States With the Most Female Farmers

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Agriculture has historically been one of the most important industries in the U.S., but the sector has become less prominent over time. Farms have become more productive thanks to improved technology, which has changed farms’ needs for labor. Simultaneously, economic opportunities in more urbanized areas have grown at a much greater rate and attracted workers away from agricultural life. As a result, the demographic profiles of U.S. farmers are changing.

Most notably, farm producers—a person who is involved in making decisions for the farm—have been getting older on average. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, nearly one-third of the 3.4 million producers in the U.S. are 65 or older, and an additional 950,000 are aged 55 to 64. And fewer young people are taking their place, with only 284,000 producers under the age of 34.

But one area where the ranks of farmers are growing is female farmers. From 2012 to 2017, the number of female farm producers in the U.S. grew by more than 250,000, while the number of male producers declined by about 40,000 over the same span. Collectively, females today farm 388 million acres of U.S. farmland and are responsible for a total of $148 billion in agricultural sales.

As with other sectors of the economy, however, there is a difference in the earning power of farmers by sex. Female-operated farms tend to be smaller in scale and therefore earn less than their male-operated counterparts. In 2017, the most recent year for which data was available, 50% of female-operated farms earned less than $5,000 in sales and government payments, compared to 43% of male-operated farms. At the other end of the spectrum, only 19% of female-operated farms earn more than $50,000, compared to 26% of male-operated establishments.

Part of the reason for this disparity is related to historical and cultural factors. Agricultural professions have historically been seen as men’s work, so opportunities for women to lead in farm operations have been more scarce. The data bears this out: male farmers are almost three times more likely than female farmers to manage a farm on which they are the only producer. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to share management roles with others, especially other male producers.

Male and female farmers also differ in where they are located. Female farmers and female-operated farms are most common in the West and Northeast-—but these locations tend to have lower agricultural productivity. These states and counties also have a lower number of farms overall. In contrast, major farming areas including the upper Midwest and the Southeast have much lower proportions of female farms and farmers, which likely contributes to the gap in earnings as well.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To determine the states with the most female farmers, researchers at Commodity.com calculated the percentage of producers that are female for each state. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater number of total female producers was ranked higher. Researchers also included statistics on the number of farms with at least one female producer and the total number of farms.

Here are the states with the most female farm producers.

U.S. States With the Most Female Farmers

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15. Wyoming

Percentage of producers that are female: 40.7%
Total female producers: 8,816
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 66.9%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 7,990
Total farms: 11,938

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14. Florida

Percentage of producers that are female: 40.7%
Total female producers: 32,122
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 62.6%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 29,779
Total farms: 47,590

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13. Connecticut

Percentage of producers that are female: 40.9%
Total female producers: 3,892
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 63.6%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 3,510
Total farms: 5,521

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12. Rhode Island

Percentage of producers that are female: 41.4%
Total female producers: 743
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 63.9%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 666
Total farms: 1,043

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11. Hawaii

Percentage of producers that are female: 41.4%
Total female producers: 5,044
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 62.5%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 4,580
Total farms: 7,328

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10. Vermont

Percentage of producers that are female: 41.6%
Total female producers: 5,120
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 68.9%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 4,691
Total farms: 6,808

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9. Colorado

Percentage of producers that are female: 41.8%
Total female producers: 28,839
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 67.9%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 26,406
Total farms: 38,893

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8. Nevada

Percentage of producers that are female: 42.4%
Total female producers: 2,524
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 68.2%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 2,335
Total farms: 3,423

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7. Washington

Percentage of producers that are female: 42.4%
Total female producers: 26,868
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 68.9%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 24,663
Total farms: 35,793

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6. Massachusetts

Percentage of producers that are female: 43.6%
Total female producers: 5,572
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 66.2%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 4,793
Total farms: 7,241

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5. Maine

Percentage of producers that are female: 43.7%
Total female producers: 5,859
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 70.1%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 5,327
Total farms: 7,600

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4. Oregon

Percentage of producers that are female: 44.2%
Total female producers: 29,868
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 73.4%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 27,592
Total farms: 37,616

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3. New Hampshire

Percentage of producers that are female: 45.5%
Total female producers: 3,277
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 73.9%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 3,048
Total farms: 4,123

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2. Alaska

Percentage of producers that are female: 46.7%
Total female producers: 802
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 72.2%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 715
Total farms: 990

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1. Arizona

Percentage of producers that are female: 48.7%
Total female producers: 15,968
Percentage of farms with at least one female producer: 71.6%
Total farms with at least one female producer: 13,670
Total farms: 19,086

Detailed Findings & Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture. To determine the states with the most female farmers, researchers calculated the percentage of producers that are female for each state. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater number of total female producers was ranked higher. Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a producer is defined as: “A person who is involved in making decisions for the farm operation. Decisions may include decisions about such things as planting, harvesting, livestock management, and marketing.” A producer could be the owner, a member of the owner’s household, a manager, or other party involved in the operation of the farm.