Counties in North Carolina by farms, 2022

Randolph County had the highest farms of 100 counties in 2022, at 1,238. Dare County had the lowest, at 18. The median was 359 and the figure for North Carolina was 42,817. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Highest1,238Randolph County
Lowest18Dare County
Median359100 counties
North Carolina42,817History

Top 40 counties, 2022

Randolph County: 1,238 countRandolph County1,238Chatham County: 1,076 countChatham County1,076Buncombe County: 1,074 countBuncombe County1,074Johnston County: 964 countJohnston County964Duplin County: 949 countDuplin County949Surry County: 933 countSurry County933Iredell County: 894 countIredell County894Sampson County: 882 countSampson County882Union County: 882 countUnion County882Cleveland County: 872 countCleveland County872Wilkes County: 871 countWilkes County871Davidson County: 847 countDavidson County847Moore County: 802 countMoore County802Rowan County: 801 countRowan County801Guilford County: 775 countGuilford County775Rockingham County: 769 countRockingham County769Ashe County: 760 countAshe County760Yadkin County: 754 countYadkin County754Robeson County: 732 countRobeson County732Stokes County: 726 countStokes County726Alamance County: 724 countAlamance County724Orange County: 687 countOrange County687Wake County: 664 countWake County664Stanly County: 649 countStanly County649Cabarrus County: 630 countCabarrus County630Rutherford County: 614 countRutherford County614Catawba County: 608 countCatawba County608Davie County: 594 countDavie County594Haywood County: 567 countHaywood County567Harnett County: 563 countHarnett County563Lincoln County: 552 countLincoln County552Alexander County: 535 countAlexander County535Madison County: 535 countMadison County535Henderson County: 520 countHenderson County520Franklin County: 518 countFranklin County518Granville County: 483 countGranville County483Forsyth County: 482 countForsyth County482Burke County: 473 countBurke County473Columbus County: 447 countColumbus County447Alleghany County: 435 countAlleghany County435
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

RankCounties2022
count
1Randolph County1,238
2Chatham County1,076
3Buncombe County1,074
4Johnston County964
5Duplin County949
6Surry County933
7Iredell County894
8Sampson County882
8Union County882
10Cleveland County872
11Wilkes County871
12Davidson County847
13Moore County802
14Rowan County801
15Guilford County775
16Rockingham County769
17Ashe County760
18Yadkin County754
19Robeson County732
20Stokes County726
21Alamance County724
22Orange County687
23Wake County664
24Stanly County649
25Cabarrus County630
26Rutherford County614
27Catawba County608
28Davie County594
29Haywood County567
30Harnett County563
31Lincoln County552
32Alexander County535
32Madison County535
34Henderson County520
35Franklin County518
36Granville County483
37Forsyth County482
38Burke County473
39Columbus County447
40Alleghany County435
41Caldwell County430
42Bladen County423
43Anson County421
44Wayne County415
45Caswell County412
45Gaston County412
47Watauga County400
48Nash County375
49Pitt County367
50Person County364
51Pender County354
52Lenoir County352
53Macon County346
54Onslow County342
55Avery County335
56Cumberland County327
57McDowell County298
58Craven County292
59Bertie County288
59Yancey County288
61Martin County286
62Polk County274
63Lee County264
64Mitchell County263
65Richmond County261
66Beaufort County259
67Northampton County257
68Cherokee County246
69Edgecombe County243
70Brunswick County238
71Warren County237
72Jackson County236
73Halifax County220
74Durham County212
75Greene County210
75Montgomery County210
77Wilson County207
78Hoke County185
79Clay County178
80Vance County170
81Mecklenburg County165
82Transylvania County142
83Perquimans County137
84Chowan County134
85Pasquotank County133
86Jones County126
87Hyde County123
88Gates County122
89Scotland County121
90Washington County110
91Hertford County97
92Carteret County94
93Currituck County87
94Pamlico County81
95Camden County76
96Tyrrell County73
97Graham County70
97Swain County70
99New Hanover County60
100Dare County18

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 North Carolina by farms, 2022) [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 North Carolina by farms, 2022. 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/north-carolina-counties. 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 North Carolina by farms, 2022. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties.

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 North Carolina by farms, 2022 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_2022,
  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 North Carolina by farms, 2022}},
  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/north-carolina-counties. 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 North Carolina by farms, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties.
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?

Randolph County, with 1,238 in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Dare County, with 18 in 2022.

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 North Carolina: more rankings