Counties in North Carolina by farms

Randolph County had the highest farms of 100 counties in 1997, at 1,696. Dare County had the lowest, at 11. The median was 475 and the figure for North Carolina was 59,120. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,696Randolph County
Lowest11Dare County
Median475100 counties
North Carolina59,120History

Map of counties, 1997

Alamance County: 890 countAlexander County: 665 countAlleghany County: 652 countAnson County: 537 countAshe County: 1,290 countAvery County: 535 countBeaufort County: 429 countBertie County: 423 countBladen County: 637 countBrunswick County: 261 countBuncombe County: 1,266 countBurke County: 449 countCabarrus County: 588 countCaldwell County: 414 countCamden County: 87 countCarteret County: 121 countCaswell County: 644 countCatawba County: 739 countChatham County: 1,144 countCherokee County: 310 countChowan County: 175 countClay County: 200 countCleveland County: 1,087 countColumbus County: 1,015 countCraven County: 321 countCumberland County: 539 countCurrituck County: 100 countDare County: 11 countDavidson County: 1,151 countDavie County: 684 countDuplin County: 1,368 countDurham County: 199 countEdgecombe County: 351 countForsyth County: 796 countFranklin County: 629 countGaston County: 420 countGates County: 174 countGraham County: 146 countGranville County: 731 countGreene County: 331 countGuilford County: 1,148 countHalifax County: 398 countHarnett County: 740 countHaywood County: 962 countHenderson County: 612 countHertford County: 183 countHoke County: 200 countHyde County: 110 countIredell County: 1,387 countJackson County: 280 countJohnston County: 1,420 countJones County: 172 countLee County: 379 countLenoir County: 495 countLincoln County: 635 countMcDowell County: 289 countMacon County: 382 countMadison County: 1,071 countMartin County: 427 countMecklenburg County: 377 countMitchell County: 375 countMontgomery County: 310 countMoore County: 841 countNash County: 541 countNew Hanover County: 75 countNorthampton County: 404 countOnslow County: 438 countOrange County: 577 countPamlico County: 80 countPasquotank County: 203 countPender County: 333 countPerquimans County: 223 countPerson County: 455 countPitt County: 525 countPolk County: 255 countRandolph County: 1,696 countRichmond County: 294 countRobeson County: 1,211 countRockingham County: 915 countRowan County: 954 countRutherford County: 616 countSampson County: 1,299 countScotland County: 145 countStanly County: 666 countStokes County: 1,080 countSurry County: 1,430 countSwain County: 107 countTransylvania County: 228 countTyrrell County: 92 countUnion County: 1,388 countVance County: 264 countWake County: 928 countWarren County: 327 countWashington County: 236 countWatauga County: 856 countWayne County: 941 countWilkes County: 1,405 countWilson County: 433 countYadkin County: 1,053 countYancey County: 745 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 330
  • 330 to 480
  • 480 to 670
  • 670 to 1,100
  • 1,100 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.

