry rent published

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$4,287/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,421/ac
Census 2017$4,127/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+3.9%+0.8% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— NASS published no non-irrigated cash rent for this county in 2022

Corn yield

County corn yield— fewer than 8 published county corn yields

Crop insurance record

202120250.804.416.540.990.631.00: claims equal premium

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.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$7.26
Loss ratio, 2016–20252.04claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1995–20251.70$29.3 million paid
Worst year2023ratio 6.54
Largest causes of loss, 1996–2025heat and drought 36% · freeze 31% · price decline (revenue policies) 14%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202503921

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, 2000–2025134 of 1,357 weeks10% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200539 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202524 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202653.3 °F1991–2020 normal 51.8 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.94 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September7.2 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 83% 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, 2022100%
Drained by tile, 202212% of cropland7,087 ac
Farmed no-till, 20223% of cropland1,724 ac
Cover crops, 20222% of cropland1,314 ac
1986199119962001200620112016202104,3471,628

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

CRP enrolled, 20251,628 ac4% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–20280 ac0% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$43/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 202515.5 MW solar · 467.6 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202215,848−40.8% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202245%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Kittitas County—$202$4,287$7.26
Chelan County—$758 2025$18,894$11.17
Douglas County$53$285$2,784$10.69
Grant County$52$449 2025$5,216$5.67
King County$164$460$38,716—
Yakima County—$231$2,782$6.30
Median next door$53$285$5,216$8.50

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. Kittitas 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/kittitas-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.