1

In 2012, the U.S. cotton and cottonseed industry had sales of $6.1 billion. 

Cotton production is heavily concentrated in a few states and counties across 

the southern part of the country; the industry accounted for 1.6 percent of total 

U.S. agriculture sales in 2012. The 2012 Census of Agriculture provides a 

comprehensive 

picture of the 

cotton industry, 

including 

overall size, 

value, and 

location; 

production 

costs; and farm 

and producer 

characteristics.

Cotton and Cottonseed Farming 

Production down 13 percent, sales value up 25 percent, since 2007.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-17/January 2015

Highlights

Three states. . . 

. . . account for more than half 

of U.S. cotton and cottonseed 

production and sales.

Top States in Sales

($ billions)

1.6

1.0

0.7

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.3

0.2

Texas

Georgia

California

Arkansas

North Carolina

Mississippi 

Alabama

Tennessee

Missouri

Arizona 0.2

Industry Size, Value, and Location

Cotton and Cottonseed Sales as Percent of Agriculture Sales, by County, 2012

percent

< 1

1 - 9

10 - 24

25 - 49

50 +

U.S. = 1.6%

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Cotton and cottonseed sales were 25 

percent higher in 2012 than in 2007, 

when the last agriculture census 

was conducted, but during the same 

period, cotton production and cottonproducing farms declined. U.S. 

farmers produced 16.5 million bales 

in 2012, down 13 percent from 2007. 

The number of farms with cotton 

declined 2 percent, from 18,605 farms 

in 2007 to 18,155 farms in 2012. 

Farms specializing in cotton (that is, 

farms with more than half of sales 

coming from the production of cotton 

and cottonseed) declined even more, 

from 9,968 farms in 2007 to 8,915 

farms in 2012 (an 11 percent decline).

Texas led the country in cotton 

production in 2012, with 4.8 million 

bales produced and $1.6 billion in 

cotton and cottonseed sales. Georgia 

was second, with 2.7 million bales 

and $1.0 billion in sales, followed by 

Arkansas with 1.3 million bales and 
2 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Producer Characteristics

The 2012 Census of Agriculture identified characteristics 

of those responsible for the day-to-day operation of farms 

specializing in cotton. These farmers on average were 

younger (56 years old) than principal operators overall (58 

years old). Just as in 2007, five percent were women; this 

is a smaller percentage of female principal operators than 

for farms overall (14 percent in 2012).

In both 2007 and 2012, four fifths of cotton principal 

operators considered farming their primary occupation, 

well above the average for farmers overall in 2012. At the 

same time, 29 percent earned less than a quarter of their 

income from farming. Twenty-one percent derived all of 

their income from the farm. (Table 2)

Table 2 

Cotton Producers: Key Characteristics, 2007 and 2012

(principal operators of farms specializing in cotton)

2007 2012

All Farms

2012

percent

Gender

 Male 95 95 86

 Female 5 5 14

Age 

Under 45 years 21 21 16

45 to 64 years 53 51 51

65 years and older 26 28 33

Primary Occupation

 Farming 81 81 48

 Other 19 19 52

Percent of Income from Farming

 < 25% 31 29 70

 25% to 49% 10 11 8

 50% to 74% 17 17 9

 75% to 99% 24 22 7

 100% 18 21 6

Average Age (years) 55.2 55.8 58.3

Principal operator is the person responsible for day-to-day operation of the farm. A farm 

“specializing in cotton” has more than half of its sales come from cotton and cottonseed.

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

$0.4 billion in sales. These three states accounted for 53 

percent of the cotton produced and 51 percent of the value 

of U.S. cotton and cottonseed sales in 2012. California 

ranked fourth in amount of cotton produced (1.2 million 

bales) and third in sales.

At the county level, 

four of the top ten 

counties in cotton 

and cottonseed 

sales were in 

California. Kings 

County, California, 

ranked first in the 

nation, with $211 

million or 3 percent 

of the U.S. total.

Production Costs

The 8,915 farms that specialized in cotton production 

accounted for 55 percent of all cotton sales ($3.4 billion). 

Their production costs were $4.0 billion (14 percent higher 

than in 2007). Per farm average costs were $448,667, a

27 percent increase from 2007.

The largest expense was fertilizer, which totaled $660 million in 2012, or 16 percent of total production costs. 

Farm Characteristics

Family or individually owned farms were 69 percent of cotton operations and accounted for 49 percent of sales. Partnerships (including family partnerships) were the second 

largest category of ownership, accounting for 21 percent of 

operations and 38 percent of sales. (Table 1)

Table 1

Cotton Farms by Type of Owner

 % of Operations % of Sales

Family/Individual 69 49

Partnership 21 38

Corporation 9 12

Other 1 1

All 100 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Top Counties: Cotton and Cottonseed Sales 

($ millions)

Kings, CA 211.2

Fresno, CA 191.6

Mississippi, AR 115.0

Kern, CA 99.8

Pinal, AZ 94.0

Gaines, TX 88.4

Dunklin, MO 81.1

Merced, CA 78.5

Lubbock, TX 78.2

Hale, TX 76.7

Does not include counties withheld to avoid disclosing 

individual data. 

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

To learn more about cotton and cottonseed farming, 

the 2012 Census of Agriculture, and how to access 

national, state, and county data, go to:

www.agcensus.usda.gov