Cash rent for pasture: Santa Barbara County, California
The average cash rent farmers paid per acre for pasture, from USDA's yearly cash rents survey.
The latest figures and how they have changed
Chart by TallyTill · tallytill.com
What the numbers say
- Santa Barbara County's rent is 0.6 times the California average and 0.6 times the US average.
- It is the 3rd lowest of the 38 California counties NASS published for 2026.
- Since 2009 it has fallen 1.0%, from $10 to $9.90 an acre.
- Gaps are years with no separate Santa Barbara figure: NASS ran no county survey in 2015 or 2018, in 2011 it combined Santa Barbara into "other counties", and NASS had no figure available in 2008. Nothing is filled in.
Every figure behind this chart
| Year | Santa Barbara County | California | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $9.90 | $16.50 | $16.50 |
| 2025 | $8.10 | $16 | $15.50 |
| 2024 | $9.20 | $14 | $15.50 |
| 2023 | $8.70 | $13 | $15 |
| 2022 | $10.50 | $13 | $14 |
| 2021 | $9.50 | $12 | $13 |
| 2020 | $9.60 | $13 | $13 |
| 2019 | $7 | $13 | $13 |
| 2018 | No county survey that year | $13 | $12.50 |
| 2017 | $6.50 | $12 | $12.50 |
| 2016 | $6.30 | $16 | $13 |
| 2015 | No county survey that year | $14 | $14 |
| 2014 | $6.50 | $13.50 | $12 |
| 2013 | $6.40 | $12 | $12 |
| 2012 | $5.80 | $11.50 | $11.50 |
| 2011 | Combined into "other counties" | $12.50 | $11.50 |
| 2010 | $6.60 | $13 | $11 |
| 2009 | $10 | $14 | $11 |
| 2008 | Not available | $15 | $10.50 |
| 2007 | No figure | $14 | $10 |
| 2006 | No figure | $13 | $10.80 |
| 2005 | No figure | $12 | $10.30 |
| 2004 | No figure | $11.50 | $9.60 |
| 2003 | No figure | $10.60 | $9 |
| 2002 | No figure | $11 | $9.20 |
| 2001 | No figure | $11 | $9.20 |
| 2000 | No figure | $9 | $8.50 |
| 1999 | No figure | $10 | $8.90 |
| 1998 | No figure | $12 | $8.80 |
| 1995 | No figure | $39.30 | No figure |
| 1994 | No figure | $26.90 | No figure |
Every California county, 2026
Darker shading means a higher figure. Values run from $5.50 an acre in Ventura County to $42 an acre in Marin County.
- Under $13 (7 counties)
- $13 to under $15 (7 counties)
- $15 to under $20 (8 counties)
- $20 to under $25 (8 counties)
- $25 and over (8 counties)
- Not published separately (20 counties, $12 an acre combined)
NASS combined Alpine County, Del Norte County, Imperial County, Kern County, Kings County, Los Angeles County, Mono County, Napa County, Orange County, Plumas County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Francisco County, San Joaquin County, San Mateo County, Sierra County, Solano County, Trinity County and Yuba County into "other counties", so they have no figure of their own.
| Rank | County | Figure (dollars an acre) | Precision (CV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marin County | $42 | 23.8% |
| 2 | Sutter County | $32 | 4.1% |
| 3 | Glenn County | $31 | 11.5% |
| 4 | Stanislaus County | $28.50 | 8.3% |
| 5 | Nevada County | $28 | 11.2% |
| 6 | Placer County | $26.50 | 8.9% |
| 7 | Sacramento County | $25 | 7.2% |
| 7 | Santa Cruz County | $25 | 25.2% |
| 9 | Tuolumne County | $24 | 13.4% |
| 10 | Colusa County | $23.50 | 11.2% |
| 10 | Contra Costa County | $23.50 | 7.8% |
| 10 | Merced County | $23.50 | 9.6% |
| 10 | Sonoma County | $23.50 | 24.3% |
| 14 | Amador County | $20 | 11.3% |
| 14 | Butte County | $20 | 8.7% |
| 14 | San Luis Obispo County | $20 | 15.1% |
| 17 | Mariposa County | $19.50 | 10.1% |
| 18 | Humboldt County | $18.50 | 16.8% |
| 19 | Lassen County | $17.50 | 9.3% |
| 19 | Monterey County | $17.50 | 7.8% |
| 21 | Modoc County | $15.50 | 18.5% |
| 22 | Lake County | $15 | 5.6% |
| 22 | San Benito County | $15 | 15.8% |
| 22 | Yolo County | $15 | 5.5% |
| 25 | Alameda County | $14.50 | 12.1% |
| 25 | Calaveras County | $14.50 | 12.4% |
| 25 | Shasta County | $14.50 | 14.1% |
| 28 | El Dorado County | $14 | 15.2% |
| 28 | Tulare County | $14 | 7.7% |
| 30 | Mendocino County | $13 | 2.4% |
| 30 | Siskiyou County | $13 | 5.1% |
| 32 | Madera County | $12 | 11.4% |
| 33 | Fresno County | $11.50 | 9.7% |
| 34 | Tehama County | $11 | 8.1% |
| 35 | Inyo County | $10 | 6.3% |
| 36 | Santa Barbara County This county | $9.90 | 7.5% |
| 37 | Santa Clara County | $5.60 | 10.4% |
| 38 | Ventura County | $5.50 | 9.5% |
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.