Corn cost, floor and price by state
$ per bushel unless noted · tap a column to sort
| Iowa | Heartland | #1 | 205.2 | $1,005 | $271 | $4.90 | $3.63 | $4.10 | −$164 |
| Illinois | Heartland | #2 | 210.6 | $995 | $261 | $4.72 | $3.49 | $4.15 | −$121 |
| Nebraska | Prairie Gateway | #3 | 184.6 | $875 | $227 | $4.74 | $3.40 | $4.10 | −$118 |
| Minnesota | Heartland | #4 | 186.4 | $940 | $206 | $5.04 | $3.65 | $3.95 | −$204 |
| South Dakota | Northern Great Plains | #5 | 150.6 | $793 | $142 | $5.27 | $3.72 | $3.80 | −$221 |
| Indiana | Heartland | #6 | 198 | $966 | $232 | $4.88 | $3.57 | $4.30 | −$114 |
| Kansas | Prairie Gateway | #7 | 129.4 | $725 | $78 | $5.61 | $3.70 | $4.00 | −$208 |
| North Dakota | Northern Great Plains | #8 | 137 | $737 | $86 | $5.38 | $3.68 | $3.80 | −$217 |
| Missouri | Heartland | #9 | 168.2 | $892 | $158 | $5.30 | $3.76 | $4.15 | −$194 |
| Wisconsin | Northern Crescent | #10 | 179.6 | $912 | $170 | $5.08 | $3.63 | $4.05 | −$185 |
| Ohio | Heartland | #11 | 187.8 | $922 | $188 | $4.91 | $3.53 | $4.25 | −$124 |
| Michigan | Northern Crescent | #12 | 173.8 | $899 | $157 | $5.17 | $3.68 | $3.90 | −$221 |
| Texas | Prairie Gateway | #13 | 118.4 | $698 | $50 | $5.89 | $3.81 | $4.60 | −$153 |
| Kentucky | Heartland | #14 | 176 | $904 | $170 | $5.14 | $3.66 | $4.55 | −$103 |
| Colorado | Prairie Gateway | #15 | 124.2 | $731 | $83 | $5.88 | $3.90 | $4.40 | −$184 |
Avg yield = NASS final state yield, five-year average. Cost/acre = ERS operating costs + overhead (land charge removed) + NASS state cash rent. Return/acre = (state price − full-cost floor) × average yield. Every state uses the same method; see sources below.
Corn costs by farm region
| Region | Operating | All costs listed | ERS yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heartland | $475 | $963 | 214 |
| Southern Seaboard | $518 | $903 | 173 |
| Northern Crescent | $482 | $897 | 178 |
| Eastern Uplands | $476 | $875 | 176 |
| Prairie Gateway | $401 | $789 | 168 |
| Northern Great Plains | $418 | $787 | 208 |
| U.S. average | $456 | $901 | 198 |
$ per planted acre. "All costs listed" includes ERS's own land and unpaid-labor charges.
ERS cost forecast, U.S. corn
- 2025 actual$456 operating · $901 total
- 2026 forecast$473 operating · $936 total
- 2027 forecast$473 operating · $952 total
ERS publishes cost forecasts for the U.S. only, not by region, so the state pages stay on 2025 actuals. If the forecast moves operating costs, your floor moves with it: plug the new figure into the calculator.
Reporting on corn
Illinois Farmland Rents Fall as Farm Costs Tighten
Cropland rents have dipped for a second consecutive year in Illinois, offering renters brief relief as input costs and debt pressure squeeze farm finances across the Corn Belt.
California Opens E-15 Market, Boosting Corn Demand
California just cleared E-15 ethanol fuel, potentially unlocking 250 million bushels of new corn demand and reshaping farm commodity prices heading into 2027.
Slashed corn yields: who absorbs the loss when supplies tighten
USDA's latest yield forecast is sharply lower. Family farms face margin squeeze while consolidation sharpens its advantage in tight-supply years.
Where these numbers come from
- Costs per acre come from the USDA ERS Commodity Costs and Returns accounts for 2025, the latest year with actual (not forecast) figures. ERS reports by Farm Resource Region, not by state. Each state uses the region that holds at least half of its planted acres for that crop, measured from NASS county acreage and the ERS county-to-region file. If no region with an ERS budget clears half, we use the U.S. average and say so.
- Overhead is ERS's allocated overhead minus its land charge: machinery and equipment capital recovery, unpaid family labor, hired labor, taxes and insurance, and general farm overhead. The cash-cost floor keeps only operating costs and rent and drops all of overhead: roughly what it takes to pay this year's bills, not to replace the machinery.
- Land is the NASS state average cash rent for cropland from the Cash Rents Survey, in place of ERS's regional land charge. Owned ground carries an opportunity cost too, so we charge rent either way.
- Yield is the five-year average of NASS final state yields from Quick Stats. NASS reports yield per harvested acre and ERS reports costs per planted acre, so where acres get abandoned (dryland wheat especially) the real floor sits higher than shown. Current-year NASS forecasts are shown for context and are not used in the averages.
- Price is the NASS marketing-year average price received in the state. It is what farmers were paid on average, not a forecast and not your local basis.
- A state average is not your farm. Use your own yields, inputs and rent in the calculator. This is a planning estimate, not financial, lending or marketing advice.
Data last refreshed October 9, 2026.