Farm Census

North Carolina farms by county

2022 Census of Agriculture · 97 counties

42,817 farms8,128,136 acres in farms190 acres per farm on average

North Carolina farms sold $18.69 billion of products in 2022, eighth among the 50 states.

Among the states, it leads the nation in tobacco and turkeys and ranks third in hogs and pigs.

Its average farm size is the 16th-smallest among the states.

Poultry and eggs: 49.4%Poultry and eggs49.4%Hogs and pigs: 22.1%Hogs and pigs22.1%Grains and oilseeds: 10.1%Grains and oilseeds10.1%Vegetables and melons: 3.7%3.7%Nursery and greenhouse: 3.2%3.2%Tobacco: 2.7%Tobacco2.7%Cotton: 2.4%Cotton2.4%Cattle and calves: 1.6%1.6%Hay and other crops: 1.4%1.4%Milk: 1.2%Milk1.2%Fruit and nuts: 1.0%1.0%Christmas trees: 0.7%0.7%Aquaculture: 0.2%Horses and mules: 0.1%Other animals: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 49.4%Poultry and eggs49.4%Hogs and pigs: 22.1%Hogs and pigs22.1%Grains and oilseeds: 10.1%10.1%Vegetables and melons: 3.7%3.7%Nursery and greenhouse: 3.2%3.2%Tobacco: 2.7%Tobacco2.7%Cotton: 2.4%2.4%Cattle and calves: 1.6%1.6%Hay and other crops: 1.4%1.4%Milk: 1.2%Fruit and nuts: 1.0%Christmas trees: 0.7%Aquaculture: 0.2%Horses and mules: 0.1%Other animals: 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%
What North Carolina farms sold in 2022.

Which county leads each crop and animal

The county with the largest published figure for each item, and how much of the state total it holds. Items are ordered by how important North Carolina is for them nationally.

Crop or animalLeading countyIts share of the stateCounties with figures
TobaccoWilson County9.3%48
TurkeysWayne County25.6%58
Hogs and pigsDuplin County23.0%78
Broilers soldDuplin County10.9%67
PeanutsBertie County8.8%27
CottonHalifax County11.6%34
Laying hensYadkin County12.0%75
BerriesBladen County52.0%74
VegetablesSampson County17.0%92
SoybeansRobeson County5.0%79
ApplesHenderson County73.3%49
GoatsRandolph County4.7%90
Horses and poniesJohnston County3.3%92
PotatoesEdgecombe County13.0%45

Every county in North Carolina

Sorted by farm sales. Linked counties have their own profile page, chosen because they stand out nationally or within the state. Left out because a core figure is withheld: 3 counties.

