Farm Census

Maricopa County, Arizona

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,527 farms502,029 acres in farms$1.56 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Maricopa County ranks tenth for hay and haylage.

Within Arizona, no other county with a published figure has more milk cows, or sells more farm products.

Milk: 38.4%Milk38.4%Hay and other crops: 17.8%Hay and other crops17.8%Vegetables and melons: 17.6%Vegetables and melons17.6%Withheld groups: 14.4%Withheld groups14.4%Nursery and greenhouse: 7.5%7.5%Grains and oilseeds: 3.1%3.1%Horses and mules: 0.5%0.5%Other animals: 0.5%0.5%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Milk: 38.4%Milk38.4%Hay and other crops: 17.8%Hay and other crops17.8%Vegetables and melons: 17.6%Vegetables and melons17.6%Withheld groups: 14.4%Withheld groups14.4%Nursery and greenhouse: 7.5%7.5%Grains and oilseeds: 3.1%3.1%Horses and mules: 0.5%Other animals: 0.5%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: fruit and nuts, cotton, Christmas trees, cattle and calves, poultry and eggs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Milk from cows$599 million1st of 3
Hay and other crops$278 million1st of 15
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$275 million2nd of 11
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$117 million1st of 8
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$48.7 million4th of 10
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$8.4 million1st of 13
Other animals and animal products$7.6 million1st of 8
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$951,0004th of 12
Hogs and pigs$408,0002nd of 6

What the fields held

Maricopa County harvested 202,092 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 13 counties in Arizona. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 69% of that, vegetables 13%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage139,2270.26%
Vegetables26,2820.61%
Corn for silage16,2730.27%
Wheat14,666under 0.1%
Cotton7,4420.10%
Barley2,3060.09%
Corn for grain322under 0.1%
Grain sorghum234under 0.1%
Dry edible beans7under 0.1%
Berries3under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: potatoes, orchard land and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms8.5%

Maricopa County ranks 12th of 15 counties in Arizona on this measure.

  • 264,018 acres of cropland, 53% of farmland
  • 191,176 acres of pastureland, 38% of farmland
  • 2,234 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 204,522 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Maricopa County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 6 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 329 acres, 14th-largest of 14 in Arizona. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 56.8% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 6.0% of the total.

1–957%10–4923%50–1798%180–4994%500–9993%1,000–1,9992%2,000+4%
Maricopa County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows102,8001.1%
Horses and ponies8,2700.34%
Cattle and calves211,8910.24%
Goats2,1040.08%
Sheep and lambs2,9580.06%
Beef cows6,665under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs733under 0.1%
Turkeys274under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022553under 0.1%

Withheld: laying hens.

Who farms here

Decisions on Maricopa County's 1,527 farms are made by 2,827 producers. Their average age is 58.9, 1.2 years below the Arizona average. Women are 42.9% of them.

Under 358%35–4410%45–5418%55–6425%65–7427%75+12%
Maricopa County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,874−18.5%
Land in farms, acres474,438+5.8%
Average farm size, acres253+30.0%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$1.21 billion+28.9%
Milk cows, head121,778−15.6%
Vegetables, acres22,732+15.6%
Horses and ponies, head11,071−25.3%
Corn for silage, acres10,926+48.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Maricopa County accounts for 29.9% of farm sales in Arizona and 9.1% of the farms in Arizona. Rank Arizona counties for milk cows.

Source: USDA NASS Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.