Agritourism Revenue Grows 33% in Five Years

PennState researchers analyzed 2022 Census data to find 1.5% of U.S. farms offered agritourism in 2022. While the number of farms remained similar to the 2017 results, agritourism income from those farms grew 33% to $1.26 billion. 

According to this USDA map, 57% of U.S. counties now offer agritourism.

For each county offering agritourism, median income across the county was $161,000, according to the USDA. PennState researchers found agritourism operations received $44,000 in gross revenue from agritourism on average in 2022.

Because the USDA Census specifically asks for experiential agritourism (think hayrides and tours), PennState researchers excluded agritourism that had a direct-sales component, such as farm stands. 

Instead, PennState researchers considered operations offering direct sales separately. From 2017 to 2022, PennState researchers found the number of operations offering direct sales decreased roughly 10% while gross revenue from direct sales increased 8%. In 2022, 117,000 operations offered direct-to-consumer sales, with an average of $28,000 gross revenue per farm.

The next USDA Census will be held in 2027.