CountyFarmsAvg acresSalesLargest group
Sampson County882331$2.19BHogs and pigs
Duplin County949268$2.00BHogs and pigs
Wayne County415361$798.3MPoultry and eggs
Robeson County732359$638.4MPoultry and eggs
Bladen County423346$616.0MHogs and pigs
Union County882240$591.6MPoultry and eggs
Anson County421201$491.2MPoultry and eggs
Wilkes County871132$459.4MPoultry and eggs
Randolph County1,238106$450.9MPoultry and eggs
Bertie County288562$416.9MCotton
Lenoir County352387$389.5MPoultry and eggs
Greene County210465$374.6MHogs and pigs
Pitt County367413$366.7MHogs and pigs
Richmond County261222$354.3MPoultry and eggs
Chatham County1,076106$339.6MPoultry and eggs
Surry County933113$337.2MPoultry and eggs
Alexander County53595$306.5MPoultry and eggs
Edgecombe County243597$304.3MPoultry and eggs
Johnston County964181$300.0MHogs and pigs
Jones County126526$286.3MHogs and pigs
Onslow County342155$251.5MPoultry and eggs
Harnett County563194$251.5MPoultry and eggs
Pender County354223$246.1MHogs and pigs
Wilson County207610$238.7MVegetables and melons
Moore County802132$238.4MPoultry and eggs
Montgomery County210165$231.0MPoultry and eggs
Columbus County447280$221.8MHogs and pigs
Cleveland County872120$214.6MPoultry and eggs
Yadkin County754130$211.1MPoultry and eggs
Scotland County121422$191.3MGrains and oilseeds
Halifax County220834$188.8MCotton
Nash County375355$184.5MVegetables and melons
Iredell County894134$171.1MMilk
Hyde County123914$170.1MGrains and oilseeds
Northampton County257667$170.0MPoultry and eggs
Hoke County185199$151.4MPoultry and eggs
Cumberland County327202$146.2MPoultry and eggs
Beaufort County259540$139.0MGrains and oilseeds
Gates County122589$137.4MPoultry and eggs
Martin County286503$107.2MCotton
Henderson County52063$103.4MNursery and greenhouse
Perquimans County137571$102.9MGrains and oilseeds
Hertford County97693$102.4MPoultry and eggs
Lincoln County55289$102.3MPoultry and eggs
Rowan County801131$96.6MGrains and oilseeds
Rutherford County614104$95.9MPoultry and eggs
Catawba County608101$94.0MPoultry and eggs
Craven County292345$92.5MHogs and pigs
Stanly County649168$91.1MPoultry and eggs
Chowan County134548$86.8MCotton
Pasquotank County133721$81.7MGrains and oilseeds
Ashe County760111$73.4MChristmas trees
Davidson County84787$71.5MPoultry and eggs
Washington County110696$71.3MGrains and oilseeds
Franklin County518208$69.4MNursery and greenhouse
Guilford County775122$68.2MNursery and greenhouse
Cabarrus County630102$67.5MPoultry and eggs
Camden County76719$64.6MGrains and oilseeds
Wake County66494$62.1MNursery and greenhouse
Tyrrell County73873$61.1MGrains and oilseeds
Lee County264118$60.1MPoultry and eggs
Caldwell County43084$56.7MPoultry and eggs
Alleghany County435146$53.5MChristmas trees
Stokes County726112$52.5MCattle and calves
Brunswick County238190$51.1MHogs and pigs
Carteret County94648$48.6MNursery and greenhouse
Warren County237269$48.6MGrains and oilseeds
Person County364243$46.5MTobacco
Alamance County72495$46.0MPoultry and eggs
Caswell County412205$35.7MPoultry and eggs
Buncombe County1,07473$35.5MNursery and greenhouse
Orange County68777$32.4MPoultry and eggs
Pamlico County81675$31.8MGrains and oilseeds
Davie County594126$30.6MGrains and oilseeds
Currituck County87436$29.6MGrains and oilseeds
Rockingham County769142$28.3MGrains and oilseeds
Granville County483211$28.3MTobacco
Gaston County41289$26.9MPoultry and eggs
Avery County33567$25.9MChristmas trees
Jackson County23694$24.9MChristmas trees
Haywood County56787$18.7MMilk
Cherokee County246103$18.5MVegetables and melons
McDowell County29857$17.4MPoultry and eggs
Forsyth County48268$14.7MNursery and greenhouse
Watauga County40074$13.2MChristmas trees
Vance County170225$12.9MTobacco
Durham County21276$11.2MNursery and greenhouse
Transylvania County14281$9.5MNursery and greenhouse
Polk County27488$6.8MHay and other crops
Macon County34664$6.7MFruit and nuts
Yancey County28874$5.4MNursery and greenhouse
Madison County53580$5.1MHay and other crops
Mitchell County26353$3.6MCattle and calves
Clay County17882$3.6MCattle and calves
New Hanover County6032$2.6MNursery and greenhouse
Swain County7056$1.3MCattle and calves
Graham County7032$1.1MAquaculture

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms46,418−7.8%
Land in farms, acres8,430,522−3.6%
Average farm size, acres182+4.4%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$12.90 billion+44.9%

Source: USDA NASS, 2022 and 2017 Census of Agriculture. How to read these pages.