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Idaho irrigated land

3.17 million acres

Irrigated land in Idaho, 2022

−6.8% since 2017 (3.40 million acres); −5.9% since 2012 (3.37 million acres); −10.6% since 1997 (3.54 million acres)

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land. Data period 2022. Published .

Total land NASS classifies as irrigated, from the Census of Agriculture.

Change and comparison

The latest figure, 2022, is the lowest in the series, which begins in 1997.

Among 50 states, Idaho ranked 5th highest in 2022. California was highest at 8,158,067 acres and Alaska lowest at 2,398 acres.

Idaho is highest among its neighboring states at 3,167,499 acres.

Idaho's figure is 5.8% of the national figure of 54.93 million acres.

Among 44 Idaho counties in 2022, Bingham County was highest at 330,319 acres and Shoshone County lowest at 9 acres.

Historical data

Idaho irrigated land, 1997 to 2022Idaho irrigated land, 1997 to 2022. Idaho: 3,543,805 in 1997, 3,167,499 in 2022.01M2M3M4M200020102020IdahoAcresIdaho irrigated land, 1997 to 2022Idaho irrigated land, 1997 to 2022. Idaho: 3,543,805 in 1997, 3,167,499 in 2022.01M2M3M4M200020102020IdahoAcresIdaho irrigated land, 1997 to 2022Idaho irrigated land, 1997 to 2022. Idaho: 3,543,805 in 1997, 3,167,499 in 2022.01M2M3M4M20002005201020152020IdahoAcres

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land. Published .

Data table (6 rows)
PeriodIdaho (acres)
19973,543,805
20023,288,522
20073,299,889
20123,365,292
20173,398,266
20223,167,499

Water withdrawn for irrigation

17,130,259 acre-feet in 2015 (estimate). Fresh groundwater and surface-water withdrawn for irrigation per year, converted from USGS's published million-gallons-per-day figure.

Water withdrawn for irrigation, 1985 to 2015Water withdrawn for irrigation, 1985 to 2015. Irrigation water withdrawals: 23,063,351 in 1985, 17,130,259 in 2015.010M20M30M2000IrrigationwaterwithdrawalsAcre-feetWater withdrawn for irrigation, 1985 to 2015Water withdrawn for irrigation, 1985 to 2015. Irrigation water withdrawals: 23,063,351 in 1985, 17,130,259 in 2015.010M20M30M199020002010IrrigationwaterwithdrawalsAcre-feetWater withdrawn for irrigation, 1985 to 2015Water withdrawn for irrigation, 1985 to 2015. Irrigation water withdrawals: 23,063,351 in 1985, 17,130,259 in 2015.010M20M30M199020002010Irrigation waterwithdrawalsAcre-feet

Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Estimated Use of Water in the United States.

Data table (7 rows)
PeriodIrrigation water withdrawals (acre-feet)
198523,063,351
199020,926,512
199514,615,708
200019,118,725
200518,539,477
201015,726,788
201517,130,259

By county

44 of 44 counties have a value for 2022. Idaho statewide on the same basis: 3,167,499 acres.

  1. Bingham330,319
  2. Cassia274,053
  3. Minidoka239,043
  4. Twin Falls236,196
  5. Canyon207,577
  6. Jefferson143,448
  7. Bonneville143,393
  8. Jerome139,509
  9. Gooding132,731
  10. Power115,184
  11. Owyhee108,395
  12. Fremont96,574
  13. Madison83,468
  14. Elmore78,012
  15. Blaine65,992
  16. Payette62,350
  17. Lemhi60,672
  18. Butte58,948
  19. Lincoln55,844
  20. Caribou54,189
  21. Washington51,052
  22. Franklin50,893
  23. Clark48,780
  24. Custer44,972
  25. Bear Lake44,212
  26. Teton40,705
  27. Ada35,479
  28. Camas32,523
  29. Oneida29,319
  30. Bannock29,291
  31. Gem25,735
  32. Adams19,136
  33. Valley15,245
  34. Kootenai6,315
  35. Boundary2,500
  36. Boise1,537
  37. Idaho1,409
  38. Bonner1,104
  39. Latah424
  40. Nez Perce411
  41. Lewis379
  42. Benewah127
  43. Clearwater45
  44. Shoshone9

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land. Data period 2022. Published .

