Rankings
An acre of pasture in Iowa rents for roughly 34 times what one rents for in Arizona — $64 against $1.90, out of the same federal survey, the same year. Neither market is mispriced; rainfall, carrying capacity, and row-crop pressure set different floors. Which is why the comparison that matters runs inside your own state, county against county — never against a national average nobody actually pays. As of 2026-10-01 · how we compute this
Pasture cash rent — state median, 2025
| State | Median $/acre | Counties reporting | vs other states |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | $64 | 90 | highest |
| Maryland | $57.50 | 6 | 98th percentile |
| Indiana | $53 | 31 | 95th percentile |
| New Jersey | $51.75 | 2 | 93rd percentile |
| Illinois | $46.75 | 38 | 90th percentile |
| South Dakota | $45.25 | 64 | 88th percentile |
| Massachusetts | $41 | 1 | 86th percentile |
| Missouri | $39.75 | 106 | 83rd percentile |
| Nebraska | $36 | 65 | 79th percentile |
| Wisconsin | $36 | 30 | 81st percentile |
| Minnesota | $35.25 | 44 | 76th percentile |
| Kentucky | $33 | 68 | 74th percentile |
| Georgia | $31.50 | 55 | 69th percentile |
| Vermont | $31.50 | 5 | 71st percentile |
| Pennsylvania | $31 | 19 | 67th percentile |
| North Carolina | $30 | 47 | 62nd percentile |
| Ohio | $30 | 30 | 64th percentile |
| Michigan | $29.50 | 8 | 60th percentile |
| Tennessee | $25.50 | 81 | 57th percentile |
| Louisiana | $24 | 35 | 55th percentile |
| Virginia | $23.75 | 58 | 52nd percentile |
| Kansas | $23.50 | 101 | 50th percentile |
| Alabama | $23 | 58 | 48th percentile |
| North Dakota | $22.50 | 50 | 45th percentile |
| Mississippi | $22 | 51 | 43rd percentile |
| South Carolina | $21 | 17 | 40th percentile |
| New York | $20.75 | 12 | 36th percentile |
| Oregon | $20.75 | 28 | 38th percentile |
| Arkansas | $20 | 51 | 33rd percentile |
| Florida | $19.50 | 23 | 31st percentile |
| California | $18.50 | 34 | 29th percentile |
| Oklahoma | $18 | 75 | 26th percentile |
| Washington | $14 | 21 | 24th percentile |
| Idaho | $13.50 | 21 | 21st percentile |
| West Virginia | $12.50 | 27 | 19th percentile |
| Hawaii | $10.50 | 1 | 17th percentile |
| Texas | $9.50 | 212 | 14th percentile |
| Montana | $8.10 | 43 | 12th percentile |
| Wyoming | $7.90 | 20 | 10th percentile |
| Colorado | $7 | 45 | 7th percentile |
| Utah | $6.30 | 21 | 5th percentile |
| New Mexico | $2.50 | 23 | 2nd percentile |
| Arizona | $1.90 | 8 | lowest |
Grazing fee by state, 2025
All 17 states NASS surveys for this rate structure are listed (why only 17). 15 of them published at least one 2025 figure; a dash means that estimate was suppressed or drew too few reports this year — the state's own page carries its most recent published numbers. An AUM is an animal-unit-month; the pair and per-head rates are monthly.
| State | $/AUM | $/pair/mo | $/head/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | $47.50 | $56 | $46.50 |
| South Dakota | $36.50 | $44 | $42 |
| Montana | $29.50 | $32.50 | $29 |
| Kansas | $27 | $33 | $30 |
| Wyoming | $27 | $27.50 | $26.50 |
| California | $26 | — | $26 |
| North Dakota | $25 | — | — |
| Colorado | $23.50 | $28 | $25 |
| Utah | $21 | — | $22 |
| Idaho | $20.50 | $23 | $22 |
| Oregon | $20 | — | — |
| Washington | $17 | — | $19 |
| Oklahoma | $11 | — | $14 |
| New Mexico | — | — | $19 |
| Texas | — | — | $17 |
| Nevada | — | — | — |
| Arizona | — | — | — |
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