Kentucky → Pendleton
Pendleton County, Kentucky
Pasture here rented for $13.50 an acre in 2026, $24.75 below the Kentucky median of $38.25. That's the lowest among the 68 Kentucky counties reporting that year, and the 21st percentile nationally.
Put that in lease terms. On a quarter-section — 160 acres — the gap between this county and the state median is $3,960 a year. Differences that look like pocket change per acre stop looking that way at scale.
Across Kentucky's counties, the middle half of county averages in 2026 runs $30.75 to $46.12 an acre. Individual leases spread wider than county averages do — grass, water, fencing, and term length all move the number — but an offer far outside this band should come with a reason the other side can name out loud.
Since 2009, this county's rate has risen 23 percent: $11 then, $13.50 in 2026. A lease that hasn't been revisited over that stretch has been repricing itself by default — just not on paper.
The counties next door
The comparison that actually gets made at the kitchen table isn't the state median — it's what the neighbors get. This year, rates just across the county line run $19 to $29 an acre. Every bordering county NASS tracks, at its most recent published rate:
Every year on record
| Year | $/acre |
|---|---|
| 2009 | $11 |
| 2010 | $13 |
| 2011 | $15.50 |
| 2012 | $12 |
| 2013 | $17 |
| 2014 | $13.50 |
| 2016 | $12 |
| 2017 | $17 |
| 2019 | $12 |
| 2020 | $12.50 |
| 2021 | $11 |
| 2022 | $10 |
| 2023 | $10 |
| 2024 | $9.50 |
| 2025 | $23.50 |
| 2026 | $13.50 |
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