Ada County: 35,479 Acres (2022)Adams County: 19,136 Acres (2022)Bannock County: 29,291 Acres (2022)Bear Lake County: 44,212 Acres (2022)Benewah County: 127 Acres (2022)Bingham County: 330,319 Acres (2022)Blaine County: 65,992 Acres (2022)Boise County: 1,537 Acres (2022)Bonner County: 1,104 Acres (2022)Bonneville County: 143,393 Acres (2022)Boundary County: 2,500 Acres (2022)Butte County: 58,948 Acres (2022)Camas County: 32,523 Acres (2022)Canyon County: 207,577 Acres (2022)Caribou County: 54,189 Acres (2022)Cassia County: 274,053 Acres (2022)Clark County: 48,780 Acres (2022)Clearwater County: 45 Acres (2022)Custer County: 44,972 Acres (2022)Elmore County: 78,012 Acres (2022)Franklin County: 50,893 Acres (2022)Fremont County: 96,574 Acres (2022)Gem County: 25,735 Acres (2022)Gooding County: 132,731 Acres (2022)Idaho County: 1,409 Acres (2022)Jefferson County: 143,448 Acres (2022)Jerome County: 139,509 Acres (2022)Kootenai County: 6,315 Acres (2022)Latah County: 424 Acres (2022)Lemhi County: 60,672 Acres (2022)Lewis County: 379 Acres (2022)Lincoln County: 55,844 Acres (2022)Madison County: 83,468 Acres (2022)Minidoka County: 239,043 Acres (2022)Nez Perce County: 411 Acres (2022)Oneida County: 29,319 Acres (2022)Owyhee County: 108,395 Acres (2022)Payette County: 62,350 Acres (2022)Power County: 115,184 Acres (2022)Shoshone County: 9 Acres (2022)Teton County: 40,705 Acres (2022)Twin Falls County: 236,196 Acres (2022)Valley County: 15,245 Acres (2022)Washington County: 51,052 Acres (2022)
  • 9 to 2,114
  • 2,115 to 36,523
  • 36,524 to 58,326
  • 58,327 to 122,202
  • 122,203 to 330,319

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land. Data period 2022. Published .

Data table (44 rows)
County2022
Bingham County330,319
Cassia County274,053
Minidoka County239,043
Twin Falls County236,196
Canyon County207,577
Jefferson County143,448
Bonneville County143,393
Jerome County139,509
Gooding County132,731
Power County115,184
Owyhee County108,395
Fremont County96,574
Madison County83,468
Elmore County78,012
Blaine County65,992
Payette County62,350
Lemhi County60,672
Butte County58,948
Lincoln County55,844
Caribou County54,189
Washington County51,052
Franklin County50,893
Clark County48,780
Custer County44,972
Bear Lake County44,212
Teton County40,705
Ada County35,479
Camas County32,523
Oneida County29,319
Bannock County29,291
Gem County25,735
Adams County19,136
Valley County15,245
Kootenai County6,315
Boundary County2,500
Boise County1,537
Idaho County1,409
Bonner County1,104
Latah County424
Nez Perce County411
Lewis County379
Benewah County127
Clearwater County45
Shoshone County9

Compared with other states

  1. United States54,930,363
  2. California8,158,067
  3. Nebraska7,965,938
  4. Idaho3,167,499
  5. Montana1,724,667
  6. Washington1,668,415
  7. Oregon1,534,766
  8. Wyoming1,272,605
  9. Utah853,471
  10. Nevada667,764
  11. Vermont3,758
  12. New Hampshire2,592
  13. Alaska2,398

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land. Data period 2022. Published .

The first 10 of 51 rows; the full table is below.

