Rankings → California
California
Across the 38 California counties NASS published directly for 2026, the median pasture rent was $17.50 an acre. The spread ran $5.50 in Ventura County to $42 in Marin — which is the point: a state average tells you almost nothing about your own fence line. Find your county below; an entry marked with an older year is that county's most recent published figure, not a 2026 number.
Every county
| County | 2026 rate | Percentile in state |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda | $14.50 | 33rd percentile |
| Amador | $20 | 62nd percentile |
| Butte | $20 | 62nd percentile |
| Calaveras | $14.50 | 33rd percentile |
| Colusa | $23.50 | 71st percentile |
| Contra Costa | $23.50 | 71st percentile |
| Del Norte (most recent published: 2021) | $12.50 | 46th percentile |
| El Dorado | $14 | 26th percentile |
| Fresno | $11.50 | 14th percentile |
| Glenn | $31 | 93rd percentile |
| Humboldt | $18.50 | 54th percentile |
| Inyo | $10 | 9th percentile |
| Kern (most recent published: 2024) | $5.60 | 5th percentile |
| Kings (most recent published: 2017) | $16 | 53rd percentile |
| Lake | $15 | 41st percentile |
| Lassen | $17.50 | 50th percentile |
| Madera | $12 | 17th percentile |
| Marin | $42 | 99th percentile |
| Mariposa | $19.50 | 57th percentile |
| Mendocino | $13 | 21st percentile |
| Merced | $23.50 | 71st percentile |
| Modoc | $15.50 | 46th percentile |
| Mono (most recent published: 2013) | $18.50 | 78th percentile |
| Monterey | $17.50 | 50th percentile |
| Napa (most recent published: 2025) | $25 | 81st percentile |
| Nevada | $28 | 88th percentile |
| Placer | $26.50 | 86th percentile |
| Plumas (most recent published: 2024) | $19 | 62nd percentile |
| Sacramento | $25 | 82nd percentile |
| San Benito | $15 | 41st percentile |
| San Bernardino (most recent published: 2010) | $4.90 | 2nd percentile |
| San Diego (most recent published: 2016) | $18 | 61st percentile |
| San Joaquin (most recent published: 2023) | $24.50 | 93rd percentile |
| San Luis Obispo | $20 | 62nd percentile |
| San Mateo (most recent published: 2024) | $19 | 62nd percentile |
| Santa Barbara | $9.90 | 7th percentile |
| Santa Clara | $5.60 | 4th percentile |
| Santa Cruz | $25 | 82nd percentile |
| Shasta | $14.50 | 33rd percentile |
| Sierra (most recent published: 2023) | $17 | 81st percentile |
| Siskiyou | $13 | 21st percentile |
| Solano (most recent published: 2025) | $29 | 93rd percentile |
| Sonoma | $23.50 | 71st percentile |
| Stanislaus | $28.50 | 91st percentile |
| Sutter | $32 | 96th percentile |
| Tehama | $11 | 12th percentile |
| Tulare | $14 | 26th percentile |
| Tuolumne | $24 | 78th percentile |
| Ventura | $5.50 | 1st percentile |
| Yolo | $15 | 41st percentile |
| Yuba (most recent published: 2025) | $20 | 59th percentile |
Grazing fee, 2025
California is one of the 17 states NASS surveys for private grazing-land lease rates (paying to graze cattle on someone else's rangeland, distinct from leasing the land itself).
- per animal-unit-month (AUM): $26 (58th percentile among the states publishing this rate)
- per head: $26/month (58th percentile among the states publishing this rate)
Every year on record, 1979–2025
The record runs deep: $8.19 per AUM in 1979, $26 in 2025 — 47 published years.
| Year | $/AUM | $/pair/mo | $/head/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $26 | — | $26 |
| 2024 | $26.50 | $30 | $28 |
| 2023 | $24.50 | — | $27.50 |
| 2022 | $22.80 | — | $25.80 |
| 2021 | $22 | $27.60 | $24 |
| 2020 | $23.50 | $27.50 | $19.50 |
| 2019 | $21.40 | $25 | $18.50 |
| 2018 | $22.40 | $29 | $21 |
| 2017 | $20.60 | $28 | $19.50 |
| 2016 | $23 | $23.50 | $21.50 |
| 2015 | $19.10 | $25.50 | $23.50 |
| 2014 | $20 | $25.10 | $22.50 |
| 2013 | $19.50 | $23.50 | $21 |
| 2012 | $19.40 | $23 | $20 |
| 2011 | $17.30 | $21.50 | $18.20 |
| 2010 | $16.40 | $20.50 | $17 |
| 2009 | $16.70 | $21 | $17.50 |
| 2008 | $17.80 | $22.10 | $18.50 |
| 2007 | $16.50 | $21.50 | $17.30 |
| 2006 | $16.50 | $21 | $17 |
| 2005 | $15.40 | $20.50 | $17 |
| 2004 | $14.50 | $19.50 | $15.50 |
| 2003 | $13.50 | $17.50 | $14.30 |
| 2002 | $12.80 | $16.50 | $14 |
| 2001 | $13 | $16 | $13.50 |
| 2000 | $12.30 | $15.50 | $12.70 |
| 1999 | $12.10 | $15 | $12.50 |
| 1998 | $11.50 | $14.50 | $12.90 |
| 1997 | $10.60 | $13 | $12 |
| 1996 | $10.10 | $12.20 | $11.90 |
| 1995 | $10.50 | $12.80 | $11.10 |
| 1994 | $11 | $13.10 | $11.80 |
| 1993 | $10.40 | $13.30 | $11.20 |
| 1992 | $10.09 | $13.29 | $12.09 |
| 1991 | $9.61 | $11.63 | $12.37 |
| 1990 | $9.81 | $13 | $10.46 |
| 1989 | $10.72 | $12.22 | $11.39 |
| 1988 | $9.43 | $12.50 | $10.50 |
| 1987 | $8.46 | $10.36 | $9.55 |
| 1986 | $7.93 | $7.84 | $9.84 |
| 1985 | $8.21 | $11.36 | $10.39 |
| 1984 | $10.44 | $12.26 | $9.82 |
| 1983 | $9.98 | $12.37 | $8.84 |
| 1982 | $9.23 | $11.22 | $8.57 |
| 1981 | $10.48 | $10.51 | $8.97 |
| 1980 | $8.80 | $10.09 | $8.73 |
| 1979 | $8.19 | $9.69 | $8.19 |
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