Graph and download economic data for Percent of Employment in Agriculture in the United States (DISCONTINUED) from 1970 to 2012 about agriculture, percent, employment, and USA.

The USA: Value added in the agricultural sector as percent of GDP: The latest value from 2021 is 0.94 percent, unchanged from 0.94 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 10.33 percent, based on data from 183 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1997 to 2021 is 1.08 percent. The minimum value, 0.83 percent, was reached in 2019 while the maximum of 1.34 percent was recorded in 1997.

Agricultural land (% of land area) in United States was reported at 45.09 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Agricultural land (% of land area) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

From 1920 until 1970, the workforce of the United States grew from approximately 27 million people to 79 million people. Despite this growth, the share of the workforce employed in agriculture fell, dropping from around 11 to 3.5 million people. In 1920, there were approximately three nonagricultural workers in the U.S. for every two agricultural workers; by 1970, this ratio had shifted to roughly 22 to one. Employment in nonagricultural sectors grew in most years, yet there were regular declines that coincided with recessions or war; the largest dip came during the Great Depression in the early-1930s. Agricultural employment peaked at 11.5 million in 1907, but went into decline thereafter, with the sharpest fall coming after the Second World War.

The Census of Agriculture highlight key agricultural metrics for US states and counties. Percentage metrics included were calculated as follows: Percent of harvested cropland in cover crops = (cover crops acres)/((harvested cropland)+(failed crops)-(alfalfa))Percent of total tilled cropland using no-till = (no-till acreage)/(no till + reduced till + conventional till)Percent of tilled cropland using conservation tillage = (no till + reduced till acreage)/(no till + reduced till + conventional till)Percent of agricultural land in conservation easement = (conservation easement acres that excludes CRP)/((land in farms) – (CRP WRP FWP CREP acres))Percent of agricultural land in Conservation Reserve Program = (Conservation Reserve Program acres / cropland acres + Conservation Reserve Program acres ))*100Note, that counties for the Census of Agriculture are different than standard US Census Bureau counties; for example, cities in Virginia such as Harrisonburg, VA are rolled into the respective county and counties in Alaska are rolled into regions with their own district/region FIPS codes, etc. Also note, some counties have no data as one or more of the input variables included suppression.These data have been made publicly available from an authoritative source other than this Atlas and data should be obtained directly from that source for any re-use. See the original metadata from the authoritative source for more information about these data and use limitations. The authoritative source of these data can be found at the following location: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Online_Resources/Ag_Census_Web_Maps/Data_download/index.php

The Census of Agriculture highlight key agricultural metrics for US states and counties. Percentage metrics included were calculated as follows: Percent of harvested cropland in cover crops = (cover crops acres)/((harvested cropland)+(failed crops)-(alfalfa))Percent of total tilled cropland using no-till = (no-till acreage)/(no till + reduced till + conventional till)Percent of tilled cropland using conservation tillage = (no till + reduced till acreage)/(no till + reduced till + conventional till)Percent of agricultural land in conservation easement = (conservation easement acres that excludes CRP)/((land in farms) – (CRP WRP FWP CREP acres))Percent of agricultural land in Conservation Reserve Program = (Conservation Reserve Program acres / cropland acres + Conservation Reserve Program acres ))*100Note, that counties for the Census of Agriculture are different than standard US Census Bureau counties; for example, cities in Virginia such as Harrisonburg, VA are rolled into the respective county and counties in Alaska are rolled into regions with their own district/region FIPS codes, etc. Also note, some counties have no data as one or more of the input variables included suppression.These data have been made publicly available from an authoritative source other than this Atlas and data should be obtained directly from that source for any re-use. See the original metadata from the authoritative source for more information about these data and use limitations. The authoritative source of these data can be found at the following location: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Online_Resources/Ag_Census_Web_Maps/Data_download/index.php

Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in United States was reported at 1.5696 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Employment Level - Agriculture and Related Industries (LNU02034560) from Jan 1948 to Jun 2025 about agriculture, 16 years +, household survey, employment, industry, and USA.

United States US: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Agriculture data was reported at 1.014 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.070 % for 2015. United States US: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Agriculture data is updated yearly, averaging 1.139 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2016, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.380 % in 2013 and a record low of 0.969 % in 2002. United States US: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Agriculture data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Gross Domestic Product: Share of GDP. Agriculture corresponds to ISIC divisions 1-5 and includes forestry, hunting, and fishing, as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources. The origin of value added is determined by the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), revision 3 or 4.; ; World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.; Weighted Average; Note: Data for OECD countries are based on ISIC, revision 4.

This coverage contains estimates of land in agricultural production in counties in the conterminous United States as reported in the 1987 Census of Agriculture (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1989a). Land in agriculture data are reported as either a number (for example, number of Farms), acres, or as a percentage of county area. Land in agriculture estimates were generated from surveys of all farms where $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. Most of the attributes summarized represent 1987 data, but some information for the 1982 Census of Agriculture also was included. The polygons representing county boundaries in the conterminous United States, as well as lakes, estuaries, and other nonland-area features were derived from the Digital Line Graph (DLG) files representing the 1:2,000,000-scale map in the National Atlas of the United States (1970). Agricultural land Census of Agriculture Counties United States

In 2023, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector in Haiti contributed with approximately 18.15 percent of the value added to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the highest contribution reported for the Latin America and Caribbean region. In contrast, the lowest contributions was reported by the Bahamas, with a share of less than 0.5 percent.

