Most farmers receive off-farm income; small-scale operators depend on it

Median total household income among all farm households ($102,748) exceeded the median total household income for all U.S. households ($83,730) in 2024. Median household income and income from farming increased with farm size and most households earned some income from off-farm employment. About 86 percent of U.S. farms are small family farms, with gross cash farm income less than $350,000. The households operating these farms typically rely on off-farm sources for the majority of their household income. The median household operating a large-scale family farm earned $410,756 in 2024, and most of that came from farming.