Counties in North Carolina by farms

Randolph County had the highest farms of 100 counties in 2017, at 1,368. Dare County had the lowest, at 32. The median was 390 and the figure for North Carolina was 46,418. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest1,368Randolph County
Lowest32Dare County
Median390100 counties
North Carolina46,418History

Map of counties, 2017

Alamance County: 720 countAlexander County: 544 countAlleghany County: 448 countAnson County: 412 countAshe County: 864 countAvery County: 351 countBeaufort County: 310 countBertie County: 323 countBladen County: 512 countBrunswick County: 231 countBuncombe County: 1,073 countBurke County: 508 countCabarrus County: 629 countCaldwell County: 411 countCamden County: 81 countCarteret County: 158 countCaswell County: 493 countCatawba County: 638 countChatham County: 1,116 countCherokee County: 277 countChowan County: 97 countClay County: 164 countCleveland County: 1,005 countColumbus County: 514 countCraven County: 245 countCumberland County: 336 countCurrituck County: 89 countDare County: 32 countDavidson County: 1,003 countDavie County: 591 countDuplin County: 820 countDurham County: 241 countEdgecombe County: 249 countForsyth County: 557 countFranklin County: 538 countGaston County: 522 countGates County: 141 countGraham County: 123 countGranville County: 557 countGreene County: 207 countGuilford County: 854 countHalifax County: 336 countHarnett County: 643 countHaywood County: 541 countHenderson County: 455 countHertford County: 126 countHoke County: 189 countHyde County: 138 countIredell County: 1,055 countJackson County: 215 countJohnston County: 1,063 countJones County: 177 countLee County: 250 countLenoir County: 386 countLincoln County: 614 countMcDowell County: 333 countMacon County: 340 countMadison County: 639 countMartin County: 332 countMecklenburg County: 216 countMitchell County: 250 countMontgomery County: 240 countMoore County: 733 countNash County: 425 countNew Hanover County: 59 countNorthampton County: 272 countOnslow County: 340 countOrange County: 686 countPamlico County: 100 countPasquotank County: 126 countPender County: 336 countPerquimans County: 149 countPerson County: 393 countPitt County: 478 countPolk County: 281 countRandolph County: 1,368 countRichmond County: 237 countRobeson County: 722 countRockingham County: 844 countRowan County: 925 countRutherford County: 620 countSampson County: 960 countScotland County: 108 countStanly County: 672 countStokes County: 856 countSurry County: 1,064 countSwain County: 99 countTransylvania County: 215 countTyrrell County: 68 countUnion County: 957 countVance County: 238 countWake County: 691 countWarren County: 267 countWashington County: 141 countWatauga County: 520 countWayne County: 551 countWilkes County: 932 countWilson County: 276 countYadkin County: 818 countYancey County: 369 count
  • Under 160
  • 160 to 270
  • 270 to 390
  • 390 to 550
  • 550 to 820
  • 820 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Randolph County: 1,368 countRandolph County1,368Chatham County: 1,116 countChatham County1,116Buncombe County: 1,073 countBuncombe County1,073Surry County: 1,064 countSurry County1,064Johnston County: 1,063 countJohnston County1,063Iredell County: 1,055 countIredell County1,055Cleveland County: 1,005 countCleveland County1,005Davidson County: 1,003 countDavidson County1,003Sampson County: 960 countSampson County960Union County: 957 countUnion County957Wilkes County: 932 countWilkes County932Rowan County: 925 countRowan County925Ashe County: 864 countAshe County864Stokes County: 856 countStokes County856Guilford County: 854 countGuilford County854Rockingham County: 844 countRockingham County844Duplin County: 820 countDuplin County820Yadkin County: 818 countYadkin County818Moore County: 733 countMoore County733Robeson County: 722 countRobeson County722Alamance County: 720 countAlamance County720Wake County: 691 countWake County691Orange County: 686 countOrange County686Stanly County: 672 countStanly County672Harnett County: 643 countHarnett County643Madison County: 639 countMadison County639Catawba County: 638 countCatawba County638Cabarrus County: 629 countCabarrus County629Rutherford County: 620 countRutherford County620Lincoln County: 614 countLincoln County614Davie County: 591 countDavie County591Forsyth County: 557 countForsyth County557Granville County: 557 countGranville County557Wayne County: 551 countWayne County551Alexander County: 544 countAlexander County544Haywood County: 541 countHaywood County541Franklin County: 538 countFranklin County538Gaston County: 522 countGaston County522Watauga County: 520 countWatauga County520Columbus County: 514 countColumbus County514Randolph County: 1,368 countRandolph County1,368Chatham County: 1,116 countChatham County1,116Buncombe County: 1,073 countBuncombe County1,073Surry County: 1,064 countSurry County1,064Johnston County: 1,063 countJohnston County1,063Iredell County: 1,055 countIredell County1,055Cleveland County: 1,005 countCleveland County1,005Davidson County: 1,003 countDavidson County1,003Sampson County: 960 countSampson County960Union County: 957 countUnion County957Wilkes County: 932 countWilkes County932Rowan County: 925 countRowan County925Ashe County: 864 countAshe County864Stokes County: 856 countStokes County856Guilford County: 854 countGuilford County854Rockingham County: 844 countRockingham County844Duplin County: 820 countDuplin County820Yadkin County: 818 countYadkin County818Moore County: 733 countMoore County733Robeson County: 722 countRobeson County722Alamance County: 720 countAlamance County720Wake County: 691 countWake County691Orange County: 686 countOrange County686Stanly County: 672 countStanly County672Harnett County: 643 countHarnett County643Madison County: 639 countMadison County639Catawba County: 638 countCatawba County638Cabarrus County: 629 countCabarrus County629Rutherford County: 620 countRutherford County620Lincoln County: 614 countLincoln County614Davie County: 591 countDavie County591Forsyth County: 557 countForsyth County557Granville County: 557 countGranville County557Wayne County: 551 countWayne County551Alexander County: 544 countAlexander County544Haywood County: 541 countHaywood County541Franklin County: 538 countFranklin County538Gaston County: 522 countGaston County522Watauga County: 520 countWatauga County520Columbus County: 514 countColumbus County514
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

