2022 USDA Census NC · FIPS 37089 Upper-middle by state sales DENSE CROP-LED

Henderson County, North Carolina - Farm Data

Agricultural and commodity intelligence for Henderson County. Ranked #41 of 100 counties in North Carolina.

View all North Carolina counties → Browse all counties
Agricultural land composition · 2022 USDA Census · data refreshed 2026-05-15
32,743 acres of agricultural land
Cropland
59.8% 19,572 acres
Other land
40.2% 13,171 acres
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USDA NASS · 2022 Census of Agriculture

Henderson County received $295.57 in Census government payments per agricultural acre, 23.5× the North Carolina county median of $12.60.

According to the USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture.

$295.57
government payments per agricultural acre
$12.60
North Carolina county median per acre
23.47×
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, Henderson County, North Carolina is a CROP-LED county with federal farm payments per acre that stamp DENSE; commodity sales sit near state median and it shows high federal dependence.

Farm operations

520

Avg 63 ac / farm

Commodity sales

$103.4M

1.2× state median -- Near state median

Federal payments

$9.7M

9.4% of sales -- High federal dependence

Net farm income

$25.0M

2022 cash income -- Typical net income

C

Farm economy grade: C -- Henderson County's net farm income sits at the 53th percentile among 3,046 NASS-reporting counties nationally (2022 Census). Percentile-benchmarked, not a same-state comparison like the tier label above.

What the Henderson County Farm Data Shows

Henderson County, North Carolina reads as a CROP-LED county with DENSE federal payment intensity. In the NASS Census vocabulary this portal uses, cropland is 50% to 75% of agricultural land, a profile where ARC/PLC eligibility and crop insurance density matter more than pasture-side disaster titles; 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 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 Henderson County

Nearest NASS federal-payment peers and $/acre poles for Henderson (DENSE · CROP-LED), replacing the old fixed Related and same-state alphabetical strip.

DENSE CROP-LED

Barton County, MO · DENSE

$9.7M federal receipts is higher by $2K than Henderson; land stamp CROP-LED vs CROP-LED.

Dundy County, NE · HEAVY

$9.7M federal receipts is higher by $22K than Henderson; land stamp MIXED vs CROP-LED.

Kearny County, KS · HEAVY

$9.7M federal receipts is higher by $27K than Henderson; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs CROP-LED.

Cedar County, NE · DENSE

$9.7M federal receipts is higher by $32K than Henderson; land stamp CROP-HEAVY vs CROP-LED.

Kent County (DENSE $/acre pole)

Kent sits near Henderson on payments-per-acre ($68.20) while total receipts differ.

Berrien County (DENSE $/acre pole)

Berrien sits near Henderson on payments-per-acre ($57.73) while total receipts differ.

North Carolina ERS state roll-up

Henderson stamps DENSE · CROP-LED 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 Henderson under the DENSE intensity band.

What to do with this

Three places to go next from Henderson County, North Carolina:

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 Henderson County, North Carolina?
Henderson County, North Carolina has 520 farms (2022 USDA Census). Average farm size 63 acres; land stamp CROP-LED.
What is the total agricultural production value of Henderson County?
Henderson County's total commodity sales are $103.4M (2022 Census of Agriculture), ranking #41 among 100 counties in North Carolina.
How much federal farm assistance does Henderson County receive?
Henderson County received $9.7M in federal government farm program receipts (2022), stamping DENSE on NASS payments-per-acre ($295.57/acre) with a CROP-LED land mix.
What is the net farm income in Henderson County?
Net cash farm income for operations in Henderson County is $25.0M (2022 Census of Agriculture).

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 CROP-LED (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.