Farm Census

Riverside County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

2,424 farms361,970 acres in farms$1.27 billion in farm sales

No other county in California with a published figure has more horses and ponies than Riverside County.

Its vegetable acreage grew between 2017 and 2022, the fifth-largest increase among the 99 leading vegetable counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Vegetables and melons: 29.7%Vegetables and melons29.7%Fruit and nuts: 28.6%Fruit and nuts28.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 15.5%Nursery and greenhouse15.5%Hay and other crops: 12.4%Hay and other crops12.4%Milk: 6.1%Milk6.1%Poultry and eggs: 3.1%3.1%Other animals: 1.3%1.3%Cotton: 0.8%0.8%Cattle and calves: 0.8%0.8%Aquaculture: 0.7%0.7%Horses and mules: 0.4%Grains and oilseeds: 0.4%0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 29.7%29.7%Fruit and nuts: 28.6%Fruit and nuts28.6%Nursery and greenhouse: 15.5%15.5%Hay and other crops: 12.4%12.4%Milk: 6.1%Milk6.1%Poultry and eggs: 3.1%3.1%Other animals: 1.3%1.3%Cotton: 0.8%Cattle and calves: 0.8%Aquaculture: 0.7%Horses and mules: 0.4%Grains and oilseeds: 0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$378 million10th of 48
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$364 million15th of 52
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$197 million6th of 43
Hay and other crops$158 million2nd of 43
Milk from cows$78.0 million12th of 19
Poultry and eggs$38.9 million8th of 41
Other animals and animal products$16.7 million2nd of 36
Cotton and cottonseed$10.7 million6th of 6
Cattle and calves$9.6 million32nd of 52
Aquaculture$9.1 million5th of 11
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$5.6 million3rd of 47
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$4.7 million19th of 34
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$2.2 million11th of 45
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$534,0005th of 18
Hogs and pigs$96,00010th of 26

What the fields held

Riverside County harvested 183,926 acres of cropland in 2022, 13th of 54 counties in California. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 48% of that, orchard land 23%.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage89,1000.16%
Orchard land42,9830.69%
of which grapes14,7511.3%
of which citrus11,3231.5%
of which apples66under 0.1%
of which pecans63under 0.1%
Vegetables37,2270.86%
of which potatoes1,7200.16%
Wheat5,878under 0.1%
Cotton5,8290.08%
Barley342under 0.1%
Berries110under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, corn for silage, sunflower, dry edible beans and almonds.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms7.8%

Riverside County ranks 47th of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 234,583 acres of cropland, 65% of farmland
  • 61,159 acres of pastureland, 17% of farmland
  • 172,127 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Riverside County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 5 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 149 acres, 44th-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 58.6% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 3.7% of the total.

1–959%10–4927%50–1797%180–4993%500–9991%1,000–1,9992%2,000+2%
Riverside County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Horses and ponies6,9090.29%
Laying hens984,5790.25%
Sheep and lambs10,5450.21%
Milk cows13,4750.14%
Goats2,2740.09%
Cattle and calves25,955under 0.1%
Beef cows2,201under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs558under 0.1%
Turkeys284under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20221,717under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Riverside County's 2,424 farms are made by 4,447 producers. Their average age is 61.2, 1.3 years above the California average. Women are 41.6% of them.

Under 355%35–449%45–5415%55–6427%65–7429%75+15%
Riverside County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,667−9.1%
Land in farms, acres263,796+37.2%
Average farm size, acres99+50.5%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$932 million+36.6%
Citrus, acres12,552−9.8%
Grapes, acres13,528+9.0%
Vegetables, acres23,784+56.5%
Orchard land, acres41,184+4.4%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Riverside County accounts for 2.2% of farm sales in California and 3.8% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for citrus.

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