Data / Rankings / Farms / US states

US states by farms

Texas had the highest farms of 50 states in 2012, at 248,809. Alaska had the lowest, at 762. The median was 35,859 and the figure for the United States was 2.11 million. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest248,809Texas
Lowest762Alaska
Median35,85950 states
United States2,109,303History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 43,223 countAlaska: 762 countArizona: 20,005 countArkansas: 45,071 countCalifornia: 77,857 countColorado: 36,180 countConnecticut: 5,977 countDelaware: 2,451 countFlorida: 47,740 countGeorgia: 42,257 countHawaii: 7,000 countIdaho: 24,816 countIllinois: 75,087 countIndiana: 58,695 countIowa: 88,637 countKansas: 61,773 countKentucky: 77,064 countLouisiana: 28,093 countMaine: 8,173 countMaryland: 12,256 countMassachusetts: 7,755 countMichigan: 52,194 countMinnesota: 74,542 countMississippi: 38,076 countMissouri: 99,171 countMontana: 28,008 countNebraska: 49,969 countNevada: 4,137 countNew Hampshire: 4,391 countNew Jersey: 9,071 countNew Mexico: 24,721 countNew York: 35,537 countNorth Carolina: 50,218 countNorth Dakota: 30,961 countOhio: 75,462 countOklahoma: 80,245 countOregon: 35,439 countPennsylvania: 59,309 countRhode Island: 1,243 countSouth Carolina: 25,266 countSouth Dakota: 31,989 countTennessee: 68,050 countTexas: 248,809 countUtah: 18,027 countVermont: 7,338 countVirginia: 46,030 countWashington: 37,249 countWest Virginia: 21,489 countWisconsin: 69,754 countWyoming: 11,736 count
  • Under 8,000
  • 8,000 to 25K
  • 25K to 36K
  • 36K to 49K
  • 49K to 74K
  • 74K and over
  • No data
count, 2012. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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 states, 2012

