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USDA county estimate · 2026

Lewis and Clark County cash rentMontana

USDA puts the average cash rent for irrigated cropland in Lewis and Clark County, Montana at $86 an acre for 2026, up $2 from 2025. That's 23% below the Montana average of $112.

Irrigated cropland · 2026
$86/acre
vs 2025
+$2 (+2.4%)
MT average
$112
Rank in MT
#19 of 29
Survey CV
8%

Every rent NASS published here

Non-irrigated cropland
$36/acre · 2025
  • No 2024 estimate to compare
  • 11% above the Montana average ($32.50)
  • Coefficient of variation: 12.3%
Irrigated cropland
$86/acre · 2026
  • Up $2 (+2.4%) from 2025
  • 23% below the Montana average ($112)
  • Coefficient of variation: 8%
Pasture
$6.20/acre · 2025
  • No 2024 estimate to compare
  • 25% below the Montana average ($8.30)
  • Coefficient of variation: 6.7%
Lewis and Clark County cash rent by year, $ per acre
Land type202420252026
Non-irrigated cropland—$36—
Irrigated cropland$96$84$86
Pasture—$6.20—

— means NASS did not publish a county estimate that year (too few reports, or withheld to protect respondents). We never fill the gap.

Rent here vs. next door

Lewis and Clark County against the counties that touch it

Irrigated cropland, 2026. The 6 bordering counties with a published rent average $112 an acre, so Lewis and Clark County sits 23% below its neighbors.

County$/acrevs Lewis and Clark
Broadwater County$215+$129
Teton County$108+$22
Cascade County$99.50+$13.50
Jefferson County$97.50+$11.50
Lewis and Clark County$86—
Powell County$80−$6
Flathead County$71−$15

In the NASS Central district, Lewis and Clark County ranks #3 of 3 on irrigated cropland rent.

Price the dirt last

Can your crop budget carry $36?

The county average is what tenants paid, not what the ground can earn. Plug in your own yield, price and costs to see the most rent your budget supports, and how that compares with the 2025 non-irrigated cropland average for Lewis and Clark County. The starting values are a generic corn example, not Lewis and Clark County figures. Replace them.

Your assumptions

Run your numbers

Example values are loaded to show how the tool works. Replace every field with your own records or planning assumptions. Nothing entered here leaves your browser.

Planning output

What the assumptions produce

Maximum supported rent
—

Residual after non-land costs and target return.

Maximum annual rent
—

Per-acre ceiling multiplied by rented acres.

Share of gross revenue
—

Calculated rent ceiling as a share of crop revenue.

Gross revenue assumption
—

Yield revenue plus other entered revenue.

Compare your result with the Lewis and Clark County non-irrigated cropland average.

More Central district counties

All Montana counties →
Sources & method

Where these numbers come from

  • Every rent on these pages is a published estimate from the USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey: the average cash rent paid per acre for non-irrigated cropland, irrigated cropland and pasture. We pull the 2024–2026 county and state series straight from Quick Stats.
  • NASS skips counties with too few survey reports, or withholds them to protect respondents, and lumps them into an "other counties" total. Those counties get no page here, and missing years show as a dash. We do not estimate, average or interpolate around the gaps.
  • The coefficient of variation (CV) is NASS's measure of sampling precision. Lower is tighter; the higher the CV, the wider the real range around the county figure.
  • "Bordering counties" are the ones that share a boundary under the Census Bureau county adjacency file, including across state lines.
  • An average rent is a benchmark, not a fair price for a specific field. Soil, drainage, fertility, improvements and lease terms all move the number.

Data last refreshed October 8, 2026.