Every rent NASS published here
- Up $0.50 (+1.5%) from 2025
- 53% below the Virginia average ($69.50)
- Coefficient of variation: 9.9%
- Up $5 (+23.3%) from 2025
- 21% below the Virginia average ($33.50)
- Coefficient of variation: 5.2%
| Land type | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-irrigated cropland | — | $32.50 | $33 |
| Pasture | $26 | $21.50 | $26.50 |
— means NASS did not publish a county estimate that year (too few reports, or withheld to protect respondents). We never fill the gap.
Albemarle County against the counties that touch it
Non-irrigated cropland, 2026. The 8 bordering counties with a published rent average $60 an acre, so Albemarle County sits 45% below its neighbors.
| # | County | $/acre | vs Albemarle | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockingham County | $111 | +$78 | −0.9% |
| 2 | Augusta County | $105 | +$72 | −1.9% |
| 3 | Orange County | $76 | +$43 | +15.2% |
| 4 | Louisa County | $56 | +$23 | +21.7% |
| 5 | Greene County | $45 | +$12 | — |
| 6 | Nelson County | $40 | +$7 | — |
| 7 | Albemarle County | $33 | — | +1.5% |
| 8 | Buckingham County | $29.50 | −$3.50 | −13.2% |
| 9 | Fluvanna County | $21 | −$12 | −6.7% |
In the NASS Central district, Albemarle County ranks #13 of 20 on non-irrigated cropland rent.
Can your crop budget carry $33?
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 2026 non-irrigated cropland average for Albemarle County. The starting values are a generic corn example, not Albemarle County figures. Replace them.
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.
What the assumptions produce
Residual after non-land costs and target return.
Per-acre ceiling multiplied by rented acres.
Calculated rent ceiling as a share of crop revenue.
Yield revenue plus other entered revenue.
Compare your result with the Albemarle County non-irrigated cropland average.
More Central district counties
- Amelia County
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Bedford County
- Buckingham County
- Campbell County
- Caroline County
- Chesterfield County
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Goochland County
- Greene County
- Hanover County
- Henrico County
- Louisa County
- Nelson County
- Orange County
- Powhatan County
- Prince Edward County
- Spotsylvania County
The fight over the ground
AI 'slop' and fossil fuel fear campaigns target rural solar
Foreign-based accounts pump false claims about solar into rural Facebook groups, blocking clean energy on farmland while fossil fuel jobs disappear.
America's Biggest Pork Producer Is Chinese-Owned — and It Sits on a Lot of US Land
Smithfield, the largest US pork company, has been owned by China's WH Group since 2013. The deal still shapes the farmland and foreign-ownership debate today.
Red-Dye Diesel Comes to the Road, but Tax Confusion Lingers
Trump's executive order opens on-road use of red-dye diesel for farmers, but tax exemptions remain murky. Experts warn the relief may not go as far as promised.
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.