Maryland Cash Rent
USDA, National Agriculture Statistics Service
Cash rent lease agreements are the most popular lease agreement in Maryland. Cash rent is a fixed amount on a per acre basis. In this agreement, the owner is relieved of operating and marketing decisions, and income is known yearly. The tenant has the risk and returns from the crop and can make crop and livestock decisions.
The USDA, National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) provides the county data in response to requests from customers as well as a requirement of the Farm Bill. Estimates of average cash rental rates per acre for irrigated cropland, non-irrigated cropland, and pastureland are published at the county, district, and state levels where possible. This is based on responses to annual farm-level surveys.
Data on cash rental rates are also available online through Quick Stats, NASS’s agricultural statistics database, at: www.quickstats.nass.usda.gov/#35354A5F1-630C-34FE-904D-A128E2D60D54 - Users can access cash rental rates at the state, county, or crop reporting district level.
Report Information:
- Summary of Crop Rental Rates (2009-2022) includes average Maryland Total rental rates for non-irrigated cropland, irrigated cropland, and pastureland for each calendar year.
- Cash rental rates for non-irrigated (2009 – 2022) include average rental rates for non-irrigated cropland by county and AG District.
- Animated map of cash rental rates for non-irrigated land (2008 – 2022)
- Cash rental rates for irrigated land (2009-2022) include average rental rates for irrigated cropland by AG district and the counties in the Lower and Eastern Shore.
- Cash rental rates for pastureland (2009-2022) include average rental rates for pastureland by AG district and counties in the North Central and Western AG districts.
- Animated map of cash rental rates for pastureland (2008 – 2022)
- Link and User-Information of web map layers depicting non-irrigated farmland, irrigated farmland, and pastureland (2008-2022)
For questions, please visit the Grain Marketing website or Elizabeth Thilmany at thilmany@umd.edu
Summary of Crop Rental Rates
| SUMMARY OF CROP RENTAL RATES (AVG) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| NON-IRRIGATED | $67.00 | $63.00 | $67.00 | $82.00 | $89.00 | $92.00 | $100.00 | $94.00 | $100.00 | $98.00 | $103.00 | $111.00 |
| IRRIGATED | $100.00 | $110.00 | $115.00 | $132.00 | $132.00 | $143.00 | $175.00 | $190.00 | $196.00 | $194.00 | $197.00 | $201.00 |
| PASTURE | $40.00 | $35.00 | $33.00 | $40.00 | $39.50 | $43.50 | $45.00 | $40.00 | $44.00 | $48.00 | $53.00 | $51.00 |
Rent, Cash, Cropland, Non-Irrigated-Expense, Measured in $/Acre
| RENT, CASH, CROPLAND, NON-IRRIGATED-EXPENSE, MEASURED IN $/ACRE | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STATE & COUNTY | AG DISTRICT | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| DORCHESTER | Lower Eastern Shore | $76.00 | $68.50 | $75.50 | $66.00 | $83.00 | $95.50 | $107.00 | $108.00 | $88.50 | $91.00 | $91.00 | $79.00 |
| SOMERSET | Lower Eastern Shore | $63.50 | $70.00 | $69.50 | $73.00 | $74.00 | $76.50 | $88.50 | $76.00 | $81.50 | $81.50 | $92.00 | $102.00 |
| WICOMICO | Lower Eastern Shore | $65.50 | $64.50 | $67.50 | $84.50 | $80.50 | $77.50 | $81.50 | $95.00 | $84.00 | $84.00 | $84.00 | $90.00 |
| WORCESTER | Lower Eastern Shore | $82.50 | $77.50 | $77.00 | $82.00 | $92.50 | $84.50 | $88.50 | $87.50 | $92.50 | $95.00 | $103.00 | $112.00 |
| BALTIMORE | North Central | $62.50 | $70.50 | $75.00 | $78.50 | $88.50 | $122.00 | $75.00 | $92.50 | $89.00 | $83.50 | $96.50 | $98.50 |
