Cash rent for irrigated cropland: Essex County, Massachusetts
The average cash rent farmers paid per acre for irrigated cropland, from USDA's yearly cash rents survey.
The latest figures and how they have changed
Chart by TallyTill · tallytill.com
What the numbers say
- Essex County's rent is 1.2 times the Massachusetts average and 1.4 times the US average.
- It is the 3rd highest of the 7 Massachusetts counties NASS published for 2026.
- Since 2025 it has fallen 10.6%, from $386 to $345 an acre.
- Gaps are years with no separate Essex figure: NASS ran no county survey in 2015 or 2018, in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 it combined Essex into "other counties", and NASS had no figure available in 2008 and 2010. Nothing is filled in.
Every figure behind this chart
| Year | Essex County | Massachusetts | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $345 | $297 | $244 |
| 2025 | $386 | $298 | $244 |
| 2024 | Combined into "other counties" | $295 | $245 |
| 2023 | Combined into "other counties" | $301 | $237 |
| 2022 | Combined into "other counties" | $284 | $227 |
| 2021 | Combined into "other counties" | $260 | $217 |
| 2020 | Combined into "other counties" | $210 | $216 |
| 2019 | Combined into "other counties" | $240 | $220 |
| 2018 | No county survey that year | No figure | $215 |
| 2017 | Combined into "other counties" | $220 | $212 |
| 2016 | Combined into "other counties" | $212 | $206 |
| 2015 | No county survey that year | No figure | $209 |
| 2014 | Combined into "other counties" | $190 | $208 |
| 2013 | Combined into "other counties" | $185 | $202 |
| 2012 | Combined into "other counties" | $210 | $187 |
| 2011 | Combined into "other counties" | $218 | $171 |
| 2010 | Not available | No figure | No figure |
| 2009 | Combined into "other counties" | $250 | No figure |
| 2008 | Not available | No figure | No figure |
Every Massachusetts county, 2026
Darker shading means a higher figure. Values run from $114 an acre in Berkshire County to $451 an acre in Norfolk County.
- Under $122 (1 county)
- $122 to under $268 (1 county)
- $268 to under $345 (2 counties)
- $345 to under $433 (1 county)
- $433 and over (2 counties)
- Not published separately (7 counties, $351 an acre combined)
NASS combined Bristol County, Dukes County, Hampden County, Nantucket County, Plymouth County, Suffolk County and Worcester County into "other counties", so they have no figure of their own.
| Rank | County | Figure (dollars an acre) | Precision (CV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norfolk County | $451 | 6.8% |
| 2 | Barnstable County | $433 | 16.1% |
| 3 | Essex County This county | $345 | 17.2% |
| 4 | Franklin County | $331 | 9.5% |
| 5 | Hampshire County | $268 | 13.1% |
| 6 | Middlesex County | $122 | 9.6% |
| 7 | Berkshire County | $114 | 9.4% |
What this measures
NASS asks farm operators what they pay in cash rent per acre, separately for irrigated cropland, non-irrigated cropland and pasture. State figures come out at the end of July; county figures follow in August. When too few farms in a county answer, NASS combines that county with others and publishes one "other counties" figure, so some counties have no figure of their own.