Farm Census

Hidalgo County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

2,045 farms535,588 acres in farms$386 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Hidalgo County ranks ninth for citrus.

Within Texas, no other county with a published figure has more sunflower, vegetables or orchard land, or sells more farm products.

Its sorghum acreage shrank between 2017 and 2022, the fourth-steepest decline among the 100 leading sorghum counties of 2017 with figures in both years.

Vegetables and melons: 49.6%Vegetables and melons49.6%Fruit and nuts: 14.5%Fruit and nuts14.5%Grains and oilseeds: 11.9%Grains and oilseeds11.9%Cotton: 9.6%Cotton9.6%Cattle and calves: 5.7%Cattle and calves5.7%Hay and other crops: 4.5%4.5%Withheld groups: 3.9%3.9%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%Vegetables and melons: 49.6%Vegetables and melons49.6%Fruit and nuts: 14.5%Fruit and nuts14.5%Grains and oilseeds: 11.9%Grains and oilseeds11.9%Cotton: 9.6%Cotton9.6%Cattle and calves: 5.7%5.7%Hay and other crops: 4.5%4.5%Withheld groups: 3.9%3.9%Sheep and goats: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: 0.1%Horses and mules: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: nursery and greenhouse crops, Christmas trees, hogs and pigs and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$191 million1st of 109
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$55.8 million1st of 138
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$46.0 million16th of 173
Cotton and cottonseed$37.1 million10th of 116
Cattle and calves$22.1 million100th of 230
Hay and other crops$17.4 million9th of 213
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$467,00066th of 201
Poultry and eggs$386,00057th of 168
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$138,000153rd of 207

What the fields held

Hidalgo County harvested 212,858 acres of cropland in 2022, sixth of 220 counties in Texas. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 20% of that, cotton 18%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain41,7500.05%
Cotton38,8360.50%
Vegetables30,4750.71%
Grain sorghum26,6610.57%
Orchard land23,2290.37%
of which grapes15under 0.1%
of which citrus23,1813.0%
Sugarcane14,7031.6%
Hay and haylage13,980under 0.1%
Sunflower11,4580.72%
Soybeans2,524under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for silage, canola, potatoes, pecans and berries.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms53.3%

Hidalgo County ranks 192nd of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 310,143 acres of cropland, 58% of farmland
  • 200,083 acres of pastureland, 37% of farmland
  • 19,122 acres of woodland, 4% of farmland
  • 124,154 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Hidalgo County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 15 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 262 acres, 164th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 36.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 4.6% of the total.

1–934%10–4937%50–17914%180–4996%500–9994%1,000–1,9991%2,000+3%
Hidalgo County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Goats6,7610.27%
Sheep and lambs3,2940.06%
Beef cows17,7010.06%
Horses and ponies1,4390.06%
Cattle and calves33,018under 0.1%
Laying hens7,974under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs887under 0.1%
Turkeys185under 0.1%
Milk cows14under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 2022471under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Hidalgo County's 2,045 farms are made by 3,481 producers. Their average age is 56.0, 3.9 years below the Texas average. Women are 33.1% of them.

Under 3510%35–4411%45–5422%55–6429%65–7419%75+10%
Hidalgo County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms2,436−16.1%
Land in farms, acres623,875−14.2%
Average farm size, acres256+2.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$311 million+24.1%
Citrus, acres22,277+4.1%
Sunflower, acres4,128+100%
Vegetables, acres22,424+35.9%
Grain sorghum, acres84,012−68.3%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Hidalgo County accounts for 1.2% of farm sales in Texas and 0.9% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for citrus.

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