| CARROLL | North Central | $68.50 | $56.00 | $58.00 | $79.50 | $89.00 | $88.00 | $136.00 | $106.00 | $105.00 | $99.00 | $96.00 | $92.00 |
| FREDERICK | North Central | $49.50 | $52.00 | $55.50 | $67.00 | $77.50 | $77.00 | $105.00 | $80.00 | $76.00 | $76.50 | $90.50 | $83.50 |
| HARFORD | North Central | $82.00 | $66.00 | $78.00 | $72.50 | $114.00 | $164.00 | $120.00 | $138.00 | $149.00 | $167.00 | $156.00 | $166.00 |
| HOWARD | North Central | $61.00 | $69.50 | $66.00 | $67.00 | $76.50 | $76.50 | $74.00 | $72.50 | $89.00 | $83.50 | $96.00 | $92.00 |
| MONTGOMERY | North Central | $55.00 | $50.50 | $49.00 | $56.00 | $80.50 | $76.50 | $63.00 | $49.50 | $89.00 | $83.50 | $66.50 | $84.00 |
| WASHINGTON | North Central | $57.00 | $53.50 | $56.50 | $74.50 | $76.00 | $76.00 | $75.00 | $88.00 | $74.50 | $80.50 | $96.00 | $85.50 |
| ANNE ARUNDEL | Southern | $38.00 | $38.00 | $47.00 | $47.00 | $100.00 | $51.00 | $48.50 | $43.50 | $61.00 | $51.00 | $65.00 | $69.50 |
| CALVERT | Southern | $38.00 | $38.00 | $47.00 | $47.00 | $37.50 | $57.00 | $64.50 | $41.50 | $61.00 | $51.00 | $45.00 | $41.00 |
| CHARLES | Southern | $38.00 | $35.50 | $36.00 | $32.00 | $30.50 | $39.00 | $39.00 | $40.50 | $40.50 | $36.50 | $42.50 | $49.50 |
| PRINCE GEORGE'S | Southern | $39.00 | $34.50 | $35.00 | $31.50 | $37.50 | $51.00 | $48.50 | $43.50 | $38.00 | $44.00 | $51.75 | $54.50 |
| ST. MARY'S | Southern | $36.00 | $38.00 | $39.00 | $36.50 | $40.50 | $54.50 | $45.50 | $45.00 | $51.00 | $52.00 | $58.50 | $59.50 |
| CAROLINE | Upper Eastern Shore | $75.50 | $71.50 | $73.50 | $78.50 | $90.50 | $95.50 | $110.00 | $101.00 | $101.00 | $105.00 | $112.00 | $126.00 |
| CECIL | Upper Eastern Shore | $79.00 | $68.00 | $71.00 | $85.50 | $103.00 | $89.50 | $94.00 | $103.00 | $103.00 | $116.00 | $138.00 | $157.00 |
| KENT | Upper Eastern Shore | $90.00 | $75.50 | $80.00 | $122.00 | $103.00 | $111.00 | $113.00 | $131.00 | $145.00 | $147.00 | $159.00 | $185.00 |
| QUEEN ANNE'S | Upper Eastern Shore | $79.50 | $75.00 | $81.00 | $113.00 | $116.00 | $122.00 | $136.00 | $125.00 | $148.00 | $136.00 | $144.00 | $168.00 |
| TALBOT | Upper Eastern Shore | $78.00 | $75.50 | $77.50 | $105.00 | $114.00 | $109.00 | $108.00 | $102.00 | $102.00 | $110.00 | $113.00 | $113.00 |
| ALLEGANY | Western | $21.50 | $33.00 | $30.50 | $32.00 | $29.50 | $26.00 | $23.50 | $58.00 | $55.50 | $28.00 | $29.00 | $29.50 |
| GARRETT | Western | $31.50 | $35.50 | $37.00 | $31.00 | $31.50 | $35.50 | $32.50 | $37.00 | $35.50 | $35.00 | $37.50 | $37.00 |
| MARYLAND (ALL COUNTIES) AVERAGE | $67.00 | $63.00 | $67.00 | $82.00 | $89.00 | $92.00 | $100.00 | $94.00 | $100.00 | $98.00 | $103.00 | $111.00 | |
SUMMARY STATISTICS |
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| MINIMUM | $21.00 | $33.00 | $30.50 | $31.00 | $29.50 | $26.00 | $23.50 | $37.00 | $35.50 | $28.00 | $29.00 | $29.50 | |
| MEDIAN | $62.00 | $64.50 | $66.00 | $72.50 | $80.50 | $77.00 | $81.50 | $87.50 | $88.50 | $83.50 | $94.00 | $90.00 | |
| MAXIMUM | $90.00 | $77.50 | $81.00 | $122.00 | $116.00 | $164.00 | $136.00 | $138.00 | $149.00 | $167.00 | $159.00 | $185.00 | |
- Bolded text cells (through 2020) represent when the "other (combined)" average is used, based on the Ag District.
- In 2021, NASS did not record Ag District values, the numbers in the lighter-colored cells represent a calculated median of the other ag districts. However, for Allegany, historical data was used in Forecast-Exponential Smoothing algorithm that can be seen in the "Historic non-irrigated" tab.
- Note, this will impact the summary statistics.
