Farm operations
1,359
Avg 457 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census CA · FIPS 06083 Top quartile by state sales HEAVY PASTURE-LED
Santa Barbara County, California - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Santa Barbara County. Ranked #9 of 58 counties in California.
621,663 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 24.3% 151,355 acres
- Other land
- 75.7% 470,308 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Santa Barbara County received $12.01 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 0.8× the California county median of $14.73.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $12.01
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $14.73
- California county median per acre
- 0.82×
- California median per acre
Payments per acre use the same NASS county table for receipts and acreage. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series.
According to the 2022 USDA NASS Census of Agriculture, Santa Barbara County, California is a PASTURE-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp HEAVY; commodity sales sit far above state median and it shows low federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$2.6B
8.6× state median -- Far above state median
Federal payments
$7.5M
0.3% of sales -- Low federal dependence
Net farm income
$575.3M
2022 cash income -- Well above-typical net income
A
Farm economy grade: A -- Santa Barbara County's net farm income sits at the 100th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Santa Barbara County Farm Data Shows
Santa Barbara County, California reads as a PASTURE-LED county with HEAVY federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is under 25% of agricultural land, a mix where livestock forage and disaster titles (LFP/ELAP) usually outweigh row-crop commodity programs; payments per agricultural acre fall in the second-highest national quintile, $11.30 to $18.39 an acre, heavy federal support relative to the acreage.
The state comparisons on this page use the 56 of 58 California counties with published commodity sales (2 withheld by NASS to protect respondents are left out, not counted as zero), averaging the two central values when the count is even. Payments per acre use the 53 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 47 that reported a profit.
Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of California.
Read with Santa Barbara County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Santa Barbara (HEAVY · PASTURE-LED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
HEAVY PASTURE-LED
Howard County, IA · DENSE
$7.5M federal receipts is lower by $1K than Santa Barbara; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs PASTURE-LED.
Lawrence County, AR · DENSE
$7.5M federal receipts is higher by $7K than Santa Barbara; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs PASTURE-LED.
Brown County, MN · DENSE
$7.5M federal receipts is higher by $26K than Santa Barbara; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs PASTURE-LED.
Adams County, CO · HEAVY
$7.4M federal receipts is lower by $41K than Santa Barbara; land stamp CROP-LED vs PASTURE-LED.
Judith Basin County (HEAVY $/acre pole)
Judith Basin sits near Santa Barbara on payments-per-acre ($12.16) while total receipts differ.
Imperial County (HEAVY $/acre pole)
Imperial sits near Santa Barbara on payments-per-acre ($11.81) while total receipts differ.
California ERS state roll-up
Santa Barbara stamps HEAVY · PASTURE-LED inside California's NASS county table, open the state ERS payment stack next.
Census payments leaderboard
Open the national ranking of U.S. counties by NASS federal farm program payments to see the counties around Santa Barbara under the HEAVY intensity band.
What to do with this
Three places to go next from Santa Barbara County, California:
- See how California compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. California state page
- Browse the full county table to compare payment intensity across the country. All counties
- Understand what actually drives county-level farm payments. Read the guide
County figures (2022 NASS Census of Agriculture) are a separate population from USDA ERS state and national payment series and must not be summed together.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many farms are in Santa Barbara County, California?
Santa Barbara County, California has 1,359 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 457 acres; land stamp PASTURE-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Santa Barbara County?
Santa Barbara County's total commodity sales are $2.6B (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #9 among 58 counties in California.
How much federal farm assistance does Santa Barbara County receive?
Santa Barbara County received $7.5M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping HEAVY on NASS payments-per-acre ($12.01/acre) with a PASTURE-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Santa Barbara County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Santa Barbara County is $575.3M (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
California
58 counties · View state farm data
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 2022 Census of Agriculture · 2022
Dollar values reflect calendar year 2022 farm operations data.
PlainFarmData is an independent data portal, not affiliated with USDA, FSA, or any government agency. For official program eligibility or application guidance, contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office.
Intensity stamp HEAVY · land stamp PASTURE-LED (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).
NASS withholds commodity sales for 2 California counties with too few farm operations to publish without identifying individual producers. Those counties are excluded from the peer median on this page rather than counted as zero sales.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Verify with USDA NASS Census of Agriculture →
County farm figures on this page are rendered from the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, no number is typed in by an editor. Census county totals are not a roll-up of the USDA ERS state payment series. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.