Counties in North Carolina by farms

Randolph County had the highest farms of 100 counties in 2002, at 1,583. Dare County had the lowest, at 8. The median was 444 and the figure for North Carolina was 53,930. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,583Randolph County
Median444100 counties
North Carolina53,930History

Map of counties, 2002

Alamance County: 831 countAlexander County: 661 countAlleghany County: 544 countAnson County: 539 countAshe County: 1,152 countAvery County: 495 countBeaufort County: 395 countBertie County: 330 countBladen County: 551 countBrunswick County: 271 countBuncombe County: 1,192 countBurke County: 439 countCabarrus County: 658 countCaldwell County: 411 countCamden County: 70 countCarteret County: 128 countCaswell County: 517 countCatawba County: 715 countChatham County: 1,128 countCherokee County: 262 countChowan County: 173 countClay County: 168 countCleveland County: 1,131 countColumbus County: 828 countCraven County: 275 countCumberland County: 478 countCurrituck County: 82 countDare County: 8 countDavidson County: 1,138 countDavie County: 705 countDuplin County: 1,190 countDurham County: 238 countEdgecombe County: 281 countForsyth County: 783 countFranklin County: 574 countGaston County: 450 countGates County: 129 countGraham County: 143 countGranville County: 674 countGreene County: 271 countGuilford County: 1,095 countHalifax County: 380 countHarnett County: 730 countHaywood County: 795 countHenderson County: 525 countHertford County: 136 countHoke County: 201 countHyde County: 144 countIredell County: 1,262 countJackson County: 248 countJohnston County: 1,144 countJones County: 154 countLee County: 304 countLenoir County: 428 countLincoln County: 618 countMcDowell County: 282 countMacon County: 347 countMadison County: 973 countMartin County: 305 countMecklenburg County: 300 countMitchell County: 358 countMontgomery County: 292 countMoore County: 820 countNash County: 478 countNew Hanover County: 77 countNorthampton County: 328 countOnslow County: 404 countOrange County: 627 countPamlico County: 68 countPasquotank County: 157 countPender County: 296 countPerquimans County: 193 countPerson County: 374 countPitt County: 448 countPolk County: 260 countRandolph County: 1,583 countRichmond County: 257 countRobeson County: 873 countRockingham County: 871 countRowan County: 951 countRutherford County: 653 countSampson County: 1,178 countScotland County: 159 countStanly County: 719 countStokes County: 934 countSurry County: 1,268 countSwain County: 83 countTransylvania County: 256 countTyrrell County: 91 countUnion County: 1,224 countVance County: 228 countWake County: 846 countWarren County: 297 countWashington County: 193 countWatauga County: 731 countWayne County: 722 countWilkes County: 1,273 countWilson County: 315 countYadkin County: 1,044 countYancey County: 622 count
  • Under 180
  • 180 to 300
  • 300 to 440
  • 440 to 660
  • 660 to 940
  • 940 and over
count, 2002. 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, 2002

