Who owns the ground?
Everybody argues about who's buying farmland. The census answers a quieter question first: how much of it is farmed by someone who doesn't own it at all. 39.3% of U.S. farmland — 346 million of 880 million acres — is rented from someone else (2022 census) · 691 of 3,020 counties are majority-rented · Illinois leads the Corn Belt at 55.8% · data refreshed 2026-07-18
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Every state: share of farmland rented — tap a state
mostly rentedabout halfa thirdmostly owner-farmedno data
39.3%
of U.S. farmland is rented
346M of 880M acres · 2022 census
691
majority-rented counties
of 3,020 with 2022 data
55.8%
Illinois
most-rented major farm state
49.8%
Iowa
was 53.9% in 1997
Your county, 2022
Share of land in farms rented from others. Click a county for its 25-year history.
The national picture, 1997 → 2022
Share of land in farms rented from others, every census. The national share barely moves — the county map above is where the story lives.
Every state, ranked
Click a column to sort. State names link to that state’s county cash-rent page.
| State | % rented 2022 | vs 1997 | Rented acres | Owned acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 69.9% | -7.6 pp | 0.6M | 0.3M |
| Illinois | 55.8% | -4.1 pp | 14.7M | 11.6M |
| Louisiana | 55.3% | +2.8 pp | 4.4M | 3.6M |
| Kansas | 54.3% | -1.0 pp | 24.3M | 20.5M |
| North Dakota | 53.9% | +3.0 pp | 20.8M | 17.8M |
| Indiana | 52.2% | +0.9 pp | 7.6M | 7.0M |
| Delaware | 51.8% | +1.4 pp | 0.3M | 0.3M |
| Iowa | 49.8% | -4.1 pp | 14.9M | 15.0M |
| Arkansas | 49.2% | +1.7 pp | 6.8M | 7.0M |
| Minnesota | 48.9% | +8.7 pp | 12.4M | 13.0M |
| Nebraska | 44.6% | +1.5 pp | 19.6M | 24.4M |
| Hawaii | 43.7% | -5.7 pp | 0.5M | 0.6M |
| Texas | 42.6% | -2.9 pp | 53.4M | 72.0M |
| South Dakota | 41.7% | +3.2 pp | 17.7M | 24.6M |
| Ohio | 41.7% | -4.1 pp | 5.7M | 8.0M |
| Michigan | 41.4% | +3.3 pp | 3.9M | 5.6M |
| Washington | 41.2% | -2.7 pp | 5.7M | 8.1M |
| California | 41.1% | -6.1 pp | 10.0M | 14.2M |
| Maryland | 41.0% | -2.9 pp | 0.8M | 1.2M |
| North Carolina | 40.6% | -0.7 pp | 3.3M | 4.8M |
| Oklahoma | 39.1% | -5.2 pp | 12.9M | 20.0M |
| Mississippi | 38.3% | +0.7 pp | 3.9M | 6.3M |
| Missouri | 35.6% | +1.5 pp | 9.6M | 17.4M |
| Florida | 34.6% | +8.4 pp | 3.4M | 6.3M |
| Tennessee | 34.5% | +4.3 pp | 3.7M | 7.0M |
| Wisconsin | 34.3% | +8.4 pp | 4.7M | 9.1M |
| Virginia | 33.9% | -0.2 pp | 2.5M | 4.8M |
| Wyoming | 33.8% | -5.1 pp | 9.7M | 19.1M |
| Idaho | 33.0% | -0.3 pp | 3.8M | 7.7M |
| Colorado | 32.7% | -4.7 pp | 9.9M | 20.3M |
| Montana | 32.2% | -2.4 pp | 18.6M | 39.0M |
| New Jersey | 31.7% | -9.4 pp | 0.2M | 0.5M |
| Kentucky | 31.4% | +4.6 pp | 3.9M | 8.5M |
| Pennsylvania | 31.3% | -0.7 pp | 2.2M | 4.8M |
| Oregon | 29.4% | -5.4 pp | 4.5M | 10.8M |
| South Carolina | 28.3% | -2.9 pp | 1.3M | 3.3M |
| Connecticut | 28.1% | -0.7 pp | 0.1M | 0.3M |
| Alabama | 28.1% | +0.4 pp | 2.4M | 6.2M |
| New Mexico | 27.9% | -7.0 pp | 10.9M | 28.2M |
| New York | 27.2% | +1.6 pp | 1.8M | 4.7M |
| Georgia | 26.6% | +1.2 pp | 2.6M | 7.3M |
| West Virginia | 22.0% | -1.5 pp | 0.8M | 2.8M |
| Vermont | 18.7% | -6.2 pp | 0.2M | 1.0M |
| Rhode Island | 18.4% | -5.6 pp | 0.0M | 0.0M |
| Nevada | 16.6% | -9.9 pp | 1.0M | 4.9M |
| Utah | 15.6% | -3.0 pp | 1.6M | 8.9M |
| Maine | 15.6% | -2.7 pp | 0.2M | 1.0M |
| Massachusetts | 14.7% | -5.9 pp | 0.1M | 0.4M |
| New Hampshire | 11.4% | -6.0 pp | 0.0M | 0.4M |
| Arizona | 7.6% | -0.3 pp | 2.0M | 23.6M |
Honest limits. "Rented from others" is what farms themselves reported to the
Census of Agriculture — it includes ground rented from retired neighbors, family, heirs, and investors alike.
The census can't tell you where the landlord lives, and neither can this page. Counties USDA suppressed for
privacy simply lack that year. Alaska's 69.9% is real but tiny in acres; grain-state percentages carry the weight.
Do something with it: if your county is majority-rented,
the rent number IS the market — see it on the county cash-rent map or your
state’s rent page · put the number on paper with the
printable cash lease · wondering about foreign owners specifically? That’s a
different (and much smaller) dataset: the AFIDA foreign-owned land map.
Questions people actually ask
What share of U.S. farmland is rented?
In the 2022 Census of Agriculture, farms reported renting 346 million of the 880 million acres they operate — 39.3%. In 1997 it was 40.3%. The share is remarkably stable nationally, but it varies enormously by county: 691 counties are majority-rented.
Which states have the most rented farmland?
Illinois (55.8%), Louisiana (55.3%), Kansas (54.3%), North Dakota (53.9%) and Indiana (52.2%) lead among major farm states — in each, most of the farmland is worked by someone who doesn't own it. Iowa sits at 49.8%. New England and Arizona are the opposite extreme, under 16%.
Where does this data come from?
The USDA Census of Agriculture, taken every five years (1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022). Farms report acres owned and acres rented from others. This page divides rented-from-others by total land in farms. No survey sampling, no modeling — it's the census.
Does rented farmland mean absentee landlords?
Not necessarily. Rented ground includes land owned by retired farmers, widows and heirs still in the county, family members, and local investors — as well as out-of-area owners. The census counts the tenure arrangement, not where the landlord sleeps. What it does tell you: who carries the operating risk (the renter) and who collects a fixed rent (the owner).
Why does the rented share matter for cash rent?
The bigger the rented share, the more of a county's economics run through the rental market — and the more the county cash rent number is the number. That's why this page links straight to the county rent map and the printable lease.
Source: USDA Census of Agriculture (1997–2022), land in farms by ownership, county/state/national, domain totals only. Rebuilt automatically when a new census publishes. Data refreshed 2026-07-18. AGSIST is free and sells nothing on this page.