State2022
1. United States54,930,363
2. California8,158,067
3. Nebraska7,965,938
4. Arkansas4,749,773
5. Texas3,765,438
6. Idaho3,167,499
7. Kansas2,344,782
8. Colorado2,287,808
9. Mississippi1,921,886
10. Montana1,724,667
Data table (51 rows)
State2022
1. United States54,930,363
2. California8,158,067
3. Nebraska7,965,938
4. Arkansas4,749,773
5. Texas3,765,438
6. Idaho3,167,499
7. Kansas2,344,782
8. Colorado2,287,808
9. Mississippi1,921,886
10. Montana1,724,667
11. Washington1,668,415
12. Oregon1,534,766
13. Florida1,478,408
14. Missouri1,334,751
15. Louisiana1,291,830
16. Georgia1,287,251
17. Wyoming1,272,605
18. Arizona897,330
19. Utah853,471
20. Michigan672,335
21. Nevada667,764
22. Minnesota648,313
23. Illinois635,957
24. Indiana610,670
25. New Mexico545,904
26. Wisconsin475,471
27. Oklahoma450,417
28. South Dakota410,870
29. Iowa259,687
30. North Dakota247,700
31. South Carolina227,963
32. Tennessee206,906
33. North Carolina175,949
34. Alabama170,537
35. Delaware144,513
36. Maryland138,097
37. New Jersey88,477
38. Kentucky83,458
39. Ohio69,818
40. New York64,520
41. Virginia61,216
42. Pennsylvania44,057
43. Hawaii41,851
44. Maine33,138
45. Massachusetts23,990
46. Connecticut8,114
47. West Virginia5,215
48. Rhode Island4,023
49. Vermont3,758
50. New Hampshire2,592
51. Alaska2,398

Source

Organization
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Dataset
Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land
Geography
Every US state and the nation, statewide; Idaho counties
Time coverage
1997-2022 (state and nation); 2022 and 2017 (Idaho county)
Update frequency
Every 5 years (Census of Agriculture)
Published
Original file
https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET/?source_desc=CENSUS&commodity_desc=AG+LAND&short_desc=AG+LAND%2C+IRRIGATED+-+ACRES&domain_desc=TOTAL
Methodology
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Methodology_and_Data_Quality/
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
Census of Agriculture: Irrigated Land, built by scripts/fetch-nass-irrigation.py

Caveats

  • Figures are total acres NASS classifies as irrigated, regardless of what is grown; not a crop-by-crop breakdown.
  • Two of Idaho's 44 counties are withheld for disclosure in 2017 and omitted here rather than estimated.
  • USDA's separate Census of Irrigation and Water Management (2013, 2018, 2023) is a different survey and is not mixed into this series.

Water withdrawn for irrigation:

Organization
U.S. Geological Survey
Dataset
Estimated Use of Water in the United States
Geography
Idaho statewide and by county (44 counties)
Time coverage
1985-2015
Update frequency
Every 5 years
Published
not stated
Original file
https://water.usgs.gov/watuse/data/ (1985-2010); https://doi.org/10.5066/F7TB15V5 (2015, usco2015v2.0.csv); https://doi.org/10.5066/P92AXN0O (2015 Idaho county cross-check, item 5b4603afe4b060350a1495f6, file 2018-093322.csv)
Methodology
https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/accessing-water-use-data
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
Estimated Use of Water in the United States, built by scripts/fetch-usgs-water-use.py

Caveats

  • USGS publishes withdrawals in Mgal/d; values here are converted to acre-feet per year (1 Mgal/d = 1,120.14 acre-feet per year).
  • Idaho statewide and category totals are this site's own sum of the source file's county-level rows, not a separately published state total.
  • Irrigation withdrawals cover crops and, from 2000 on, golf courses, combined into one figure.
  • 2015 is the last Water Use Circular year; it comes from a separate USGS data release, not water.usgs.gov.
  • Livestock is stock watering only; Animal Specialties (1985-1995) and Aquaculture (2000 on) are separate categories because USGS defines them differently.
  • Mining has no figure for 2000; Public Supply (2000), Livestock (2000 on) and Aquaculture (2000 and 2005) are fresh water only.
  • The 1985 file prints zero for Animal Specialties in every Idaho county; the value is stored as printed.

Cite

Cite this page as Understand Idaho, “Idaho irrigated land”, https://understandidaho.com/water/irrigation/, retrieved on the date you read it, and the publisher named above for the figures themselves. The dataset behind it is described in the data catalog.

This page was last updated .