Counties in North Carolina by land in farms

Sampson County had the highest land in farms of 100 counties in 2007, at 321,454 acres. New Hanover County had the lowest, at 4,416 acres. The median was 73,698 acres and the figure for North Carolina was 8,474,671 acres. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest321,454Sampson County
Median73,698100 counties
North Carolina8,474,671History

Map of counties, 2007

Alamance County: 87,888 acresAlexander County: 54,959 acresAlleghany County: 76,656 acresAnson County: 90,770 acresAshe County: 108,452 acresAvery County: 27,818 acresBeaufort County: 160,343 acresBertie County: 147,353 acresBladen County: 127,171 acresBrunswick County: 44,084 acresBuncombe County: 72,087 acresBurke County: 29,068 acresCabarrus County: 66,780 acresCaldwell County: 32,593 acresCamden County: 55,181 acresCarteret County: 55,387 acresCaswell County: 102,299 acresCatawba County: 71,906 acresChatham County: 104,171 acresCherokee County: 20,423 acresChowan County: 74,689 acresClay County: 9,660 acresCleveland County: 115,637 acresColumbus County: 152,387 acresCraven County: 70,886 acresCumberland County: 88,353 acresCurrituck County: 27,576 acresDare County: 4,921 acresDavidson County: 91,475 acresDavie County: 69,872 acresDuplin County: 248,026 acresDurham County: 26,150 acresEdgecombe County: 139,846 acresForsyth County: 43,593 acresFranklin County: 112,871 acresGaston County: 37,561 acresGates County: 75,819 acresGraham County: 7,182 acresGranville County: 128,366 acresGreene County: 92,176 acresGuilford County: 96,519 acresHalifax County: 197,642 acresHarnett County: 111,770 acresHaywood County: 56,212 acresHenderson County: 37,947 acresHertford County: 78,634 acresHoke County: 60,219 acresHyde County: 82,680 acresIredell County: 138,416 acresJackson County: 13,338 acresJohnston County: 194,090 acresJones County: 69,078 acresLee County: 36,210 acresLenoir County: 137,550 acresLincoln County: 59,360 acresMcDowell County: 22,968 acresMacon County: 21,133 acresMadison County: 66,734 acresMartin County: 105,490 acresMecklenburg County: 19,135 acresMitchell County: 22,787 acresMontgomery County: 42,523 acresMoore County: 80,075 acresNash County: 153,544 acresNew Hanover County: 4,416 acresNorthampton County: 155,576 acresOnslow County: 55,211 acresOrange County: 60,057 acresPamlico County: 46,125 acresPasquotank County: 85,600 acresPender County: 61,571 acresPerquimans County: 68,468 acresPerson County: 98,521 acresPitt County: 171,525 acresPolk County: 21,001 acresRandolph County: 147,316 acresRichmond County: 40,904 acresRobeson County: 268,026 acresRockingham County: 117,113 acresRowan County: 115,942 acresRutherford County: 65,898 acresSampson County: 321,454 acresScotland County: 65,780 acresStanly County: 104,517 acresStokes County: 91,014 acresSurry County: 114,491 acresSwain County: 5,587 acresTransylvania County: 16,045 acresTyrrell County: 53,870 acresUnion County: 178,193 acresVance County: 55,091 acresWake County: 84,956 acresWarren County: 72,707 acresWashington County: 96,911 acresWatauga County: 45,782 acresWayne County: 175,265 acresWilkes County: 109,970 acresWilson County: 104,678 acresYadkin County: 105,170 acresYancey County: 33,431 acres
  • Under 31K
  • 31K to 55K
  • 55K to 74K
  • 74K to 99K
  • 99K to 130K
  • 130K and over
acres, 2007. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2007