RankCounties2017
count
1Randolph County1,368
2Chatham County1,116
3Buncombe County1,073
4Surry County1,064
5Johnston County1,063
6Iredell County1,055
7Cleveland County1,005
8Davidson County1,003
9Sampson County960
10Union County957
11Wilkes County932
12Rowan County925
13Ashe County864
14Stokes County856
15Guilford County854
16Rockingham County844
17Duplin County820
18Yadkin County818
19Moore County733
20Robeson County722
21Alamance County720
22Wake County691
23Orange County686
24Stanly County672
25Harnett County643
26Madison County639
27Catawba County638
28Cabarrus County629
29Rutherford County620
30Lincoln County614
31Davie County591
32Forsyth County557
32Granville County557
34Wayne County551
35Alexander County544
36Haywood County541
37Franklin County538
38Gaston County522
39Watauga County520
40Columbus County514
41Bladen County512
42Burke County508
43Caswell County493
44Pitt County478
45Henderson County455
46Alleghany County448
47Nash County425
48Anson County412
49Caldwell County411
50Person County393
51Lenoir County386
52Yancey County369
53Avery County351
54Macon County340
54Onslow County340
56Cumberland County336
56Halifax County336
56Pender County336
59McDowell County333
60Martin County332
61Bertie County323
62Beaufort County310
63Polk County281
64Cherokee County277
65Wilson County276
66Northampton County272
67Warren County267
68Lee County250
68Mitchell County250
70Edgecombe County249
71Craven County245
72Durham County241
73Montgomery County240
74Vance County238
75Richmond County237
76Brunswick County231
77Mecklenburg County216
78Jackson County215
78Transylvania County215
80Greene County207
81Hoke County189
82Jones County177
83Clay County164
84Carteret County158
85Perquimans County149
86Gates County141
86Washington County141
88Hyde County138
89Hertford County126
89Pasquotank County126
91Graham County123
92Scotland County108
93Pamlico County100
94Swain County99
95Chowan County97
96Currituck County89
97Camden County81
98Tyrrell County68
99New Hanover County59
100Dare County32

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
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=2017.
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 1,368 in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Dare County, with 32 in 2017.

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