Farm operations
412
Avg 89 ac / farm
2022 USDA Census NC · FIPS 37071 Bottom quartile by state sales HEAVY MIXED
Gaston County, North Carolina - Farm Data
Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Gaston County. Ranked #78 of 100 counties in North Carolina.
36,859 acres of agricultural land
- Cropland
- 44.3% 16,323 acres
- Other land
- 55.7% 20,536 acres
USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture
Gaston County received $15.08 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 1.2× the North Carolina county median of $12.60.
According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.
- $15.08
- government payments per agricultural acre
- $12.60
- North Carolina county median per acre
- 1.20×
- North Carolina 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, Gaston County, North Carolina is a MIXED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp HEAVY; commodity sales sit well below state median and it shows above-typical federal dependence.
Commodity sales
$26.9M
0.30× state median -- Well below state median
Federal payments
$556K
2.1% of sales -- Above-typical dependence
Net farm income
$4.4M
2022 cash income -- Below-typical net income
D
Farm economy grade: D -- Gaston County's net farm income sits at the 27th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.
What the Gaston County Farm Data Shows
Gaston County, North Carolina reads as a MIXED county with HEAVY 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 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 98 of 100 North Carolina 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 95 counties that report both receipts and acreage, and net-income peers are the 92 that reported a profit.
Pair the payment peers below before treating any single county as representative of North Carolina.
Read with Gaston County
Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Gaston (HEAVY · MIXED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.
HEAVY MIXED
Georgetown County, SC · MID
$555K federal receipts is lower by $1K than Gaston; land stamp PASTURE-LED vs MIXED.
San Bernardino County, CA · HEAVY
$558K federal receipts is higher by $2K than Gaston; land stamp CROP-LED vs MIXED.
Meade County, KY · LIGHT
$558K federal receipts is higher by $2K than Gaston; land stamp CROP-LED vs MIXED.
Somerset County, NJ · DENSE
$558K federal receipts is higher by $2K than Gaston; land stamp CROP-LED vs MIXED.
Lafayette County (HEAVY $/acre pole)
Lafayette sits near Gaston on payments-per-acre ($15.03) while total receipts differ.
Twiggs County (HEAVY $/acre pole)
Twiggs sits near Gaston on payments-per-acre ($14.92) while total receipts differ.
North Carolina ERS state roll-up
Gaston stamps HEAVY · MIXED inside North Carolina'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 Gaston under the HEAVY intensity band.
What to do with this
Three ways to keep going from Gaston County, North Carolina:
- See how North Carolina compares nationally on ERS farm payments and income. North Carolina 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 Gaston County, North Carolina?
Gaston County, North Carolina has 412 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 89 acres; land stamp MIXED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Gaston County?
Gaston County's total commodity sales are $26.9M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #78 among 100 counties in North Carolina.
How much federal farm assistance does Gaston County receive?
Gaston County received $556K in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping HEAVY on NASS payments-per-acre ($15.08/acre) with a MIXED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Gaston County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Gaston County is $4.4M (2022 Census of Agriculture).
State Overview
North Carolina
100 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 MIXED (NASS payments-per-acre / cropland share bands).
NASS withholds commodity sales for 2 North Carolina 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.