Farm Census

Wharton County, Texas

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

1,472 farms553,800 acres in farms$394 million in farm sales

No other county in Texas with a published figure has more rice than Wharton County.

Its irrigated land had the second-largest gain from 2017 to 2022 among the 577 counties with at least 20,000 irrigated acres in 2017.

Grains and oilseeds: 39.5%Grains and oilseeds39.5%Nursery and greenhouse: 38.1%Nursery and greenhouse38.1%Cotton: 9.6%Cotton9.6%Cattle and calves: 7.5%7.5%Hay and other crops: 2.2%2.2%Aquaculture: 1.7%1.7%Vegetables and melons: 0.7%0.7%Other animals: 0.5%0.5%Horses and mules: 0.2%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%Grains and oilseeds: 39.5%Grains and oilseeds39.5%Nursery and greenhouse: 38.1%38.1%Cotton: 9.6%Cotton9.6%Cattle and calves: 7.5%7.5%Hay and other crops: 2.2%2.2%Aquaculture: 1.7%Vegetables and melons: 0.7%Other animals: 0.5%Horses and mules: 0.2%Fruit and nuts: 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Sheep and goats: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas$155 million3rd of 173
Nursery, greenhouse and floriculture crops$150 million1st of 100
Cotton and cottonseed$37.8 million9th of 116
Cattle and calves$29.3 million74th of 230
Hay and other crops$8.5 million24th of 213
Aquaculture$6.6 million3rd of 14
Vegetables, melons and potatoes$2.8 million31st of 109
Other animals and animal products$2.0 million19th of 161
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$717,00067th of 207
Fruit, tree nuts and berries$398,00066th of 138
Poultry and eggs$150,00091st of 168
Hogs and pigs$126,00016th of 103
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$50,000170th of 201

What the fields held

Wharton County harvested 272,165 acres of cropland in 2022, second of 220 counties in Texas. Corn for grain covered acreage equal to 31% of that, cotton 23%.

CropAcresShare of US
Corn for grain85,1110.11%
Cotton63,0530.81%
Rice62,2772.7%
Hay and haylage32,3220.06%
Grain sorghum10,1580.22%
Soybeans4,661under 0.1%
Corn for silage1,890under 0.1%
Wheat779under 0.1%
Orchard land727under 0.1%
of which grapes9under 0.1%
of which citrus12under 0.1%
of which pecans6970.12%
Vegetables425under 0.1%
of which potatoes30under 0.1%
Berries33under 0.1%
Sugarcane10under 0.1%

Withheld to protect individual farms: sunflower and apples.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms79.7%

Wharton County ranks 115th of 250 counties in Texas on this measure.

  • 364,166 acres of cropland, 66% of farmland
  • 201,395 acres of pastureland, 36% of farmland
  • 25,317 acres of woodland, 5% of farmland
  • 106,823 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

The typical farm in Wharton County is smaller than the national median of 72 acres, at 69 acres. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 376 acres, 139th-largest of 242 in Texas. The most common size class is 10–49 acres, with 33.6% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 11.8% of the total.

1–910%10–4934%50–17925%180–49912%500–9997%1,000–1,9997%2,000+5%
Wharton County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Beef cows37,3350.13%
Cattle and calves55,6120.06%
Horses and ponies1,126under 0.1%
Goats427under 0.1%
Sheep and lambs485under 0.1%
Laying hens3,715under 0.1%
Hogs and pigs506under 0.1%
Turkeys401under 0.1%
Broilers sold in 20222,028under 0.1%

Who farms here

Decisions on Wharton County's 1,472 farms are made by 2,661 producers. Their average age is 59.3, 0.6 years below the Texas average. Women are 35.2% of them.

Under 357%35–4411%45–5415%55–6426%65–7424%75+16%
Wharton County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms1,500−1.9%
Land in farms, acres535,305+3.5%
Average farm size, acres357+5.3%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$209 million+88.8%
Rice, acres30,369+100%
Cotton, acres80,643−21.8%
Grain sorghum, acres18,383−44.7%
Pecans, acres1,189−41.4%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Wharton County accounts for 1.2% of farm sales in Texas and 0.6% of the farms in Texas. Rank Texas counties for rice.

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