Farm Census

Carbon County, Wyoming

Farms, crops and livestock in the 2022 Census of Agriculture

311 farms2,866,440 acres in farms$77.5 million in farm sales

Among US counties with published figures, Carbon County ranks eighth for land in farms.

Within Wyoming, no other county with a published figure has more beef cows.

Its farms are among the biggest in the country: the average farm size is the seventh-largest of the 2,894 counties with at least 100 farms.

Cattle and calves: 89.6%Cattle and calves89.6%Hay and other crops: 5.2%5.2%Withheld groups: 2.3%2.3%Sheep and goats: 2.0%2.0%Horses and mules: 1.0%1.0%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%Cattle and calves: 89.6%Cattle and calves89.6%Hay and other crops: 5.2%5.2%Withheld groups: 2.3%2.3%Sheep and goats: 2.0%2.0%Horses and mules: 1.0%Hogs and pigs: under 0.1%Poultry and eggs: under 0.1%
Farm sales by product group, 2022, sized by value. Withheld to protect individual farms: grains and oilseeds, nursery and greenhouse crops, milk, aquaculture products and other animal products.
Sales by product group
Product groupSalesRank in state
Cattle and calves$69.4 million3rd of 19
Hay and other crops$4.0 million12th of 18
Sheep, goats, wool, mohair and goat milk$1.5 million12th of 19
Horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys$749,0009th of 19
Hogs and pigs$10,0004th of 7
Poultry and eggs$10,00022nd of 23

What the fields held

Carbon County harvested 86,954 acres of cropland in 2022, fifth of 23 counties in Wyoming. Hay and haylage covered acreage equal to 99% of that.

CropAcresShare of US
Hay and haylage85,8990.16%

Withheld to protect individual farms: corn for grain, soybeans, wheat, corn for silage and barley.

How much of the county is farmland

Share of the county land in farms56.7%

Carbon County ranks 12th of 23 counties in Wyoming on this measure.

  • 186,334 acres of cropland, 7% of farmland
  • 2,740,174 acres of pastureland, 96% of farmland
  • 32,606 acres of woodland, 1% of farmland
  • 157,301 acres irrigated

Farm sizes

Farms in Carbon County run larger than the national pattern: the median farm has 800 acres against 72 for the US. The average, pulled up by the largest operations, is 9,217 acres, first-largest of 23 in Wyoming. The most common size class is 2,000+ acres, with 35.7% of farms. Farms of 1,000 acres or more are 47.3% of the total.

1–96%10–4913%50–17915%180–4999%500–99910%1,000–1,99912%2,000+36%
Carbon County US · farms by size

Barns, pens and pastures

AnimalsHeadShare of US
Sheep and lambs10,3530.20%
Beef cows56,1540.19%
Cattle and calves95,0210.11%
Horses and ponies2,1280.09%
Milk cows10under 0.1%
Laying hens347under 0.1%
Turkeys8under 0.1%

Withheld: hogs and pigs and goats.

Who farms here

Decisions on Carbon County's 311 farms are made by 630 producers. Their average age is 55.3, 3.2 years below the Wyoming average. Women are 39.0% of them.

Under 3512%35–4420%45–5414%55–6418%65–7427%75+10%
Carbon County US · producers by age

Five years earlier

Measure2017Change to 2022
Farms345−9.9%
Land in farms, acres2,811,832+1.9%
Average farm size, acres8,150+13.1%
Farm products sold (current dollars)$73.2 million+5.9%
Beef cows, head51,164+9.8%
Hay and haylage, acres83,293+3.1%
Cattle and calves, head95,767−0.8%
Horses and ponies, head1,811+17.5%

Nearest rivals

Counties with a similar sales mix

Carbon County accounts for 4.8% of farm sales in Wyoming and 2.9% of the farms in Wyoming. Rank Wyoming counties for sheep and lambs.

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