Farm Census

San Joaquin County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

3,439 farms862,356 acres in farms$3.03 billion in farm sales

San Joaquin County ranks seventh of 3,029 US counties for the value of farm products sold in 2022; its crop sales rank seventh.

Among counties with published figures, it also ranks second for grapes, fourth for orchard land, fifth for corn for silage, sixth for almonds, seventh for milk cows and tenth for producers.

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

Fruit and nuts: 43.8%Fruit and nuts43.8%Milk: 23.2%Milk23.2%Vegetables and melons: 13.8%Vegetables and melons13.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 5.7%5.7%Cattle and calves: 3.8%Cattle and calves3.8%Hay and other crops: 3.4%3.4%Grains and oilseeds: 3.3%3.3%Poultry and eggs: 2.8%Poultry and eggs2.8%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 43.8%Fruit and nuts43.8%Milk: 23.2%Milk23.2%Vegetables and melons: 13.8%Vegetables and melons13.8%Nursery and greenhouse: 5.7%5.7%Cattle and calves: 3.8%3.8%Hay and other crops: 3.4%3.4%Grains and oilseeds: 3.3%3.3%Poultry and eggs: 2.8%2.8%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: hogs and pigs, aquaculture products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$1.33 billion7th of 52
Milk from cows$702 million6th of 19
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$417 million8th of 48
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$172 million8th of 43
Cattle and calves$116 million8th of 52
Hay and other crops$103 million6th of 43
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$99.0 million6th of 34
Poultry and eggs$83.4 million5th of 41
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$3.5 million7th of 45
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$749,00016th of 47

What the fields held

San Joaquin County harvested 544,181 acres of cropland in 2022, fifth of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 61% of that, hay and haylage 17%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land334,3105.4%
of which almonds120,3587.4%
of which grapes111,97210.1%
of which citrus1,1920.15%
of which apples1,6850.41%
Hay and haylage92,1480.17%
Corn for silage51,8360.87%
Vegetables50,7791.2%
of which potatoes4,4800.42%
Corn for grain14,503under 0.1%
Rice8,5610.38%
Wheat7,307under 0.1%
Berries2,1060.59%
Barley768under 0.1%
Dry edible beans6400.05%

Withheld to protect individual farms: oats and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms96.8%

San Joaquin County ranks first of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 614,128 acres of cropland, 71% of farmland
  • 226,356 acres of pastureland, 26% of farmland
  • 1,886 acres of woodland, 0% of farmland
  • 566,269 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in San Joaquin County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 30 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 251 acres, 34th-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 39.0% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 6.0% of the total.

1–923%10–4939%50–17919%180–4999%500–9995%1,000–1,9994%2,000+2%
San Joaquin County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Milk cows133,5121.4%
Sheep and lambs23,2650.46%
Cattle and calves305,3440.35%
Laying hens1,242,1850.32%
Horses and ponies3,6750.15%
Goats2,6390.10%
Beef cows19,2160.07%
Broilers sold in 20222,701,260under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs1,437under 0.1%
Turkeys54under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on San Joaquin County's 3,439 farms are made by 6,521 producers. Their average age is 60.0, 0.1 years above the California average. Women are 34.1% of them.

Under 357%35–4412%45–5413%55–6426%65–7425%75+17%
San Joaquin County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms3,430+0.3%
Land in farms, acres772,762+11.6%
Average farm size, acres225+11.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$2.18 billion+39.3%
Grapes, acres104,922+6.7%
Almonds, acres70,903+69.8%
Orchard land, acres264,416+26.4%
Milk cows, head106,375+25.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

San Joaquin County accounts for 5.1% of farm sales in California and 5.4% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for grapes.

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