Farm operations
3,097
Avg 151 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census CA · FIPS 06097 Upper-middle by state sales DENSE MIXED
Sonoma County, California - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Sonoma County. Ranked #16 of 58 counties in California.
466,810 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 28.1% 131,237 acres
- Other land
- 71.9% 335,573 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Sonoma County received $41.80 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 2.8× the California county median of $14.73.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $41.80
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $14.73
- California county median per acre
- 2.84×
- 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, Sonoma County, California is a MIXED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp DENSE; commodity sales sit above state median and it shows above-typical federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$976.4M
3.2× state median -- Above state median
Federal payments
$19.5M
2.0% of sales -- Above-typical dependence
Net farm income
$83.0M
2022 cash income -- Typical net income
B
Farm economy grade: B -- Sonoma County's net farm income sits at the 81th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Sonoma County Farm Data Shows
Sonoma County, California reads as a MIXED county with DENSE federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is 25% to 50% of agricultural land with the balance in pasture, range, woodland or farmsteads, so row-crop and livestock-side programs are both in play; payments per agricultural acre fall in the highest national quintile, $18.39 an acre or more, federal receipts concentrated on a small farmed base.
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 Sonoma County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Sonoma (DENSE · MIXED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
DENSE MIXED
Swisher County, TX · DENSE
$19.6M federal receipts is higher by $41K than Sonoma; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs MIXED.
Adams County, WA · DENSE
$19.4M federal receipts is lower by $134K than Sonoma; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs MIXED.
Yuma County, CO · HEAVY
$19.3M federal receipts is lower by $165K than Sonoma; land stamp MIXED vs MIXED.
Grant County, ND · DENSE
$19.7M federal receipts is higher by $168K than Sonoma; land stamp MIXED vs MIXED.
Hockley County (DENSE $/acre pole)
Hockley sits near Sonoma on payments-per-acre ($41.83) while total receipts differ.
Brown County (DENSE $/acre pole)
Brown sits near Sonoma on payments-per-acre ($41.05) while total receipts differ.
California ERS state roll-up
Sonoma stamps DENSE · MIXED 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 Sonoma under the DENSE intensity band.
What to do with this
Three ways to keep going from Sonoma 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 Sonoma County, California?
Sonoma County, California has 3,097 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 151 acres; land stamp MIXED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Sonoma County?
Sonoma County's total commodity sales are $976.4M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #16 among 58 counties in California.
How much federal farm assistance does Sonoma County receive?
Sonoma County received $19.5M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping DENSE on NASS payments-per-acre ($41.80/acre) with a MIXED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Sonoma County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Sonoma County is $83.0M (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 DENSE · land stamp MIXED (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.