The average for 2022 based on 24 countries was 28.52 percent. The highest value was in Haiti: 65.13 percent and the lowest value was in the Bahamas: 1.3 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2023 based on 10 countries was 7.71 percent. The highest value was in Bolivia: 13.47 percent and the lowest value was in Chile: 3.52 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

[ Note: This dataset supersedes Version 1, https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1520662 ] In February 2020, USDA launched the Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA), representing a Department-wide effort to align USDA's resources, programs, and research to provide farmers with the tools they need to position American agriculture as a global leader meeting future food, fiber, fuel, and feed demands. As part of the AIA, USDA set ambitious goals to increase agricultural production by 40 percent, while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. The Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA) is USDA's commitment to the continued success of American farmers, ranchers, producers, and foresters in the face of future challenges. The AIA is comprised of four main parts. The first is focused on developing a U.S. Agriculture Innovation Strategy that aligns public- and private-sector research. The second integrates innovative technologies and practices into USDA programs to help fast track producer adoption. The metrics component aims to review USDA productivity and conservation data. Finally, the USDA scorecard has benchmarks to improve accountability. As part of the research component, in 2020, USDA collected unstructured text feedback through a Request for Information (RFI) on the most important innovation opportunities for the next era of agriculture to be addressed in the near and long term. RFI responses were qualitatively analyzed to identify emergent themes and common aspirational goal statements that stakeholders shared across multiple RFI responses. USDA collected 223 responses through the RFI. Responses were grouped into several focus areas including commodity crops, specialty crops, livestock, aquaculture, forestry, and farming, general. This dataset supports a dashboard that represents the synthesized data collected through the RFI and stakeholder engagements. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Discovery Goals spreadsheet with text tables for use with AIS dashboard, Version 2. File Name: Discovery goal tables_FinalApproved_12.28.20_v2.xlsxResource Description: Text summaries are organized into tabs that support filters by theme (e.g. crop production, forestry, beef and range, dairy, and data) and within theme into Innovation clusters (genome design, digital/automation, prescriptive intervention, systems based farm management) and innovation horizon (Incremental solutions to accelerate, transformative solutions to create, Next era concepts, and gaps & barriers (including policies or supporting technologies needed)). For each combination of innovation cluster and innovation horizon for a theme there is a text summary of the stakeholder feedback, drawn from raw responses. Only minor punctuation and grammatical changes from Version 1.Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Excel,url: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel

The average for 2022 based on 12 countries was 29.29 percent. The highest value was in Uruguay: 80.87 percent and the lowest value was in Suriname: 0.45 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This EnviroAtlas dataset contains data on Agricultural Land Coverage on Hydric Soils for each Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 12-Digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC-12) of the conterminous United States that is considered to be both hydric and agricultural based on the December 30, 2009 Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Survey Geographic Database (NRCS SSURGO), the 2006 National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and the USDA's 2010 Cropland Data Layer (CDL). Because these data are based on SSURGO map units' percent hydric there are four thresholds used to classify if a particular map unit would be hydric. These thresholds are 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%, where a map unit area that had a value of 42% for the SSURGO hydric measurement (based on the raster dataset named "sum_comppct_r2_hydric") would be considered non-hydric under the 60% threshold but hydric under both the 20% and 40% thresholds. For this dataset, the threshold of 80% is used. This dataset was produced by Tetra Tech, Inc. to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

From 2000 onwards, the total area of land in U.S. farms has decreased annually, aside from a small increase in 2012. Over the time period displayed, the total farmland area has decreased by over 66 million acres, reaching a total of 876.5 million acres as of 2024. Farming in the U.S. Not only has the land for farming been decreasing in the U.S., but so has the total number of farms. From 2000 to 2021, the number of farms in the U.S. decreased from about 2.17 million farms in 2000 to just under 1.9 million in 2023. Texas has more than double the number of farms compared to other U.S. states, with 231,000 farms in 2023. U.S. agricultural exports The U.S. is known for agriculture production and is the leading exporter of agricultural products worldwide. The total U.S. agricultural exports were valued at over 178 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Over 4.8 billion dollars’ worth of agricultural exports came from fresh or processed vegetables in 2022.

In 2024, there were about 1.88 million farms in the United States. However, the number of farms has been steadily dropping since the year 2007, when there were about 2.2 million farms in the United States. U.S. farms In 2007, the average size of farms in the United States was the smallest it had been since the year 2000. As the number of farms in the United States decrease, the average size of farms increases. Texas, the largest state in the contiguous United States, also contains the highest number of farms, at 231 thousand in 2023. Organic farming in the United States The United States has over 2.3 million hectares of organic agricultural land as of 2021. In 2022, organic food sales in the United States amounted to almost 59 billion euros, making it the largest market for organic food worldwide. In 2021, the number of certified organic farms in the United States reached 17,445, up from about 14,185 farms in 2016.

United States US: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing data was reported at 0.960 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.949 % for 2020. United States US: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing data is updated yearly, averaging 1.075 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2021, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.337 % in 1997 and a record low of 0.839 % in 2019. United States US: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Gross Domestic Product: Share of GDP. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing corresponds to ISIC divisions 1-3 and includes forestry, hunting, and fishing, as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources. The origin of value added is determined by the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), revision 4. Note: For VAB countries, gross value added at factor cost is used as the denominator.;World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.;Weighted average;Note: Data for OECD countries are based on ISIC, revision 4.

The average for 2023 based on 19 countries was 7.72 percent. The highest value was in Haiti: 18.15 percent and the lowest value was in Puerto Rico: 0.69 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.