The U.S. Census Bureau first collected agricultural data in 1820 and began collecting agricultural data on separate schedules in 1840. In 2022, the Census of Agriculture counted more than 1.9 million farms.

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The United States first collected agricultural data in 1820. While U.S. marshals conducting the 1820 Census visited each household to collect population data, they also asked how many members of each family were engaged in agriculture. In 1840, agricultural inquiries were collected on printed schedules separate from those collecting population data. By 1850, U.S. marshals were using separate, printed agriculture schedules with space for 41 farms and 46 questions covering 19 subjects. Inquiries collected data on a broader range of subjects, including farm acreage and value; value of farming machinery and equipment; livestock; crops; dairy products; homemade manufactures; and other products.

Congress made minor changes to the agriculture inquiries in 1860 and 1870. The 1860 schedules added questions about hemp preparation other than dew and water rotting and separate inquiries about beeswax and honey production. In 1870, there were 52 questions. The inquiries about hemp preparation were deleted and questions related to acreage, cash value of farms, labor costs, and total value of farm products were added.

The 1879 Census Act significantly increased the amount of detailed statistics collected by the censuses beginning in 1880, including the census of agriculture. The 1880 Census was also the first enumeration in which specially trained census takers replaced the U.S. marshals who had been conducting the decennial censuses since 1790. A newly designed census schedule in 1880 contained 100 questions about 25 subjects. Additions included questions about land tenure and acreage dedicated to various crops. Schedules used in the southern United States included inquiries about rice, cotton, and sugar cane that were not contained on schedules used in northern states. Ten years later, the number of inquiries on the 1890 Census of Agriculture schedule more than doubled. The four-page schedule contained 256 questions about 31 subjects.

The establishment of a permanent Census Bureau in 1902 and creation of a year-round professional workforce permitted an even greater expansion of the collection, tabulation, and publication of population, manufacturing, and agriculture data. In 1900, Census Bureau employees tabulated data collected by agriculture schedules containing 306 inquiries about 46 subjects. Beginning in 1925, the Census Bureau conducted the Census of Agriculture every five years, collecting farm data for the previous year. By 1930, these data filled seven published volumes with tables containing farm, crop, livestock, financing, and irrigation data.

The Census of Agriculture was conducted in years ending in 0 and 5 through 1950. The Census Bureau moved data collection to 1954 and every five years thereafter (years ending in 4 and 9) through 1974. In 1976, Congress authorized a census of agriculture in 1978, 1982, and then every five years thereafter in years ending in 2 and 7 to align with the economic and government censuses. Between 1950 and 1992, the number of farms in the United States fell from approximately 5.4 million to 1.9 million, while the average size of American farms grew from about 216 acres to 491 acres.

In 1997, Congress transferred budgetary responsibility for the Census of Agriculture from the Census Bureau to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Today, NASS contracts with the Census Bureau's National Processing Center (NPC) in Jeffersonville, IN, to prepare mail packets, conduct the initial mailout and follow-up mailings to nonrespondent farms, and process and capture data from returned questionnaires. With NPC's help, the most recent Census of Agriculture collected data on 1.9 million farms—including more than 1.6 million "family or individual" farms. The market value of agricultural products sold by farms and ranches was $543 billion in 2022.

You can learn more about American farms using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other agencies. For example:

• In a 2005 oral history interview, Census Bureau Associate Director for Economic Programs Frederick T. Knickerbocker surmised that budgetary responsibility for the Census of Agriculture moved to the USDA in 1997 in response to a money-saving proposal that caught many Census Bureau and USDA employees by surprise. In 1996, Congress considered slashing the Census Bureau's budget. To adjust to the tighter budget, the agency suggested raising the threshold for what constituted a farm from $1,000 to $10,000 in sales of agricultural products. This change would reduce the cost of the agriculture census by reducing the number of "farms" from 2.4 million to 1.2 million. The USDA, farm state politicians, and other farming interests were shocked. The program (and even larger budget) moved to the USDA soon after.
  
