Counties in California by farms

San Diego County had the highest farms of 58 counties in 1997, at 7,293. San Francisco County had the lowest, at 10. The median was 990 and the figure for California was 87,991. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest7,293San Diego County
Median99058 counties
California87,991History

Map of counties, 1997

Alameda County: 598 countAlpine County: 18 countAmador County: 453 countButte County: 2,312 countCalaveras County: 606 countColusa County: 896 countContra Costa County: 770 countDel Norte County: 82 countEl Dorado County: 991 countFresno County: 7,040 countGlenn County: 1,358 countHumboldt County: 989 countImperial County: 609 countInyo County: 106 countKern County: 2,369 countKings County: 1,215 countLake County: 954 countLassen County: 446 countLos Angeles County: 1,651 countMadera County: 1,867 countMarin County: 345 countMariposa County: 336 countMendocino County: 1,270 countMerced County: 3,218 countModoc County: 498 countMono County: 75 countMonterey County: 1,395 countNapa County: 1,345 countNevada County: 561 countOrange County: 421 countPlacer County: 1,339 countPlumas County: 145 countRiverside County: 3,877 countSacramento County: 1,643 countSan Benito County: 693 countSan Bernardino County: 1,863 countSan Diego County: 7,293 countSan Francisco County: 10 countSan Joaquin County: 4,387 countSan Luis Obispo County: 2,343 countSan Mateo County: 302 countSanta Barbara County: 1,771 countSanta Clara County: 1,242 countSanta Cruz County: 863 countShasta County: 1,108 countSierra County: 57 countSiskiyou County: 883 countSolano County: 986 countSonoma County: 3,156 countStanislaus County: 4,727 countSutter County: 1,514 countTehama County: 1,679 countTrinity County: 151 countTulare County: 6,223 countTuolumne County: 356 countVentura County: 2,612 countYolo County: 1,077 countYuba County: 897 count
  • Under 340
  • 340 to 610
  • 610 to 990
  • 990 to 1,400
  • 1,400 to 2,400
  • 2,400 and over
count, 1997. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 1997

