ERS's Major Land Uses (MLU) data product provides a comprehensive, national accounting of land use.
Highlights
- The Major Land Uses (MLU) data product classifies land use into seven major categories for the entire United States: total land, cropland, grassland pasture and range, forest-use land, special use land, urban land and miscellaneous land.
- The MLU data series is the longest running, most comprehensive accounting of all major uses of public and private land in the United States and has been produced since 1948.
- This series includes 5 national summary tables and 16 State and regional tables. Except for summary table 3, all tables begin in 1945 and are updated every 5 years coincident with the Census of Agriculture.
- Summary table 3 is updated annually, coincident with the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service crop production annual summary. This data series begins in 1910.
- The latest ERS report in this series is Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2017.
Data from all 16 Major Land Uses reports have been combined into a set of files showing major land use estimates by region and State from 1945 to 2022. Note that Alaska and Hawaii were added in 1959, when both achieved Statehood. Since Alaska contains such vast amounts of acreage, U.S. totals in all acreage categories prior to 1959 may appear to change precipitously. See Documentation for 5 Year Update for more information about using this data product, including detailed definitions of major land uses and terms. For citations of the previous MLU reports, see Major Land Use Reports Since 1948.
Data for total cropland used for crops are available annually in summary table 3, showing cropland use estimates from 1910 to 2025. Note that double-cropped acres and total crops harvested were added to the series in 1950. See Documentation for Annual Update for more information about using this data product.
For a list of updates and methodological changes, see Update and Revision History.