• The 1820 Census was the first to collect agricultural data when U.S. marshals asked how many people within each household were engaged in agriculture, commerce, or manufactures. Of the nation's 9,625,734 total population, 2,065,499 identified as being engaged in agriculture; 72,397 were engaged in commerce; and 349,247 were engaged in manufactures.
• The 1840 Census expanded collection of agriculture data to include inquiries about the number of people engaged in agriculture as well as details about the livestock and crops produced including the total and/or value of nearly three dozen items, including horses and mules, neat cattle (i.e., horned oxen), sheep, swine, poultry, wheat, barley, oats, wool, hops, tobacco, rice, cotton, sugar, dairy products, and market garden produce. Nationwide, 3,719,951 people reported being employed in agriculture in 1840. Farmers reported producing more than 790.5 million pounds of cotton; 377.5 million bushels of corn; and 219.2 million pounds of tobacco. Swine and sheep were the nation's most numerous livestock with farmers reportedly raising 26.3 million and 19.3 million, respectively.
• The 1900 Census of Agriculture included 306 inquiries among 46 subjects. Data from the census showed there were more than 5.7 million farms in the United States. The average size of all farms was 146.6 acres. Texas led the nation for the largest number of farms with 352,190. Although Wyoming had just 6,095 farms, it led the nation in average farm size (1,333 acres). Alaska reported just 12 farms averaging 18.2 acres. With an area of 68 square miles, the District of Columbia's 260 farms took up nearly 13 square miles in 1900. Total farm acreage as of June 1, 1900, was approximately 841.3 million acres, including nearly 414.8 million improved acres. Total value of farm property nationwide was $20.5 billion, led by Illinois ($2 billion) and Iowa ($1.8 billion).
• Following the 1900 Census of Agriculture, the Census Bureau published the report Agriculture on Indian Reservations containing data about farms on American Indian reservations distinct from counties. Separated by divisions, the 25-page narrative report found there were 366 farms owned by American Indians in the North Atlantic Division (Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania). The South Atlantic Division (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) had 985 farms operated by American Indians. Farms in the North and South Atlantic Divisions were not classified as being on reservations. Farms in the North Central, South Central, and Western divisions were located on both reservation and nonreservation land. In these divisions, the data reported for each area varied and might include tribal affiliation and population size, general tribal and/or reservation history, reservation size, number of farms on nonreservation land (when applicable), dependence on government support, acreage, and summary crop and livestock data.
• The scope of inquiries and number of data tabulations increased dramatically in 1930, filling seven volumes with farm acreage, production, value, and irrigation data. That year, the census counted nearly 6.3 million farms holding approximately 987 million acres of land. Texas led the nation with 495,489 farms and approximately 125 million farm acres. Most valuable crops (as of the 1929 harvest) were corn harvested for grain ($3.2 billion), wheat ($1.6 billion), and cotton ($1.5 billion). Farms reporting livestock during the 1929 reporting year produced more than 11 billion gallons of milk; 542 million pounds of butter; and 2.9 billion eggs. American farms were home to nearly 57 million sheep and lambs; 4.8 million goats; 379 million chickens; 17 million turkeys; and 2.7 million beehives. Farmers slaughtered 457,053 calves under 1 year old; 542,938 cattle (excluding calves); 44,158 sheep and lambs; and 10,738,502 swine during the 1929 reporting year.
• The USDA conducted the 2022 Census of Agriculture and the U.S. Census Bureau's National Processing Center in Jeffersonville, IN, assisted with questionnaire preparation, mailing questionnaires to farms, receiving completed questionnaires, and data tabulation. According to the census, there were 1.9 million farms and ranches (down 7 percent from 2017) with an average size of 463 acres. In total, 880 million acres were in farms in the United States in 2022—approximately 39 percent of the nation's total land area. Total market value of agricultural products produced by farms and ranches was $543 billion.
• Questions in the Census of Agriculture reflect our nation's technological advances. For example, the 2022 Census of Agriculture reported that 79 percent of all farms had Internet access and the number of farms and ranches that used renewable energy-producing systems rose from 133,176 in 2017 to 153,101 in 2022.
• Many American farms that supply our grocery stores, school cafeterias, restaurants, and military bases and naval ships with fruits and vegetables rely on farm laborers to harvest crops. Many of these farm laborers are employed by businesses classified in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry 115115, Farm labor contractors and crew leaders. In 2022, the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series found there were 656 establishments supplying farm laborers in the United States. California and Oregon led the nation with 225 and 67 establishments, respectively. In 2022, the National Center for Farmworker Health, Inc., estimated there were 2.9 million agricultural workers in the United States. Approximately 63 percent of agricultural workers were born in Mexico, 30 percent were born in the United States or Puerto Rico, and 5 percent were born in Central America. Two-thirds of farmworkers were male, and the largest age group was 35 to 44.
• The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series collects data about a number of industries serving American agriculture. For example, there were 1,118 Farm machinery and equipment manufacturing (NAICS 333111) establishments in the United States that employed 67,750 people and had an annual payroll of nearly $4.9 billion during the pay period that included March 12, 2022; the nation's 205 Nitrogenous fertilizer manufacturing (NAICS 325311) establishments employed 340,435 people and had an annual payroll of more than $901 million; and there were 246 Pesticide and Other Agricultural Manufacturing (NAICS 325320) industry establishments employing 262,099 people with nearly $1.1 billion in annual payroll. Farmers and homeowners may purchase seeds, plants, chemicals, and other supplies at one of the nation's Nursery, garden center, and farm supply stores (NAICS 444220). There were 13,444 of these retail establishments and they employed 147,330 people during the pay period that included March 12, 2022. Their annual payroll: nearly $5.2 billion. Farmers and agricultural businesses purchase supplies from the nation's Farm supplies merchant wholesalers (NAICS 424910). In 2022, there were 9,043 Farm supplies merchant wholesalers in the United States. They employed 105,996 people and had an annual payroll of more than $8.5 billion during the pay period including March 12, 2022.
• Interested in a farming vacation? Many American towns celebrate their farming heritage with museums and hands-on learning activities. "Agritourists" might consider a visit to Sturbridge, Massachusetts (population 9,867) and its Old Sturbridge Village living history museum depicting life in early 19th century New England. Visitors to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (population 552,984) can tour Amish farms and stores; learn how jams, pickles, bread, fudge, and other foods are made by hand; and learn about the Amish at the Amish Village Museum. Passing through Perryville, Missouri (population 8,555)? Consider a visit to the American Tractor Museum. In Fairfax County, Virginia (population 1,150,309), George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate teaches visitors about the life of the nation's first president and the enslaved people who lived and worked at his plantation. If you pass through Vero Beach, Florida, stop by the Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum to learn about the region's citrus industry. Last but not least, visitors to Buena Park, California (population 84,034), can stop at Knott's Berry Farm. Begun by the Knott family as a roadside berry stand in 1920, the popular fruit seller soon added attractions like a restaurant and gift shops to draw more customers. Today, Knott's Berry Farm is an amusement park visited by millions of people annually.

The U.S. Census Bureau conducted the 1937 Unemployment Census the week of November 14, 1937.

Voluntary response to the census found that 7.8 million people were unemployed or employed at emergency work, while 5.2 million people were partly employed eight years after the Great Depression began.

An "­enumerative check census" that followed used statistical sampling to estimate that 10,985,000 people in the United States were totally unemployed or employed at emergency work in November 1937.

Budgeted to cost $5 million, the Census Bureau conducted the census for less than $2 million. Once all the data were tabulated, director William Lane Austin returned the $3 million surplus to the U.S. Treasury.

Number of Farms in the United States, January 1, 1920.