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

Median income of farm households, by income source and farm type, 2021

Median total household income among all farm households ($92,239) exceeded the median total household income for all U.S. households ($70,784) in 2021. Median household income and income from farming increase with farm size and most households earn some income from off-farm employment. About 89 percent of U.S. farms are small, with GCFI less than $350,000; the households operating these farms typically rely on off-farm sources for the majority of their household income. In contrast, the median household operating large-scale farms earned $486,475 in 2021, and most of that came from farming.


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