Farm Census

Sacramento County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,118 farms256,617 acres in farms$568 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Sacramento County ranks tenth for grapes.

Its number of goats grew between 2017 and 2022, the third-largest increase among the 100 leading goat counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Fruit and nuts: 49.8%Fruit and nuts49.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 11.3%Nursery and greenhouse11.3%Milk: 9.7%Milk9.7%Poultry and eggs: 6.8%Poultry and eggs6.8%Vegetables and melons: 6.5%6.5%Grains and oilseeds: 6.3%6.3%Cattle and calves: 3.0%3.0%Hay and other crops: 3.0%3.0%Withheld groups: 2.7%2.7%Horses and mules: 0.3%0.3%Other animals: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.3%Christmas trees: 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 49.8%Fruit and nuts49.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 11.3%11.3%Milk: 9.7%Milk9.7%Poultry and eggs: 6.8%6.8%Vegetables and melons: 6.5%6.5%Grains and oilseeds: 6.3%6.3%Cattle and calves: 3.0%3.0%Hay and other crops: 3.0%3.0%Withheld groups: 2.7%2.7%Horses and mules: 0.3%Other animals: 0.3%Sheep and goats: 0.3%Christmas trees: 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: hogs and pigs and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$283 million18th of 52
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$64.0 million18th of 43
Milk from cows$55.2 million14th of 19
Poultry and eggs$38.8 million9th of 41
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$36.7 million23rd of 48
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$35.9 million13th of 34
Cattle and calves$17.0 million27th of 52
Hay and other crops$16.8 million19th of 43
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$1.9 million9th of 47
Other animals and animal products$1.7 million17th of 36
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.4 million17th of 45
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$322,0006th of 18

What the fields held

Sacramento County harvested 112,638 acres of cropland in 2022, 20th of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 46% of that, hay and haylage 24%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land51,3070.83%
of which almonds4,7140.29%
of which grapes37,4233.4%
of which citrus19under 0.1%
of which apples155under 0.1%
Hay and haylage27,1010.05%
Corn for silage14,3580.24%
Vegetables5,4760.13%
of which potatoes3under 0.1%
Rice3,4090.15%
Wheat1,966under 0.1%
Barley1,3600.06%
Corn for grain1,215under 0.1%
Berries17under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: grain sorghum, sunflower, dry edible beans and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms41.6%

Sacramento County ranks 20th of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 134,941 acres of cropland, 53% of farmland
  • 112,473 acres of pastureland, 44% of farmland
  • 2,031 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 109,549 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Sacramento County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 15 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 230 acres, 38th-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 1–9 acres, with 38.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 6.6% of the total.

1–938%10–4928%50–17915%180–49910%500–9993%1,000–1,9994%2,000+2%
Sacramento County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats9,9800.39%
Sheep and lambs8,8840.17%
Milk cows10,1650.11%
Horses and ponies2,3410.10%
Broilers sold in 20225,448,5050.06%
Cattle and calves36,760under 0.1%
Beef cows11,264under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,296under 0.1%
Laying hens6,527under 0.1%

Withheld: turkeys.

Who farms here

Decisions on Sacramento County's 1,118 farms are made by 2,041 producers. Their average age is 57.8, 2.1 years below the California average. Women are 39.9% of them.

Under 357%35–4416%45–5415%55–6424%65–7424%75+14%
Sacramento County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,161−3.7%
Land in farms, acres260,212−1.4%
Average farm size, acres224+2.7%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$430 million+32.0%
Grapes, acres31,775+17.8%
Orchard land, acres40,105+27.9%
Goats, head6,451+54.7%
Almonds, acres1,489+100%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Sacramento County accounts for 1.0% of farm sales in California and 1.8% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for grapes.

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