Rent, Cash, Cropland, Irrigated-Expense, Measured in $/Acre
| RENT, CASH, CROPLAND, IRRIGATED-EXPENSE, MEASURED IN $/ACRE | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG DISTRICT | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| LOWER EASTERN SHORE | $114.00 | $111.00 | $138.00 | $138.00 | $144.00 | $179.00 | $151.00 | |||||
| NORTH CENTRAL | $110.00 | |||||||||||
| UPPER EASTERN SHORE | $110.00 | $118.00 | $136.00 | $146.00 | $213.00 | $182.00 | ||||||
| OTHER COUNTIES | $163.00 | $186.00 | ||||||||||
| MARYLAND (ALL COUNTIES) AVERAGE | $100.00 | $110.00 | $115.00 | $132.00 | $132.00 | $143.00 | $175.00 | $190.00 | $196.00 | $194.00 | $197.00 | $201.00 |
LOWER EASTERN SHORE COUNTY BREAKDOWN |
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| DORCHESTER | $100.00 | $152.00 | $160.00 | $161.00 | $197.00 | $199.00 | ||||||
| WICOMICO | $118.00 | $135.00 | $137.00 | $140.00 | $190.00 | $210.00 | ||||||
| WORCHESTER | $100.00 | $104.00 | ||||||||||
UPPER EASTERN SHORE COUNTY BREAKDOWN |
||||||||||||
| CAROLINE | $100.00 | $118.00 | $156.00 | $161.00 | $219.00 | $203.00 | $239.00 | |||||
| KENT | $118.00 | $147.00 | $164.00 | $193.00 | ||||||||
| QUEEN ANNE'S | $100.00 | $117.00 | $136.00 | $206.00 | $234.00 | $208.00 | ||||||
- Note: Southern and Western Ag Districts are not on the table due to limited NASS data.
Rent, Cash, Cropland, Patureland-Expenses, Measured in $/Acre
| RENT, CASH, CROPLAND, PASTURLAND-EXPENSE, MEASURED IN $/ACRE | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG DISTRICT | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| LOWER EASTERN SHORE | $32.50 | $35.00 | $43.00 | $56.50 | $65.00 | |||||||
| NORTH CENTRAL | $42.00 | $36.50 | $35.50 | $44.00 | $51.00 | $49.00 | $45.00 | $50.00 | $35.50 | $49.50 | $49.00 | |
| SOUTHERN | $32.50 | $25.00 | $26.00 | $20.50 | $30.50 | $28.50 | ||||||
| UPPER EASTERN SHORE | $38.00 | $36.00 | $47.00 | $68.50 | $55.00 | $55.00 | ||||||
| WESTERN | $31.00 | $30.00 | $26.50 | $27.00 | $18.50 | $16.00 | $25.50 | $23.50 | $19.50 | $20.00 | $19.95 | |
| OTHER COUNTIES | $68.00 | $30.00 | ||||||||||
| MARYLAND (ALL COUNTIES) AVERAGE | $40.00 | $35.00 | $33.00 | $40.00 | $39.50 | $43.50 | $45.00 | $40.00 | $44.00 | $48.00 | $53.00 | $51.00 |
NORTH CENTRAL COUNTY BREAKDOWN |
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| BALTIMORE | $36.00 | $31.00 | $36.00 | $35.00 | $44.00 | $50.00 | $31.50 | $33.00 | $95.00 | $45.00 | ||
| CARROLL | $42.50 | $42.50 | $35.50 | $54.00 | $52.50 | $50.00 | $26.50 | $40.00 | $47.50 | $47.50 | $56.50 | $42.00 |
| FREDERICK | $42.50 | $38.50 | $36.00 | $36.00 | $40.00 | $47.50 | $50.00 | $38.00 | $52.50 | $60.00 | $54.50 | $65.50 |
| HARFORD | $38.50 | $29.00 | $35.50 | $55.50 | $49.00 | $48.50 | $28.00 | $55.50 | $39.00 | $39.00 | $33.50 | |
| HOWARD | $42.50 | $35.50 | $54.00 | $49.00 | $48.50 | $70.00 | ||||||
| MONTGOMERY | $35.50 | $35.50 | $41.00 | $41.50 | $41.50 | $69.50 | $59.50 | $49.50 | ||||
| WASHINGTON | $33.50 | $34.50 | $49.00 | $49.00 | $59.00 | $57.50 | $42.00 | $41.00 | $41.00 | $42.00 | $54.50 | |
WESTERN COUNTY BREAKDOWN |
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| ALLEGANY | $36.50 | $27.00 | $23.50 | $23.00 | $16.00 | $15.00 | $17.50 | $9.90 | ||||
| GARRETT | $28.50 | $31.50 | $30.00 | $30.00 | $20.50 | $18.00 | $25.50 | $30.00 | ||||
Note: Bold text in cells represent our calculated averages of available counties within the Ag District.
The maps in this report are animated layers depicting yearly changes in non-irrigated and pastureland rental rates in Maryland counties. These layers and the irrigated rental rates layer are available in a Web Map format. Use the following link (https://go.umd.edu/rentalratemap) to open the Web Map. Navigate to the “Layers” section on the gray ribbon on the left side of the map. The “Layers” section should look like the following. Each layer can be made visible or hidden by clicking the eye icon. It is best to view the map with one layer visible at a time. Each colored county can be clicked on to prompt a pop-up with the county’s first available rental rate value in dollars ($), the NASS Data Item Type, and the Year of that rental rate value for the selected county. In the top right-hand corner (circled in red in the screenshot below), click the arrows to go forward or back in time to see how the rental rates for that county change.
Note - the time slider at the bottom of the map is not activated; selecting between years will not do anything to the map or data.
These layers were created by completing a table join between the data in the above charts with Maryland’s county shapefiles – essentially assigning each county’s rental rate values with the recorded NASS values to the county’s geographic shape.