Randolph County: 1,583 countRandolph County1,583Wilkes County: 1,273 countWilkes County1,273Surry County: 1,268 countSurry County1,268Iredell County: 1,262 countIredell County1,262Union County: 1,224 countUnion County1,224Buncombe County: 1,192 countBuncombe County1,192Duplin County: 1,190 countDuplin County1,190Sampson County: 1,178 countSampson County1,178Ashe County: 1,152 countAshe County1,152Johnston County: 1,144 countJohnston County1,144Davidson County: 1,138 countDavidson County1,138Cleveland County: 1,131 countCleveland County1,131Chatham County: 1,128 countChatham County1,128Guilford County: 1,095 countGuilford County1,095Yadkin County: 1,044 countYadkin County1,044Madison County: 973 countMadison County973Rowan County: 951 countRowan County951Stokes County: 934 countStokes County934Robeson County: 873 countRobeson County873Rockingham County: 871 countRockingham County871Wake County: 846 countWake County846Alamance County: 831 countAlamance County831Columbus County: 828 countColumbus County828Moore County: 820 countMoore County820Haywood County: 795 countHaywood County795Forsyth County: 783 countForsyth County783Watauga County: 731 countWatauga County731Harnett County: 730 countHarnett County730Wayne County: 722 countWayne County722Stanly County: 719 countStanly County719Catawba County: 715 countCatawba County715Davie County: 705 countDavie County705Granville County: 674 countGranville County674Alexander County: 661 countAlexander County661Cabarrus County: 658 countCabarrus County658Rutherford County: 653 countRutherford County653Orange County: 627 countOrange County627Yancey County: 622 countYancey County622Lincoln County: 618 countLincoln County618Franklin County: 574 countFranklin County574Randolph County: 1,583 countRandolph County1,583Wilkes County: 1,273 countWilkes County1,273Surry County: 1,268 countSurry County1,268Iredell County: 1,262 countIredell County1,262Union County: 1,224 countUnion County1,224Buncombe County: 1,192 countBuncombe County1,192Duplin County: 1,190 countDuplin County1,190Sampson County: 1,178 countSampson County1,178Ashe County: 1,152 countAshe County1,152Johnston County: 1,144 countJohnston County1,144Davidson County: 1,138 countDavidson County1,138Cleveland County: 1,131 countCleveland County1,131Chatham County: 1,128 countChatham County1,128Guilford County: 1,095 countGuilford County1,095Yadkin County: 1,044 countYadkin County1,044Madison County: 973 countMadison County973Rowan County: 951 countRowan County951Stokes County: 934 countStokes County934Robeson County: 873 countRobeson County873Rockingham County: 871 countRockingham County871Wake County: 846 countWake County846Alamance County: 831 countAlamance County831Columbus County: 828 countColumbus County828Moore County: 820 countMoore County820Haywood County: 795 countHaywood County795Forsyth County: 783 countForsyth County783Watauga County: 731 countWatauga County731Harnett County: 730 countHarnett County730Wayne County: 722 countWayne County722Stanly County: 719 countStanly County719Catawba County: 715 countCatawba County715Davie County: 705 countDavie County705Granville County: 674 countGranville County674Alexander County: 661 countAlexander County661Cabarrus County: 658 countCabarrus County658Rutherford County: 653 countRutherford County653Orange County: 627 countOrange County627Yancey County: 622 countYancey County622Lincoln County: 618 countLincoln County618Franklin County: 574 countFranklin County574
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

RankCounties2002
count
1Randolph County1,583
2Wilkes County1,273
3Surry County1,268
4Iredell County1,262
5Union County1,224
6Buncombe County1,192
7Duplin County1,190
8Sampson County1,178
9Ashe County1,152
10Johnston County1,144
11Davidson County1,138
12Cleveland County1,131
13Chatham County1,128
14Guilford County1,095
15Yadkin County1,044
16Madison County973
17Rowan County951
18Stokes County934
19Robeson County873
20Rockingham County871
21Wake County846
22Alamance County831
23Columbus County828
24Moore County820
25Haywood County795
26Forsyth County783
27Watauga County731
28Harnett County730
29Wayne County722
30Stanly County719
31Catawba County715
32Davie County705
33Granville County674
34Alexander County661
35Cabarrus County658
36Rutherford County653
37Orange County627
38Yancey County622
39Lincoln County618
40Franklin County574
41Bladen County551
42Alleghany County544
43Anson County539
44Henderson County525
45Caswell County517
46Avery County495
47Cumberland County478
47Nash County478
49Gaston County450
50Pitt County448
51Burke County439
52Lenoir County428
53Caldwell County411
54Onslow County404
55Beaufort County395
56Halifax County380
57Person County374
58Mitchell County358
59Macon County347
60Bertie County330
61Northampton County328
62Wilson County315
63Martin County305
64Lee County304
65Mecklenburg County300
66Warren County297
67Pender County296
68Montgomery County292
69McDowell County282
70Edgecombe County281
71Craven County275
72Brunswick County271
72Greene County271
74Cherokee County262
75Polk County260
76Richmond County257
77Transylvania County256
78Jackson County248
79Durham County238
80Vance County228
81Hoke County201
82Perquimans County193
82Washington County193
84Chowan County173
85Clay County168
86Scotland County159
87Pasquotank County157
88Jones County154
89Hyde County144
90Graham County143
91Hertford County136
92Gates County129
93Carteret County128
94Tyrrell County91
95Swain County83
96Currituck County82
97New Hanover County77
98Camden County70
99Pamlico County68
100Dare County8

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, 2002) [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, 2002. 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=2002. 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, 2002. 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=2002.

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, 2002 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2002 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_2002,
  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, 2002}},
  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=2002. 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, 2002
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=2002
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=2002.
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 1,583 in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Dare County, with 8 in 2002.

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