USDA ERS · DISASTER-HEAVY · DENSE · CA

California farm subsidy data

Disaster-weighted ERS profile for FY2023; county NASS tables below are a separate 2022 Census population.

By ·Data year 2023·USDA ERS → ·USDA NASS Census →

Total payments
$666M
Conservation
$86M
Disaster aid
$452M
Net farm income (2023)
$12.1B
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Disaster share inside California's $666M ERS total

Exclusive partition of this state's fiscal-year 2023 USDA ERS total (DISASTER-HEAVY). Conservation and disaster are published line items; the residual is commodity / ARC-PLC / MFP and other program families in the same extract.

California vs all jurisdictions by USDA ERS total payments

Where this state's farm-program payment total sits among every state on PlainFarmData

665,503 5th of 50 higher than 45 of 50 states

States, banded by USDA ERS total farm program payments (ERS units)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USDA ERS Farm Income and Wealth Statistics · 2026-05-15

California: large disaster-heavy ERS book

California stamps DISASTER-HEAVY · DENSE on USDA ERS FY2023: disaster aid $452M of $666M total (#5 of 50 by total).

Crop-insurance loss ratio 342% ($1.2B indemnities on $364M premiums) sits beside the disaster line; read them together, not as substitutes. A ratio above 100% means claims exceeded premiums in this reporting period; it is not, by itself, a measure of a state’s agricultural risk.

County farm-count and sales tables below are the separate 2022 NASS Census population and do not sum to this ERS state total. Figures follow USDA Economic Research Service Farm Income and Wealth Statistics.

Payment history behind California's disaster stamp

Latest release change: -16.1% · California's total government payments moved from $666M in FY2023 to $558M in FY2024, the change between the two most recent finalized USDA ERS years. USDA publishes each release on its own; the movement between them is computed here.

Year Total
2024 $558M
2023 $666M
2022 $637M
2021 $1.2B
2020 $3.3B
2019 $420M
2018 $275M
2017 $179M
2016 $241M
2015 $235M

Crop insurance beside California's disaster stamp

Premiums Paid
$364M
Indemnities
$1.2B
Loss Ratio
342%

Loss ratio = indemnities ÷ premiums. A ratio above 100% means claims exceeded premiums in this reporting period; it is not, by itself, a measure of a state’s agricultural risk.

California vs. every rankable state: what goes into crop insurance isn't what comes out

Each dot is a state that clears the $1M premiums floor, placed by what it pays IN (premiums, left to right) against what its indemnities return relative to that (loss ratio, bottom to top). Paying more into the program is not the same as getting more out of it, a state can sit in the small-payer / outsized-payout quadrant just as easily as the reverse.

