Farm Census

San Luis Obispo County, California

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

2,184 farms921,300 acres in farms$1.19 billion in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, San Luis Obispo County ranks ninth for grapes.

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

Fruit and nuts: 45.4%Fruit and nuts45.4%Vegetables and melons: 36.9%Vegetables and melons36.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 13.5%13.5%Cattle and calves: 2.0%2.0%Other animals: 0.6%0.6%Hay and other crops: 0.6%0.6%Horses and mules: 0.4%0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Grains and oilseeds: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%Fruit and nuts: 45.4%Fruit and nuts45.4%Vegetables and melons: 36.9%Vegetables and melons36.9%Nursery and greenhouse: 13.5%13.5%Cattle and calves: 2.0%2.0%Other animals: 0.6%Hay and other crops: 0.6%Horses and mules: 0.4%Sheep and goats: 0.2%Grains and oilseeds: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Christmas trees: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: milk and aquaculture products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$541 million13th of 52
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$440 million7th of 48
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$161 million10th of 43
Cattle and calves$23.7 million21st of 52
Other animals and animal products$7.3 million4th of 36
Hay and other crops$7.1 million23rd of 43
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$5.0 million4th of 47
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$2.7 million9th of 45
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$825,00024th of 34
Poultry and eggs$591,00018th of 41
Hogs and pigs$313,0004th of 26
Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops$200,0008th of 18

What the fields held

San Luis Obispo County harvested 105,880 acres of cropland in 2022, 23rd of 54 counties in California. Orchard land covered acreage equal to 53% of that, vegetables 33%.

CropAcresShare of US
Orchard land55,6200.90%
of which almonds177under 0.1%
of which grapes45,6964.1%
of which citrus2,2090.29%
of which apples73under 0.1%
Vegetables34,6630.81%
Hay and haylage16,259under 0.1%
Berries3,2950.92%
Barley2,7390.11%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, wheat, corn for silage, oats, potatoes and pecans.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms43.6%

San Luis Obispo County ranks 17th of 55 counties in California on this measure.

  • 231,838 acres of cropland, 25% of farmland
  • 657,972 acres of pastureland, 71% of farmland
  • 100,920 acres of woodland, 11% of farmland
  • 94,787 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in San Luis Obispo County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 40 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 422 acres, 23rd-largest of 52 in California. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 32.5% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 8.1% of the total.

1–922%10–4933%50–17922%180–49910%500–9996%1,000–1,9994%2,000+5%
San Luis Obispo County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs23,4620.46%
Horses and ponies4,8300.20%
Goats2,1200.08%
Cattle and calves38,139under 0.1%
Laying hens9,837under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs548under 0.1%
Turkeys77under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20222,224under 0.1%

Withheld: beef cows and milk cows.

Who farms here

Decisions on San Luis Obispo County's 2,184 farms are made by 4,347 producers. Their average age is 60.9, 1.0 years above the California average. Women are 42.4% of them.

Under 356%35–4411%45–5414%55–6422%65–7430%75+16%
San Luis Obispo County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,349−7.0%
Land in farms, acres931,291−1.1%
Average farm size, acres396+6.6%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$702 million+70.0%
Grapes, acres36,029+26.8%
Berries, acres2,288+44.0%
Orchard land, acres48,588+14.5%
Vegetables, acres20,163+71.9%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

San Luis Obispo County accounts for 2.0% of farm sales in California and 3.5% of the farms in California. Rank California counties for grapes.

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