Top 40 counties, 1997

Randolph County: 1,696 countRandolph County1,696Surry County: 1,430 countSurry County1,430Johnston County: 1,420 countJohnston County1,420Wilkes County: 1,405 countWilkes County1,405Union County: 1,388 countUnion County1,388Iredell County: 1,387 countIredell County1,387Duplin County: 1,368 countDuplin County1,368Sampson County: 1,299 countSampson County1,299Ashe County: 1,290 countAshe County1,290Buncombe County: 1,266 countBuncombe County1,266Robeson County: 1,211 countRobeson County1,211Davidson County: 1,151 countDavidson County1,151Guilford County: 1,148 countGuilford County1,148Chatham County: 1,144 countChatham County1,144Cleveland County: 1,087 countCleveland County1,087Stokes County: 1,080 countStokes County1,080Madison County: 1,071 countMadison County1,071Yadkin County: 1,053 countYadkin County1,053Columbus County: 1,015 countColumbus County1,015Haywood County: 962 countHaywood County962Rowan County: 954 countRowan County954Wayne County: 941 countWayne County941Wake County: 928 countWake County928Rockingham County: 915 countRockingham County915Alamance County: 890 countAlamance County890Watauga County: 856 countWatauga County856Moore County: 841 countMoore County841Forsyth County: 796 countForsyth County796Yancey County: 745 countYancey County745Harnett County: 740 countHarnett County740Catawba County: 739 countCatawba County739Granville County: 731 countGranville County731Davie County: 684 countDavie County684Stanly County: 666 countStanly County666Alexander County: 665 countAlexander County665Alleghany County: 652 countAlleghany County652Caswell County: 644 countCaswell County644Bladen County: 637 countBladen County637Lincoln County: 635 countLincoln County635Franklin County: 629 countFranklin County629Randolph County: 1,696 countRandolph County1,696Surry County: 1,430 countSurry County1,430Johnston County: 1,420 countJohnston County1,420Wilkes County: 1,405 countWilkes County1,405Union County: 1,388 countUnion County1,388Iredell County: 1,387 countIredell County1,387Duplin County: 1,368 countDuplin County1,368Sampson County: 1,299 countSampson County1,299Ashe County: 1,290 countAshe County1,290Buncombe County: 1,266 countBuncombe County1,266Robeson County: 1,211 countRobeson County1,211Davidson County: 1,151 countDavidson County1,151Guilford County: 1,148 countGuilford County1,148Chatham County: 1,144 countChatham County1,144Cleveland County: 1,087 countCleveland County1,087Stokes County: 1,080 countStokes County1,080Madison County: 1,071 countMadison County1,071Yadkin County: 1,053 countYadkin County1,053Columbus County: 1,015 countColumbus County1,015Haywood County: 962 countHaywood County962Rowan County: 954 countRowan County954Wayne County: 941 countWayne County941Wake County: 928 countWake County928Rockingham County: 915 countRockingham County915Alamance County: 890 countAlamance County890Watauga County: 856 countWatauga County856Moore County: 841 countMoore County841Forsyth County: 796 countForsyth County796Yancey County: 745 countYancey County745Harnett County: 740 countHarnett County740Catawba County: 739 countCatawba County739Granville County: 731 countGranville County731Davie County: 684 countDavie County684Stanly County: 666 countStanly County666Alexander County: 665 countAlexander County665Alleghany County: 652 countAlleghany County652Caswell County: 644 countCaswell County644Bladen County: 637 countBladen County637Lincoln County: 635 countLincoln County635Franklin County: 629 countFranklin County629
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

RankCounties1997
count
1Randolph County1,696
2Surry County1,430
3Johnston County1,420
4Wilkes County1,405
5Union County1,388
6Iredell County1,387
7Duplin County1,368
8Sampson County1,299
9Ashe County1,290
10Buncombe County1,266
11Robeson County1,211
12Davidson County1,151
13Guilford County1,148
14Chatham County1,144
15Cleveland County1,087
16Stokes County1,080
17Madison County1,071
18Yadkin County1,053
19Columbus County1,015
20Haywood County962
21Rowan County954
22Wayne County941
23Wake County928
24Rockingham County915
25Alamance County890
26Watauga County856
27Moore County841
28Forsyth County796
29Yancey County745
30Harnett County740
31Catawba County739
32Granville County731
33Davie County684
34Stanly County666
35Alexander County665
36Alleghany County652
37Caswell County644
38Bladen County637
39Lincoln County635
40Franklin County629
41Rutherford County616
42Henderson County612
43Cabarrus County588
44Orange County577
45Nash County541
46Cumberland County539
47Anson County537
48Avery County535
49Pitt County525
50Lenoir County495
51Person County455
52Burke County449
53Onslow County438
54Wilson County433
55Beaufort County429
56Martin County427
57Bertie County423
58Gaston County420
59Caldwell County414
60Northampton County404
61Halifax County398
62Macon County382
63Lee County379
64Mecklenburg County377
65Mitchell County375
66Edgecombe County351
67Pender County333
68Greene County331
69Warren County327
70Craven County321
71Cherokee County310
71Montgomery County310
73Richmond County294
74McDowell County289
75Jackson County280
76Vance County264
77Brunswick County261
78Polk County255
79Washington County236
80Transylvania County228
81Perquimans County223
82Pasquotank County203
83Clay County200
83Hoke County200
85Durham County199
86Hertford County183
87Chowan County175
88Gates County174
89Jones County172
90Graham County146
91Scotland County145
92Carteret County121
93Hyde County110
94Swain County107
95Currituck County100
96Tyrrell County92
97Camden County87
98Pamlico County80
99New Hanover County75
100Dare County11

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, 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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina by farms, 1997 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-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?

Randolph County, with 1,696 in 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Dare County, with 11 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 North Carolina: more rankings