Texas: 248,809 countTexas248,809Missouri: 99,171 countMissouri99,171Iowa: 88,637 countIowa88,637Oklahoma: 80,245 countOklahoma80,245California: 77,857 countCalifornia77,857Kentucky: 77,064 countKentucky77,064Ohio: 75,462 countOhio75,462Illinois: 75,087 countIllinois75,087Minnesota: 74,542 countMinnesota74,542Wisconsin: 69,754 countWisconsin69,754Tennessee: 68,050 countTennessee68,050Kansas: 61,773 countKansas61,773Pennsylvania: 59,309 countPennsylvania59,309Indiana: 58,695 countIndiana58,695Michigan: 52,194 countMichigan52,194North Carolina: 50,218 countNorth Carolina50,218Nebraska: 49,969 countNebraska49,969Florida: 47,740 countFlorida47,740Virginia: 46,030 countVirginia46,030Arkansas: 45,071 countArkansas45,071Alabama: 43,223 countAlabama43,223Georgia: 42,257 countGeorgia42,257Mississippi: 38,076 countMississippi38,076Washington: 37,249 countWashington37,249Colorado: 36,180 countColorado36,180New York: 35,537 countNew York35,537Oregon: 35,439 countOregon35,439South Dakota: 31,989 countSouth Dakota31,989North Dakota: 30,961 countNorth Dakota30,961Louisiana: 28,093 countLouisiana28,093Montana: 28,008 countMontana28,008South Carolina: 25,266 countSouth Carolina25,266Idaho: 24,816 countIdaho24,816New Mexico: 24,721 countNew Mexico24,721West Virginia: 21,489 countWest Virginia21,489Arizona: 20,005 countArizona20,005Utah: 18,027 countUtah18,027Maryland: 12,256 countMaryland12,256Wyoming: 11,736 countWyoming11,736New Jersey: 9,071 countNew Jersey9,071Maine: 8,173 countMaine8,173Massachusetts: 7,755 countMassachusetts7,755Vermont: 7,338 countVermont7,338Hawaii: 7,000 countHawaii7,000Connecticut: 5,977 countConnecticut5,977New Hampshire: 4,391 countNew Hampshire4,391Nevada: 4,137 countNevada4,137Delaware: 2,451 countDelaware2,451Rhode Island: 1,243 countRhode Island1,243Alaska: 762 countAlaska762Texas: 248,809 countTexas248,809Missouri: 99,171 countMissouri99,171Iowa: 88,637 countIowa88,637Oklahoma: 80,245 countOklahoma80,245California: 77,857 countCalifornia77,857Kentucky: 77,064 countKentucky77,064Ohio: 75,462 countOhio75,462Illinois: 75,087 countIllinois75,087Minnesota: 74,542 countMinnesota74,542Wisconsin: 69,754 countWisconsin69,754Tennessee: 68,050 countTennessee68,050Kansas: 61,773 countKansas61,773Pennsylvania: 59,309 countPennsylvania59,309Indiana: 58,695 countIndiana58,695Michigan: 52,194 countMichigan52,194North Carolina: 50,218 countNorth Carolina50,218Nebraska: 49,969 countNebraska49,969Florida: 47,740 countFlorida47,740Virginia: 46,030 countVirginia46,030Arkansas: 45,071 countArkansas45,071Alabama: 43,223 countAlabama43,223Georgia: 42,257 countGeorgia42,257Mississippi: 38,076 countMississippi38,076Washington: 37,249 countWashington37,249Colorado: 36,180 countColorado36,180New York: 35,537 countNew York35,537Oregon: 35,439 countOregon35,439South Dakota: 31,989 countSouth Dakota31,989North Dakota: 30,961 countNorth Dakota30,961Louisiana: 28,093 countLouisiana28,093Montana: 28,008 countMontana28,008South Carolina: 25,266 countSouth Carolina25,266Idaho: 24,816 countIdaho24,816New Mexico: 24,721 countNew Mexico24,721West Virginia: 21,489 countWest Virginia21,489Arizona: 20,005 countArizona20,005Utah: 18,027 countUtah18,027Maryland: 12,256 countMaryland12,256Wyoming: 11,736 countWyoming11,736New Jersey: 9,071 countNew Jersey9,071Maine: 8,173 countMaine8,173Massachusetts: 7,755 countMassachusetts7,755Vermont: 7,338 countVermont7,338Hawaii: 7,000 countHawaii7,000Connecticut: 5,977 countConnecticut5,977New Hampshire: 4,391 countNew Hampshire4,391Nevada: 4,137 countNevada4,137Delaware: 2,451 countDelaware2,451Rhode Island: 1,243 countRhode Island1,243Alaska: 762 countAlaska762
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

RankStates2012
count
1Texas248,809
2Missouri99,171
3Iowa88,637
4Oklahoma80,245
5California77,857
6Kentucky77,064
7Ohio75,462
8Illinois75,087
9Minnesota74,542
10Wisconsin69,754
11Tennessee68,050
12Kansas61,773
13Pennsylvania59,309
14Indiana58,695
15Michigan52,194
16North Carolina50,218
17Nebraska49,969
18Florida47,740
19Virginia46,030
20Arkansas45,071
21Alabama43,223
22Georgia42,257
23Mississippi38,076
24Washington37,249
25Colorado36,180
26New York35,537
27Oregon35,439
28South Dakota31,989
29North Dakota30,961
30Louisiana28,093
31Montana28,008
32South Carolina25,266
33Idaho24,816
34New Mexico24,721
35West Virginia21,489
36Arizona20,005
37Utah18,027
38Maryland12,256
39Wyoming11,736
40New Jersey9,071
41Maine8,173
42Massachusetts7,755
43Vermont7,338
44Hawaii7,000
45Connecticut5,977
46New Hampshire4,391
47Nevada4,137
48Delaware2,451
49Rhode Island1,243
50Alaska762

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 states 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) (US states by farms, 2012) [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), US states by farms, 2012. 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/us-states?period=2012. 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). US states by farms, 2012. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), US states by farms, 2012 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/us-states?period=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_us_states_by_farms_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): US states by farms, 2012}},
  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/us-states?period=2012. 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): US states by farms, 2012
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/us-states?period=2012.
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 state has the highest farms?

Texas, with 248,809 in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which state has the lowest farms?

Alaska, with 762 in 2012.

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

US states: more rankings