Farm Census

Where sheep are raised: the leading US counties

2022 Census of Agriculture · Head on farms on December 31, 2022. Counties with a published figure: 2,616

US farms had 5,104,328 sheep and lambs at the end of 2022; Weld County, Colorado, had the most of any county with a published figure.

The ten leading counties hold 14.7% of the national total. Texas is the leading state, ahead of California.

The national figure is down 5.3% on the 2017 census.

Alaska: 1,143 headAKMaine: 11,510 headMEWisconsin: 71,801 headWIVermont: 17,888 headVTNew Hampshire: 8,754 headNHWashington: 44,421 headWAIdaho: 230,681 headIDMontana: 197,784 headMTNorth Dakota: 59,910 headNDMinnesota: 109,592 headMNIllinois: 50,943 headILMichigan: 84,596 headMINew York: 72,574 headNYMassachusetts: 12,280 headMAOregon: 152,512 headORNevada: 71,699 headNVWyoming: 306,174 headWYSouth Dakota: 231,246 headSDIowa: 156,013 headIAIndiana: 79,185 headINOhio: 145,381 headOHPennsylvania: 102,055 headPANew Jersey: 14,085 headNJConnecticut: 4,083 headCTRhode Island: 1,196 headRICalifornia: 532,849 headCAUtah: 286,437 headUTColorado: 362,574 headCONebraska: 58,026 headNEMissouri: 120,895 headMOKentucky: 72,199 headKYWest Virginia: 32,754 headWVVirginia: 82,208 headVAMaryland: 18,912 headMDDelaware: 1,288 headDEArizona: 147,195 headAZNew Mexico: 92,005 headNMKansas: 94,511 headKSArkansas: 32,485 headARTennessee: 54,827 headTNNorth Carolina: 36,578 headNCSouth Carolina: 12,559 headSCOklahoma: 76,524 headOKLouisiana: 14,200 headLAMississippi: 18,884 headMSAlabama: 33,317 headALGeorgia: 26,839 headGAHawaii: 21,510 headHITexas: 612,917 headTXFlorida: 24,329 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 2,616 counties with a published figure. Another 269 counties grow or keep some but have their figure withheld to protect individual farms, so they are not ranked.

#CountyStateHeadShare of US
1Weld CountyColorado129,4262.5%
2Kern CountyCalifornia110,3212.2%
3Solano CountyCalifornia99,1061.9%
4Apache CountyArizona69,0901.4%
5Minidoka CountyIdaho67,1411.3%
6Sanpete CountyUtah64,2771.3%
7Moffat CountyColorado62,3471.2%
8Iron CountyUtah51,4671.0%
9Crockett CountyTexas51,1971.0%
10Converse CountyWyoming48,1110.94%
11Fresno CountyCalifornia41,0350.80%
12Codington CountySouth Dakota40,6490.80%
13Navajo CountyArizona39,9270.78%
14Butte CountySouth Dakota38,2610.75%
15Stillwater CountyMontana37,3160.73%
16Linn CountyOregon37,0640.73%
17Tom Green CountyTexas33,9270.66%
18Uinta CountyWyoming31,2290.61%
19Harding CountySouth Dakota30,3460.59%
20Val Verde CountyTexas30,1200.59%
21Washakie CountyWyoming28,7440.56%
22Mills CountyTexas28,4240.56%
23Box Elder CountyUtah25,7020.50%
24Johnson CountyWyoming25,4300.50%
25Coconino CountyArizona24,9390.49%

Rank every county for sheep and lambs, or filter by state

Leading states

StateHeadShare of USSince 2017
Texas612,91712.0%−16.0%
California532,84910.4%+12.1%
Colorado362,5747.1%−12.6%
Wyoming306,1746.0%−16.7%
Utah286,4375.6%−4.8%
South Dakota231,2464.5%−0.8%
Idaho230,6814.5%−7.1%
Montana197,7843.9%−9.5%
Iowa156,0133.1%−6.7%
Oregon152,5123.0%−14.1%
Arizona147,1952.9%−17.0%
Ohio145,3812.8%+14.0%
Missouri120,8952.4%+8.3%
Minnesota109,5922.1%−5.8%
Pennsylvania102,0552.0%+8.1%

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