Farm & food prices · Production and land
Cash rent for pasture: Shelby County, Alabama
The average cash rent farmers paid per acre for pasture, from USDA's yearly cash rents survey.
Up to dateYearly. States at the end of July, counties in August. Last published Aug 21, 2026. Next expected August 2027.
The latest figures and how they have changed
Shelby County, 2026
$18 an acre
Down 14.3% from $21 in 2023
Alabama, 2026
$27 an acre
Up 8.0% from $25 in 2025
United States, 2026
$16.50 an acre
Up 6.5% from $15.50 in 2025
Shelby CountyAlabamaUnited States
Chart by TallyTill · tallytill.com
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What the numbers say
- Shelby County's rent is 0.7 times the Alabama average and 1.1 times the US average.
- It is tied for the 10th lowest of the 59 Alabama counties NASS published for 2026.
- Since 2009 it has risen 12.5%, from $16 to $18 an acre.
- Gaps are years with no separate Shelby figure: NASS ran no county survey in 2015 or 2018, in 2024 and 2025 it combined Shelby into "other counties", and NASS had no figure available in 2008. Nothing is filled in.
Every figure behind this chart
| Year | Shelby County | Alabama | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $18 | $27 | $16.50 |
| 2025 | Combined into "other counties" | $25 | $15.50 |
| 2024 | Combined into "other counties" | $23.50 | $15.50 |
| 2023 | $21 | $24 | $15 |
| 2022 | $22 | $23.50 | $14 |
| 2021 | $11 | $24 | $13 |
| 2020 | $25.50 | $23 | $13 |
| 2019 | $15 | $22 | $13 |
| 2018 | No county survey that year | $22 | $12.50 |
| 2017 | $18.50 | $23 | $12.50 |
| 2016 | $16 | $22 | $13 |
| 2015 | No county survey that year | $23 | $14 |
| 2014 | $16 | $21 | $12 |
| 2013 | $17.50 | $20 | $12 |
| 2012 | $16 | $19 | $11.50 |
| 2011 | $15 | $19 | $11.50 |
| 2010 | $15 | $19 | $11 |
| 2009 | $16 | $19.50 | $11 |
| 2008 | Not available | $19.50 | $10.50 |
| 2007 | No figure | $19.50 | $10 |
| 2006 | No figure | $18.50 | $10.80 |
| 2005 | No figure | $17.50 | $10.30 |
| 2004 | No figure | $18 | $9.60 |
| 2003 | No figure | $18 | $9 |
| 2002 | No figure | $18 | $9.20 |
| 2001 | No figure | $18 | $9.20 |
| 2000 | No figure | $17 | $8.50 |
| 1999 | No figure | $15 | $8.90 |
| 1998 | No figure | $15.50 | $8.80 |
| 1997 | No figure | $16.50 | No figure |
| 1996 | No figure | $15.80 | No figure |
| 1995 | No figure | $12.50 | No figure |
| 1994 | No figure | $13.10 | No figure |
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Every Alabama county, 2026
Darker shading means a higher figure. Values run from $11 an acre in Talladega County to $45.50 an acre in Etowah County.
- Under $18.50 (11 counties)
- $18.50 to under $24 (12 counties)
- $24 to under $29 (11 counties)
- $29 to under $33 (11 counties)
- $33 and over (14 counties)
- Not published separately (8 counties, $19 an acre combined)
NASS combined Butler County, Choctaw County, Clarke County, Coosa County, Jefferson County, Perry County, Pickens County and Tallapoosa County into "other counties", so they have no figure of their own.
| Rank | County | Figure (dollars an acre) | Precision (CV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etowah County | $45.50 | 9.5% |
| 2 | Escambia County | $45 | 9.6% |
| 3 | Jackson County | $38 | 9.7% |
| 3 | Marengo County | $38 | 6.4% |
| 5 | Barbour County | $37.50 | 5.3% |
| 6 | Franklin County | $37 | 21.1% |
| 6 | Geneva County | $37 | 5.7% |
| 8 | Pike County | $36 | 14.0% |
| 9 | Coffee County | $35.50 | 4.2% |
| 10 | Baldwin County | $33.50 | 4.9% |
| 10 | Mobile County | $33.50 | 5.1% |
| 12 | Autauga County | $33 | 12.3% |
| 12 | Calhoun County | $33 | 8.1% |
| 12 | Covington County | $33 | 3.8% |
| 15 | Dale County | $32.50 | 5.3% |
| 15 | Marshall County | $32.50 | 6.3% |
| 17 | Morgan County | $32 | 11.0% |
| 18 | Hale County | $31.50 | 7.1% |
| 19 | Colbert County | $31 | 3.8% |
| 19 | Limestone County | $31 | 6.3% |
| 21 | Henry County | $30.50 | 5.7% |
| 21 | Lawrence County | $30.50 | 4.3% |
| 23 | Tuscaloosa County | $30 | 3.0% |
| 24 | Cullman County | $29 | 6.6% |
| 24 | Houston County | $29 | 6.1% |
| 26 | De Kalb County | $28.50 | 5.0% |
| 27 | Cherokee County | $27.50 | 7.8% |
| 27 | Lowndes County | $27.50 | 4.8% |
| 29 | Monroe County | $26.50 | 5.1% |
| 30 | Cleburne County | $26 | 6.0% |
| 30 | Madison County | $26 | 5.4% |
| 32 | Dallas County | $25.50 | 5.0% |
| 33 | Randolph County | $24.50 | 5.4% |
| 34 | Blount County | $24 | 4.1% |
| 34 | Greene County | $24 | 3.7% |
| 34 | Winston County | $24 | 7.3% |
| 37 | Lamar County | $23.50 | 6.3% |
| 37 | Lauderdale County | $23.50 | 5.5% |
| 39 | Crenshaw County | $22.50 | 16.3% |
| 39 | Macon County | $22.50 | 13.4% |
| 41 | Fayette County | $22 | 3.8% |
| 42 | Montgomery County | $21.50 | 5.6% |
| 43 | Bibb County | $20.50 | 9.0% |
| 43 | Marion County | $20.50 | 11.1% |
| 43 | Russell County | $20.50 | 4.9% |
| 46 | Washington County | $20 | 12.3% |
| 47 | Sumter County | $19.50 | 4.3% |
| 48 | Chambers County | $18.50 | 4.8% |
| 49 | Shelby County This county | $18 | 7.4% |
| 49 | Walker County | $18 | 6.1% |
| 51 | Wilcox County | $17.50 | 4.3% |
| 52 | Conecuh County | $17 | 8.2% |
| 52 | Saint Clair County | $17 | 8.9% |
| 54 | Lee County | $15.50 | 4.2% |
| 55 | Bullock County | $14.50 | 10.4% |
| 55 | Chilton County | $14.50 | 6.5% |
| 57 | Elmore County | $13.50 | 6.7% |
| 58 | Clay County | $11.50 | 6.8% |
| 59 | Talladega County | $11 | 6.0% |
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Cash Rents Survey. County estimates released Aug 21, 2026; state and US estimates released Jul 31, 2026. Quick Stats item "RENT, CASH, PASTURELAND - EXPENSE, MEASURED IN $ / ACRE". Retrieved Oct 20, 2026; snapshot 2026-10-20.1. Precision: NASS's coefficient of variation for Shelby is 7.4% (lower means more precise). Dollars as published, not adjusted for inflation. This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS.
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.