Small payer, outsized payoutHeavy payer, heavy claimsLight footprintHeavy payer, net subsidizer$0M$206.8M$413.5M$620.3M$827.0M16.1%140.3%264.5%388.7%512.9%Premiums paid ($M) →← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums)Texas, Premiums paid ($M) →: $787.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 421.3%Oklahoma, Premiums paid ($M) →: $149.3M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 469.4%Kansas, Premiums paid ($M) →: $504.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 486.3%Iowa, Premiums paid ($M) →: $701.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 147.1%Nebraska, Premiums paid ($M) →: $447.4M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 318.2%South Dakota, Premiums paid ($M) →: $410.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 212.5%Arkansas, Premiums paid ($M) →: $86.3M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 324.6%Minnesota, Premiums paid ($M) →: $445.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 193.9%Missouri, Premiums paid ($M) →: $212.2M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 200.2%Wisconsin, Premiums paid ($M) →: $163M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 180.8%Illinois, Premiums paid ($M) →: $467.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 54.7%North Dakota, Premiums paid ($M) →: $500M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 156.2%Montana, Premiums paid ($M) →: $140.4M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 221.6%Mississippi, Premiums paid ($M) →: $56.3M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 374.1%Colorado, Premiums paid ($M) →: $149.1M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 283.8%Louisiana, Premiums paid ($M) →: $60.8M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 313.4%Ohio, Premiums paid ($M) →: $169.2M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 51.4%Washington, Premiums paid ($M) →: $184.5M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 341.8%Georgia, Premiums paid ($M) →: $108.8M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 364.7%Oregon, Premiums paid ($M) →: $83.6M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 257.3%Pennsylvania, Premiums paid ($M) →: $29.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 218.7%Florida, Premiums paid ($M) →: $133.8M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 432.8%New Mexico, Premiums paid ($M) →: $91.2M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 271.5%New York, Premiums paid ($M) →: $39.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 185.8%Kentucky, Premiums paid ($M) →: $84.4M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 172.7%North Carolina, Premiums paid ($M) →: $147.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 168%Michigan, Premiums paid ($M) →: $114.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 120.5%Indiana, Premiums paid ($M) →: $261.4M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 38.7%Tennessee, Premiums paid ($M) →: $48.3M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 222.4%Idaho, Premiums paid ($M) →: $98.5M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 200.8%Utah, Premiums paid ($M) →: $28.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 128.7%Wyoming, Premiums paid ($M) →: $27.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 119.1%Virginia, Premiums paid ($M) →: $38.2M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 190.6%Alabama, Premiums paid ($M) →: $39.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 271%South Carolina, Premiums paid ($M) →: $49.4M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 251.7%Arizona, Premiums paid ($M) →: $72.9M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 237.1%Vermont, Premiums paid ($M) →: $2.2M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 369.3%Maryland, Premiums paid ($M) →: $16.5M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 133.2%Nevada, Premiums paid ($M) →: $63M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 98.4%Hawaii, Premiums paid ($M) →: $1M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 402.8%West Virginia, Premiums paid ($M) →: $2.1M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 178.3%Maine, Premiums paid ($M) →: $5M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 169.5%Massachusetts, Premiums paid ($M) →: $2.6M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 486.5%New Jersey, Premiums paid ($M) →: $3.3M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 490.3%Connecticut, Premiums paid ($M) →: $3.7M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 481.9%Delaware, Premiums paid ($M) →: $5.6M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 78%California, Premiums paid ($M) →: $363.6M · ← Loss ratio (indemnities ÷ premiums): 342.3%
California pays $364M in crop-insurance premiums (#9 of 47 rankable states) against a 342% loss ratio (#12 by claims relative to premiums): a heavy payer, outsized payout state, not simply "pays a lot" or "pays a little."

47-state rankable cohort, national medians at the crosshair

Source: USDA ERS Farm Income and Wealth Statistics As of 2026-05-15

Top counties in California by commodity sales

Top 5 California counties, commodity sales Horizontal bar chart of the top 5 items by value (USD). Top 5 California counties, commodity sales 1. Fresno $7.0B 2. Tulare $6.4B 3. Monterey $5.5B 4. Kern $5.0B 5. Merced $4.0B Top 5 counties in California ranked by total commoditysales (USDA NASS Census of Agriculture). Source: USDA NASSCensus of Agriculture + USDA ERS Farm Income.

Counties in California (58)

County Farms
Fresno 4,427
Tulare 3,713
Monterey 1,057
Kern 1,691
Merced 2,047
Imperial 482
San Joaquin 3,439
Stanislaus 3,455
Santa Barbara 1,359
Kings 862
Ventura 1,812
Madera 1,255
Riverside 2,424
San Luis Obispo 2,184
San Diego 4,031
Sonoma 3,097
Napa 1,772
Santa Cruz 614
Yolo 795
Sacramento 1,118
Colusa 715
Glenn 1,084
Butte 1,667
Solano 712
San Bernardino 809

Showing 1-25 of 58 counties, ranked by commodity sales.

Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Farm Income and Wealth Statistics (1995-2024) County data: USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture

Income beside disaster stamp

Gross cash $63.2B · net cash $12.4B · net farm $12.1B · ARC $0M / PLC $0M

USDA ERS Farm Income · FY2023 · County: 2022 NASS Census

Nearest ERS payment peer (DISASTER-HEAVY · DENSE): Nebraska · DISASTER-HEAVY · How disaster and program payments stack · Fresno County NASS table

What to do with California's numbers

California ranks #5 of 50 states by total ERS farm payments. Three places to take that further:

  • See how California compares against the 4 closest West states by payment volume. Compare states
  • Drill into Fresno County, California's top county by commodity sales in the 2022 NASS Census. County detail
  • How disaster and program payments stack for the program-level context behind these totals. Learn more

State payment totals (USDA ERS) and county figures (2022 NASS Census of Agriculture) are separate populations and must not be summed together.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details.
Compiled from official public sources by the publisher.