Farmland Atlas · county record

Skagit County, Washington

Skagit County, WA: non-irrigated cash rent $256 an acre (2026); land and buildings $14,280 an acre in the 2022 census. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 53057. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

Open on the map Compare Printable sheet

Non-irrigated cash rent in Skagit County runs $256 per acre in 2026, up 11.3 percent from 2014. Irrigated land rents at $425 per acre, and the irrigated multiple over non-irrigated has moved with no clear direction, from 1.17 in 2009 to 1.66 in 2026. Land value under the operators' own estimate stands at $14,280 per acre, up 41 percent from 2017 to 2022. Crop insurance history shows excess moisture and flood as the largest cause of indemnities over 1989-2025, at 42 percent, while heat and drought's share moved from 7 percent in 1989-1999 to 23 percent in 2000-2009, 11 percent in 2010-2019, and 53 percent in 2020-2025. July nights have warmed 0.51 F per decade since 1976.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$256/ac
2026 county average
WA median $64 · highest of 22
Cash rent, irrigated
$425/ac
2026 county average
WA median $350 · 5th highest of 14
Land and buildings
$14,280/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
WA median $5,067 · 9th highest of 34
Corn yield, median
—
fewer than 8 published county corn yields
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$6.39
2016–2025, closed crop years
WA median $8.03 · 7th lowest of 21
Farmland rented
46%
2022 census, rented from others
WA median 34% · 10th highest of 34

Cash rent

$0$100$200$300$4002010201520202025$146$256 dry$222$425 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$256/ac
Change 2014 to 2026+11.3%nominal, $230 to $256
Irrigated, 2026$425/ac
Pasture, 2026$57/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$14,280/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$7,585/ac
Census 2017$10,130/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+41.0%+7.1% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— about 43% 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

2009201420171.441.000.290.372.411.00: claims equal premium

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$6.39
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.93claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.95$17.3 million paid
Worst year2017ratio 2.41
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025excess moisture 42% · freeze 35% · heat and drought 19%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

20002005201020152020202502113

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, 2000–202574 of 1,357 weeks6% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks202321 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202537 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202651.2 °F1991–2020 normal 50.4 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.51 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September19.9 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, 202243%
Drained by tile, 202214% of cropland9,264 ac
Farmed no-till, 20223% of cropland2,271 ac
Cover crops, 202211% of cropland7,277 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210608282

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

CRP enrolled, 2025282 ac0.5% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202897 ac34% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$704/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Cattle and calves, 202224,595−16.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202246%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentIrr. rentLand valueClaims per $100
Skagit County$256$425$14,280$6.39
Chelan County—$758 2025$18,894$11.17
Okanogan County$30$253$1,929$9.81
Snohomish County$140$402$22,374$1.59
Whatcom County$181$514$20,475$7.45
Median next door$140$402$19,685$8.63

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. Skagit 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/skagit-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.