The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 3,374,044 producers, the people who make decisions on US farms, and their average age was 58.1. More than a third of producers, 38.4%, are 65 or older; 8.8% are under 35. County averages range from 43.6 to 64.6 years among the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers.
Who counts as a producer
The census defines a producer as a person involved in making decisions for the farm operation, and it collects detailed information such as age for up to four producers per farm. A family farm run by two spouses and an adult child can therefore contribute three people to these totals. All figures here are county aggregates: the census publishes no information about any individual, and neither does this site.
The age structure nationally
The largest group is 55 to 64, closely followed by 65 to 74. The two groups under 45 together make up 21.4% of producers. Every county profile on this site draws the same six columns for the county next to these national shares, so an older or younger county is visible at a glance.
The oldest counties
The oldest averages are scattered across the South and West rather than concentrated in one region. Beaver County, OK has the highest average age of any county with at least 500 producers, 64.6 years. In 417 of the 2,346 counties the average is 60 or higher.
| County | Average age | Producers |
|---|---|---|
| Beaver County, OK | 64.6 | 1,394 |
| Grays Harbor County, WA | 64.2 | 676 |
| Lincoln County, NM | 63.9 | 638 |
| Bandera County, TX | 63.9 | 1,309 |
| West Carroll Parish, LA | 63.6 | 889 |
| San Miguel County, NM | 63.6 | 1,308 |
| Wilcox County, AL | 63.5 | 536 |
| Hamilton County, TX | 63.3 | 1,663 |
| Baca County, CO | 63.2 | 1,267 |
| Lafayette County, MS | 63.2 | 614 |
The youngest counties
The youngest averages form a much tighter cluster. Nine of the ten youngest counties are in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, led by LaGrange County, IN at 43.6 years. Several of the same counties also have the largest shares of producers under 35.
| County | Average age | Producers |
|---|---|---|
| LaGrange County, IN | 43.6 | 4,663 |
| Elkhart County, IN | 46.8 | 3,394 |
| Holmes County, OH | 47.8 | 3,230 |
| Union County, PA | 48.2 | 923 |
| Lancaster County, PA | 48.3 | 8,599 |
| Daviess County, IN | 49.7 | 2,109 |
| Yates County, NY | 49.9 | 1,602 |
| Snyder County, PA | 49.9 | 1,467 |
| Adams County, IN | 50.0 | 2,276 |
| Clinton County, PA | 50.2 | 521 |
Why this note does not compare 2017 and 2022
The 2017 census also published producer ages, and the national average in its tables was 57.5. USDA states, however, that demographic data for the 2022 Census of Agriculture are not fully comparable to 2017 and earlier census data because of terminology and definition changes. A gap of a few tenths of a year between the two censuses could come from those changes as much as from producers growing older, so Farm Census reports producer ages for 2022 only and leaves the age columns out of every "Five years earlier" table. The same caution applies to the number of producers.
The states
State averages sit in a narrower band than county ones, from 55.4 in Pennsylvania to 60.7 in Hawaii. New Mexico and Arizona follow Hawaii at the old end; Indiana and Ohio are next to Pennsylvania at the young end.
Age and farm size
Splitting the 2,346 counties with at least 500 producers at the middle value of average farm size (274 acres) gives a small but consistent difference. Counties with larger average farms have a mean producer age of 58.3; counties with smaller farms, 58.0. The census does not explain the gap, and county pages report age without linking it to size.
Young producers
The census counted 296,480 producers under 35 in 2022, 8.8% of the total. The share varies widely by county. It is highest in LaGrange County, IN, at 27.8%, followed by Yates County, NY (24.6%) and Lancaster County, PA (23.9%). In most counties the share is much lower: the under-35 group is the smallest of the six age groups nationally except for the group aged 75 and over.
Women in farming
Women make up 36.3% of all US producers. The share is highest in the Southwest and the Pacific Northwest: among counties with at least 500 producers, Coconino County, AZ and Apache County, AZ both have more women producers than men. The lowest share among the same counties is in Cavalier County, ND, at 18.8%, and the middle value across them is 35.7%. Each county profile states the share of women producers next to the national figure.
Using the age data
County pages show the average age, the gap to the state average and the age chart in the "Who farms here" section. The notes on the data list the minimum of 500 producers used for every age ranking, which keeps small counties with a handful of farms from dominating the extremes.
Sources
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 Census of Agriculture and 2017 Census of Agriculture, county, state and national data (bulk files at www.nass.usda.gov/datasets/). Tables and charts computed by Farm Census.