212,714 farms in the U.S. irrigated their land in 2023, marking an 8.1% decrease since 2018. Together, they irrigated 53.1 million acres—about one-fourth of their farmland—using 81.0 million acre-feet of water, a slight 2.8% decline from 2018.
Interestingly, the average water usage per acre remained consistent at 1.5 acre-feet, highlighting opportunities for innovation in water efficiency.
Top Contributors:
Just five states—Arkansas, California, Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas—accounted for:
50.1% of irrigated acres
55.1% of total irrigation water applied
source: US Census