Sampson County: 321,454 acresSampson County321,454Robeson County: 268,026 acresRobeson County268,026Duplin County: 248,026 acresDuplin County248,026Halifax County: 197,642 acresHalifax County197,642Johnston County: 194,090 acresJohnston County194,090Union County: 178,193 acresUnion County178,193Wayne County: 175,265 acresWayne County175,265Pitt County: 171,525 acresPitt County171,525Beaufort County: 160,343 acresBeaufort County160,343Northampton County: 155,576 acresNorthampton County155,576Nash County: 153,544 acresNash County153,544Columbus County: 152,387 acresColumbus County152,387Bertie County: 147,353 acresBertie County147,353Randolph County: 147,316 acresRandolph County147,316Edgecombe County: 139,846 acresEdgecombe County139,846Iredell County: 138,416 acresIredell County138,416Lenoir County: 137,550 acresLenoir County137,550Granville County: 128,366 acresGranville County128,366Bladen County: 127,171 acresBladen County127,171Rockingham County: 117,113 acresRockingham County117,113Rowan County: 115,942 acresRowan County115,942Cleveland County: 115,637 acresCleveland County115,637Surry County: 114,491 acresSurry County114,491Franklin County: 112,871 acresFranklin County112,871Harnett County: 111,770 acresHarnett County111,770Wilkes County: 109,970 acresWilkes County109,970Ashe County: 108,452 acresAshe County108,452Martin County: 105,490 acresMartin County105,490Yadkin County: 105,170 acresYadkin County105,170Wilson County: 104,678 acresWilson County104,678Stanly County: 104,517 acresStanly County104,517Chatham County: 104,171 acresChatham County104,171Caswell County: 102,299 acresCaswell County102,299Person County: 98,521 acresPerson County98,521Washington County: 96,911 acresWashington County96,911Guilford County: 96,519 acresGuilford County96,519Greene County: 92,176 acresGreene County92,176Davidson County: 91,475 acresDavidson County91,475Stokes County: 91,014 acresStokes County91,014Anson County: 90,770 acresAnson County90,770Sampson County: 321,454 acresSampson County321,454Robeson County: 268,026 acresRobeson County268,026Duplin County: 248,026 acresDuplin County248,026Halifax County: 197,642 acresHalifax County197,642Johnston County: 194,090 acresJohnston County194,090Union County: 178,193 acresUnion County178,193Wayne County: 175,265 acresWayne County175,265Pitt County: 171,525 acresPitt County171,525Beaufort County: 160,343 acresBeaufort County160,343Northampton County: 155,576 acresNorthampton County155,576Nash County: 153,544 acresNash County153,544Columbus County: 152,387 acresColumbus County152,387Bertie County: 147,353 acresBertie County147,353Randolph County: 147,316 acresRandolph County147,316Edgecombe County: 139,846 acresEdgecombe County139,846Iredell County: 138,416 acresIredell County138,416Lenoir County: 137,550 acresLenoir County137,550Granville County: 128,366 acresGranville County128,366Bladen County: 127,171 acresBladen County127,171Rockingham County: 117,113 acresRockingham County117,113Rowan County: 115,942 acresRowan County115,942Cleveland County: 115,637 acresCleveland County115,637Surry County: 114,491 acresSurry County114,491Franklin County: 112,871 acresFranklin County112,871Harnett County: 111,770 acresHarnett County111,770Wilkes County: 109,970 acresWilkes County109,970Ashe County: 108,452 acresAshe County108,452Martin County: 105,490 acresMartin County105,490Yadkin County: 105,170 acresYadkin County105,170Wilson County: 104,678 acresWilson County104,678Stanly County: 104,517 acresStanly County104,517Chatham County: 104,171 acresChatham County104,171Caswell County: 102,299 acresCaswell County102,299Person County: 98,521 acresPerson County98,521Washington County: 96,911 acresWashington County96,911Guilford County: 96,519 acresGuilford County96,519Greene County: 92,176 acresGreene County92,176Davidson County: 91,475 acresDavidson County91,475Stokes County: 91,014 acresStokes County91,014Anson County: 90,770 acresAnson County90,770
acres. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2007
acres
1Sampson County321,454
2Robeson County268,026
3Duplin County248,026
4Halifax County197,642
5Johnston County194,090
6Union County178,193
7Wayne County175,265
8Pitt County171,525
9Beaufort County160,343
10Northampton County155,576
11Nash County153,544
12Columbus County152,387
13Bertie County147,353
14Randolph County147,316
15Edgecombe County139,846
16Iredell County138,416
17Lenoir County137,550
18Granville County128,366
19Bladen County127,171
20Rockingham County117,113
21Rowan County115,942
22Cleveland County115,637
23Surry County114,491
24Franklin County112,871
25Harnett County111,770
26Wilkes County109,970
27Ashe County108,452
28Martin County105,490
29Yadkin County105,170
30Wilson County104,678
31Stanly County104,517
32Chatham County104,171
33Caswell County102,299
34Person County98,521
35Washington County96,911
36Guilford County96,519
37Greene County92,176
38Davidson County91,475
39Stokes County91,014
40Anson County90,770
41Cumberland County88,353
42Alamance County87,888
43Pasquotank County85,600
44Wake County84,956
45Hyde County82,680
46Moore County80,075
47Hertford County78,634
48Alleghany County76,656
49Gates County75,819
50Chowan County74,689
51Warren County72,707
52Buncombe County72,087
53Catawba County71,906
54Craven County70,886
55Davie County69,872
56Jones County69,078
57Perquimans County68,468
58Cabarrus County66,780
59Madison County66,734
60Rutherford County65,898
61Scotland County65,780
62Pender County61,571
63Hoke County60,219
64Orange County60,057
65Lincoln County59,360
66Haywood County56,212
67Carteret County55,387
68Onslow County55,211
69Camden County55,181
70Vance County55,091
71Alexander County54,959
72Tyrrell County53,870
73Pamlico County46,125
74Watauga County45,782
75Brunswick County44,084
76Forsyth County43,593
77Montgomery County42,523
78Richmond County40,904
79Henderson County37,947
80Gaston County37,561
81Lee County36,210
82Yancey County33,431
83Caldwell County32,593
84Burke County29,068
85Avery County27,818
86Currituck County27,576
87Durham County26,150
88McDowell County22,968
89Mitchell County22,787
90Macon County21,133
91Polk County21,001
92Cherokee County20,423
93Mecklenburg County19,135
94Transylvania County16,045
95Jackson County13,338
96Clay County9,660
97Graham County7,182
98Swain County5,587
99Dare County4,921
100New Hanover County4,416

Other periods

About this ranking

Land operated by farms in the census year, in acres, including cropland, pasture, woodland and land under farm buildings, 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: land in farms, acres, 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: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) (Counties in North Carolina by land in farms, 2007) [Data set]. Data Commons. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/

MLA 9

Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in North Carolina by land in farms, 2007. 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/land-in-farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2007. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Counties in North Carolina by land in farms, 2007. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2007.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in North Carolina by land in farms, 2007 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2007 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_north_carolina_2007,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in North Carolina by land in farms, 2007}},
  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/land-in-farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2007. Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, 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: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in North Carolina by land in farms, 2007
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2007
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/land-in-farms/north-carolina-counties?period=2007.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: land in farms, acres, 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 land in farms?

Sampson County, with 321,454 acres in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest land in farms?

New Hanover County, with 4,416 acres in 2007.

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: land in farms, acres, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Land in farms: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings