Arable land in United States
United States: Arable land was 0.4501 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in United States, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
The most recent figure for arable land in United States is 0.4501 hectares per person, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in United States peaked at 0.9833 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.4501 hectares per person, in 2023.
United States ranks 17th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.9253 hectares per person | 0.8781 hectares per person | 0.9833 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8727 hectares per person | 0.8387 hectares per person | 0.9204 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7913 hectares per person | 0.7524 hectares per person | 0.8307 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6857 hectares per person | 0.629 hectares per person | 0.7437 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5699 hectares per person | 0.5184 hectares per person | 0.6219 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.488 hectares per person | 0.4697 hectares per person | 0.5096 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.457 hectares per person | 0.4501 hectares per person | 0.4642 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More agriculture & rural data for United States
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
- Rural population 19.8% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Rural population 67.70 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 0.9% (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 223.72 billion current US$ (2021)
- Land under cereal production 54.08 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 8,414 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 454.99 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in United States?
- Arable land in United States was 0.4501 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9833 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4501 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does United States rank for arable land?
- United States ranks 17th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.