San Diego County: 7,293 countSan Diego County7,293Fresno County: 7,040 countFresno County7,040Tulare County: 6,223 countTulare County6,223Stanislaus County: 4,727 countStanislaus County4,727San Joaquin County: 4,387 countSan Joaquin County4,387Riverside County: 3,877 countRiverside County3,877Merced County: 3,218 countMerced County3,218Sonoma County: 3,156 countSonoma County3,156Ventura County: 2,612 countVentura County2,612Kern County: 2,369 countKern County2,369San Luis Obispo County: 2,343 countSan Luis Obispo County2,343Butte County: 2,312 countButte County2,312Madera County: 1,867 countMadera County1,867San Bernardino County: 1,863 countSan Bernardino County1,863Santa Barbara County: 1,771 countSanta Barbara County1,771Tehama County: 1,679 countTehama County1,679Los Angeles County: 1,651 countLos Angeles County1,651Sacramento County: 1,643 countSacramento County1,643Sutter County: 1,514 countSutter County1,514Monterey County: 1,395 countMonterey County1,395Glenn County: 1,358 countGlenn County1,358Napa County: 1,345 countNapa County1,345Placer County: 1,339 countPlacer County1,339Mendocino County: 1,270 countMendocino County1,270Santa Clara County: 1,242 countSanta Clara County1,242Kings County: 1,215 countKings County1,215Shasta County: 1,108 countShasta County1,108Yolo County: 1,077 countYolo County1,077El Dorado County: 991 countEl Dorado County991Humboldt County: 989 countHumboldt County989Solano County: 986 countSolano County986Lake County: 954 countLake County954Yuba County: 897 countYuba County897Colusa County: 896 countColusa County896Siskiyou County: 883 countSiskiyou County883Santa Cruz County: 863 countSanta Cruz County863Contra Costa County: 770 countContra Costa County770San Benito County: 693 countSan Benito County693Imperial County: 609 countImperial County609Calaveras County: 606 countCalaveras County606Alameda County: 598 countAlameda County598Nevada County: 561 countNevada County561Modoc County: 498 countModoc County498Amador County: 453 countAmador County453Lassen County: 446 countLassen County446Orange County: 421 countOrange County421Tuolumne County: 356 countTuolumne County356Marin County: 345 countMarin County345Mariposa County: 336 countMariposa County336San Mateo County: 302 countSan Mateo County302Trinity County: 151 countTrinity County151Plumas County: 145 countPlumas County145Inyo County: 106 countInyo County106Del Norte County: 82 countDel Norte County82Mono County: 75 countMono County75Sierra County: 57 countSierra County57Alpine County: 18 countAlpine County18San Francisco County: 10 countSan Francisco County10San Diego County: 7,293 countSan Diego County7,293Fresno County: 7,040 countFresno County7,040Tulare County: 6,223 countTulare County6,223Stanislaus County: 4,727 countStanislaus County4,727San Joaquin County: 4,387 countSan Joaquin County4,387Riverside County: 3,877 countRiverside County3,877Merced County: 3,218 countMerced County3,218Sonoma County: 3,156 countSonoma County3,156Ventura County: 2,612 countVentura County2,612Kern County: 2,369 countKern County2,369San Luis Obispo County: 2,343 countSan Luis Obispo County2,343Butte County: 2,312 countButte County2,312Madera County: 1,867 countMadera County1,867San Bernardino County: 1,863 countSan Bernardino County1,863Santa Barbara County: 1,771 countSanta Barbara County1,771Tehama County: 1,679 countTehama County1,679Los Angeles County: 1,651 countLos Angeles County1,651Sacramento County: 1,643 countSacramento County1,643Sutter County: 1,514 countSutter County1,514Monterey County: 1,395 countMonterey County1,395Glenn County: 1,358 countGlenn County1,358Napa County: 1,345 countNapa County1,345Placer County: 1,339 countPlacer County1,339Mendocino County: 1,270 countMendocino County1,270Santa Clara County: 1,242 countSanta Clara County1,242Kings County: 1,215 countKings County1,215Shasta County: 1,108 countShasta County1,108Yolo County: 1,077 countYolo County1,077El Dorado County: 991 countEl Dorado County991Humboldt County: 989 countHumboldt County989Solano County: 986 countSolano County986Lake County: 954 countLake County954Yuba County: 897 countYuba County897Colusa County: 896 countColusa County896Siskiyou County: 883 countSiskiyou County883Santa Cruz County: 863 countSanta Cruz County863Contra Costa County: 770 countContra Costa County770San Benito County: 693 countSan Benito County693Imperial County: 609 countImperial County609Calaveras County: 606 countCalaveras County606Alameda County: 598 countAlameda County598Nevada County: 561 countNevada County561Modoc County: 498 countModoc County498Amador County: 453 countAmador County453Lassen County: 446 countLassen County446Orange County: 421 countOrange County421Tuolumne County: 356 countTuolumne County356Marin County: 345 countMarin County345Mariposa County: 336 countMariposa County336San Mateo County: 302 countSan Mateo County302Trinity County: 151 countTrinity County151Plumas County: 145 countPlumas County145Inyo County: 106 countInyo County106Del Norte County: 82 countDel Norte County82Mono County: 75 countMono County75Sierra County: 57 countSierra County57Alpine County: 18 countAlpine County18San Francisco County: 10 countSan Francisco County10
count. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

Other periods

About this ranking

Places from which 1,000 dollars or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year, as counted by the USDA Census of Agriculture every five years.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2026). Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) (Counties in California by farms, 1997) [Data set]. Data Commons. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/

MLA 9

Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in California by farms, 1997. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 11 Oct. 2026, https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Data Commons, https://datacommons.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/california-counties?period=1997. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Counties in California by farms, 1997. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/california-counties?period=1997.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in California by farms, 1997 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/california-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_california_by_1997,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in California by farms, 1997}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {Data Commons},
  url = {https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/california-counties?period=1997. Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
TI  - Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in California by farms, 1997
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/california-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/california-counties?period=1997.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest farms?

San Diego County, with 7,293 in 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

San Francisco County, with 10 in 1997.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Farms: other rankings

Counties in California: more rankings