Farm Census

Where cattle are raised: the leading US counties

2022 Census of Agriculture · Head on farms on December 31, 2022. Counties with a published figure: 2,986

US farms had 87,954,742 cattle and calves at the end of 2022; Tulare County, California, had the most of any county with a published figure.

The ten leading counties hold 6.4% of the national total. Texas is the leading state, with 2.0 times the figure of Nebraska.

The national figure is down 6.1% on the 2017 census.

Alaska: 16,840 headAKMaine: 72,275 headMEWisconsin: 3,330,920 headWIVermont: 214,567 headVTNew Hampshire: 29,647 headNHWashington: 1,123,261 headWAIdaho: 2,517,987 headIDMontana: 2,118,284 headMTNorth Dakota: 1,699,272 headNDMinnesota: 2,121,625 headMNIllinois: 962,040 headILMichigan: 1,116,557 headMINew York: 1,380,585 headNYMassachusetts: 33,093 headMAOregon: 1,200,296 headORNevada: 438,511 headNVWyoming: 1,247,971 headWYSouth Dakota: 3,478,908 headSDIowa: 3,517,805 headIAIndiana: 770,048 headINOhio: 1,212,468 headOHPennsylvania: 1,335,451 headPANew Jersey: 25,552 headNJConnecticut: 45,837 headCTRhode Island: 3,871 headRICalifornia: 5,239,070 headCAUtah: 726,000 headUTColorado: 2,658,012 headCONebraska: 6,390,191 headNEMissouri: 4,004,872 headMOKentucky: 1,876,383 headKYWest Virginia: 367,634 headWVVirginia: 1,273,665 headVAMaryland: 152,394 headMDDelaware: 10,093 headDEArizona: 997,842 headAZNew Mexico: 1,330,860 headNMKansas: 6,126,402 headKSArkansas: 1,588,074 headARTennessee: 1,636,047 headTNNorth Carolina: 718,743 headNCSouth Carolina: 305,414 headSCOklahoma: 4,512,794 headOKLouisiana: 730,491 headLAMississippi: 832,542 headMSAlabama: 1,214,015 headALGeorgia: 1,000,560 headGAHawaii: 131,616 headHITexas: 12,543,300 headTXFlorida: 1,574,057 headFL
none publishedunder 1%1–3%3–7%7–15%15% or moreEach square is a state, shaded by its share of the US total. Select a state for its county table.

The 25 leading counties

Ranked among the 2,986 counties with a published figure. Another 36 counties grow or keep some but have their figure withheld to protect individual farms, so they are not ranked.

#CountyStateHeadShare of US
1Tulare CountyCalifornia1,080,6651.2%
2Deaf Smith CountyTexas700,0690.80%
3Merced CountyCalifornia593,1080.67%
4Castro CountyTexas582,9510.66%
5Weld CountyColorado545,4800.62%
6Fresno CountyCalifornia467,5080.53%
7Hartley CountyTexas420,3460.48%
8Haskell CountyKansas413,8270.47%
9Imperial CountyCalifornia412,2120.47%
10Stanislaus CountyCalifornia406,8350.46%
11Dallam CountyTexas383,6510.44%
12Sioux CountyIowa381,6880.43%
13Parmer CountyTexas362,7420.41%
14Cuming CountyNebraska346,4460.39%
15Gooding CountyIdaho346,2370.39%
16Cherry CountyNebraska337,0950.38%
17Kern CountyCalifornia326,2150.37%
18Kings CountyCalifornia324,8870.37%
19Scott CountyKansas310,2510.35%
20Lincoln CountyNebraska305,6220.35%
21San Joaquin CountyCalifornia305,3440.35%
22Custer CountyNebraska290,8550.33%
23Gray CountyKansas288,6540.33%
24Hansford CountyTexas285,4210.32%
25Finney CountyKansas273,7670.31%

Rank every county for cattle and calves, or filter by state

Leading states

StateHeadShare of USSince 2017
Texas12,543,30014.3%−0.2%
Nebraska6,390,1917.3%−5.5%
Kansas6,126,4027.0%−2.4%
California5,239,0706.0%+1.0%
Oklahoma4,512,7945.1%−11.4%
Missouri4,004,8724.6%−1.4%
Iowa3,517,8054.0%−11.0%
South Dakota3,478,9084.0%−12.8%
Wisconsin3,330,9203.8%−4.7%
Colorado2,658,0123.0%−5.5%
Idaho2,517,9872.9%+3.4%
Minnesota2,121,6252.4%−9.2%
Montana2,118,2842.4%−15.9%
Kentucky1,876,3832.1%−13.0%
North Dakota1,699,2721.9%−7.4%

Source: USDA NASS, 2022 and 2017 Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.