Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials

How much do you know about food and agriculture? What about rural America or conservation? ERS has assembled 70 charts and maps covering key information about the farm and food sectors, including agricultural markets and trade, farm income, food prices and consumption, food security, rural economies, and the interaction of agriculture and natural resources.

How much, for example, do agriculture and related industries contribute to U.S. gross domestic product and account for U.S. jobs? Which commodities are the leading agricultural exports? How much of the food dollar goes to farmers? How do poverty rates in rural areas compare with metro areas? These are among the statistics covered in this collection of charts and maps—with accompanying text—divided into the nine section titles listed at left.

Use the navigation to the left to view the full chart collection.

ERS also periodically publishes a booklet of selected Essentials charts and maps, for the latest edition see:

Selected Charts from Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials, February 2023 (AP-111, February 2023)

What is agriculture's share of the overall U.S. economy?

Agriculture, food, and related industries contributed roughly $1.264 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, a 5.4-percent share. The output of America’s farms contributed $164.7 billion of this sum—about 0.7 percent of U.S. GDP. The overall contribution of agriculture to GDP is larger than 0.7 percent because sectors related to agriculture rely on agricultural inputs in order to contribute added value to the economy. Sectors related to agriculture include: food and beverage manufacturing; food and beverage stores; food services and eating/drinking places; textiles, apparel, and leather products; and forestry and fishing.

USDA conservation funding encompasses a variety of programs

USDA provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers through voluntary conservation programs to address natural resource concerns. USDA’s funding for major working lands conservation programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program, has more than doubled over the past 25 years. At the same time, funding for the Conservation Reserve Program has stayed fairly constant. The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers to remove environmentally sensitive land from production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. Working land programs provide technical and financial assistance to producers who use, install, or maintain conservation practices on land in production (e.g., nutrient management, cover crops, and field-edge filter strips). Agricultural easements provide long-term protection for agricultural land and wetlands. The Regional Conservation Partnership Program is a partner-driven program that leverages partner resources to advance innovative projects that address natural resource challenges on agricultural land.

U.S. net farm income forecast to increase in 2022 but decrease in 2023

Gross farm income reflects the total value of agricultural output plus Government farm program payments. Net farm income (NFI) reflects income after expenses from production in the current year and is calculated by subtracting farm production expenses from gross farm income. NFI considers both cash and noncash income as well as expenses and accounts for changes in commodity inventories. Inflation-adjusted net farm income is forecast to be $167.3 billion in calendar year 2022, an 8.3-percent increase from 2021 and the highest level since 1973. In 2023, net farm income is expected to decrease by 18.2 percent relative to 2022. Farm production expenses are projected to increase 11.0 percent in 2022 relative to 2021 and 1.3 percent from 2022 to 2023.

Rural America ends first-ever period of population loss

Population change in nonmetro areas reversed in 2020–21, going from a 0.09-percent decline in July 2019 to July 2020 to a 0.25-percent increase in the following 12 months. Renewed nonmetro growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic contrasts with the previous decade that saw the first-ever loss in nonmetro population (from 2010–17) when annual population change averaged -0.08 percent per year. A turnaround in migration flows between metro and nonmetro counties occurred during the first year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people choosing to reside in places with lower population density as COVID-19 infection rates accelerated.

Overall U.S. crop production is concentrated in California and the Midwest

The five states with the highest value of crop sales are California, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. With its large horticultural sector, California's overall crop value of more than $33 billion (in 2017) is about 59 percent higher than that of Illinois, the second-ranked State. In contrast to California, crop values in the next four leading States derive from grains and oilseeds (particularly corn and soybeans). For other crops, Washington State typically leads the country in apple production, while Florida is the largest producer of oranges.

U.S. agricultural trade rose to record levels in 2021

Total U.S. agricultural trade rose to record levels in 2021. U.S. agricultural exports were valued at $177 billion in 2021, an 18 percent increase relative to 2020. Imports grew by almost 17 percent in 2021 to $171 billion. While the United States typically exports more agricultural goods by value than it imports, from 2012–21, imports grew more rapidly than exports (driven in part by strong domestic economic growth and consumer preferences for year-round produce selections).

U.S. diets are out of balance with Federal recommendations

While people in the United States are consuming more vegetables and fruit than in 1970, the average U.S. diet still falls short of the recommendations in the <i>2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans</i> for these major food groups. On average, 2018 consumption of meat, eggs, and nuts as well as grains in the United States was higher than the recommended amounts.

Food-at-home prices increased 11.4 percent in 2022 compared with 2021

Average annual food-at-home prices were 11.4 percent higher in 2022 than in 2021. For context, the 20-year historical level of retail food price inflation is 2.0 percent per year. In 2022, prices for all food categories increased faster than their historical averages from 2002–21. Prices for 9 food categories increased by more than 10 percent in 2022. Egg prices rose most sharply, by 32.2 percent, primarily as a result of the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. Prices for fats and oils increased by 18.5 percent, poultry increased by 14.6 percent, other meats increased by 14.2 percent, and cereals and bakery products increased by 13.0 percent. Beef and veal prices rose the slowest, at 5.3 percent, following large price increases in 2020 and 2021. The 2022 price increase for beef and veal was closest to its historical average of 4.4 percent.

The prevalence of food insecurity in 2021 is unchanged from 2020

In 2021, 89.8 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year. The remaining 10.2 percent of households were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 3.8 percent (5.1 million households) that had very low food security. Food insecurity was unchanged from 10.5 percent in 2020. Food insecurity increased from 10.7 percent in 2001 to nearly 12 percent in 2004, declined to 11 percent in 2005–07, then increased to 14.6 percent in 2008. Food insecurity peaked at 14.9 percent in 2011 and has declined since.