| Rank |
County |
Tobacco Subsidies
1995-2012 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Macon County, Tennessee | $12,841,722 | 11.5% | 11.5% |
| 2 | Robertson County, Tennessee | $10,402,068 | 9.3% | 20.8% |
| 3 | Greene County, Tennessee | $7,984,159 | 7.1% | 27.9% |
| 4 | Montgomery County, Tennessee | $6,947,041 | 6.2% | 34.1% |
| 5 | Hawkins County, Tennessee | $5,203,900 | 4.6% | 38.7% |
| 6 | Claiborne County, Tennessee | $4,801,922 | 4.3% | 43.0% |
| 7 | Sumner County, Tennessee | $4,636,234 | 4.1% | 47.2% |
| 8 | Washington County, Tennessee | $4,167,305 | 3.7% | 50.9% |
| 9 | Smith County, Tennessee | $4,008,672 | 3.6% | 54.5% |
| 10 | Henry County, Tennessee | $2,901,941 | 2.6% | 57.0% |
| 11 | Trousdale County, Tennessee | $2,688,534 | 2.4% | 59.4% |
| 12 | Grainger County, Tennessee | $2,560,275 | 2.3% | 61.7% |
| 13 | Hancock County, Tennessee | $2,123,165 | 1.9% | 63.6% |
| 14 | Stewart County, Tennessee | $2,010,812 | 1.8% | 65.4% |
| 15 | Cocke County, Tennessee | $1,923,001 | 1.7% | 67.1% |
| 16 | Cheatham County, Tennessee | $1,888,438 | 1.7% | 68.8% |
| 17 | Johnson County, Tennessee | $1,826,880 | 1.6% | 70.5% |
| 18 | Sullivan County, Tennessee | $1,779,104 | 1.6% | 72.0% |
| 19 | Dickson County, Tennessee | $1,727,763 | 1.5% | 73.6% |
| 20 | Clay County, Tennessee | $1,562,364 | 1.4% | 75.0% |
| 21 | Jefferson County, Tennessee | $1,529,412 | 1.4% | 76.3% |
| 22 | Pickett County, Tennessee | $1,486,723 | 1.3% | 77.7% |
| 23 | Maury County, Tennessee | $1,457,708 | 1.3% | 79.0% |
| 24 | Monroe County, Tennessee | $1,433,958 | 1.3% | 80.3% |
| 25 | McMinn County, Tennessee | $1,174,779 | 1.0% | 81.3% |
| 26 | Jackson County, Tennessee | $1,167,910 | 1.0% | 82.3% |
| 27 | Hamblen County, Tennessee | $1,165,980 | 1.0% | 83.4% |
| 28 | Putnam County, Tennessee | $1,156,567 | 1.0% | 84.4% |
| 29 | Wilson County, Tennessee | $1,138,629 | 1.0% | 85.4% |
| 30 | Union County, Tennessee | $1,106,798 | 1.0% | 86.4% |
| 31 | Sevier County, Tennessee | $1,075,507 | 1.0% | 87.4% |
| 32 | White County, Tennessee | $1,036,179 | 0.9% | 88.3% |
| 33 | Williamson County, Tennessee | $1,033,176 | 0.9% | 89.2% |
| 34 | DeKalb County, Tennessee | $1,024,321 | 0.9% | 90.1% |
| 35 | Carter County, Tennessee | $912,291 | 0.8% | 91.0% |
| 36 | Lincoln County, Tennessee | $808,743 | 0.7% | 91.7% |
| 37 | Overton County, Tennessee | $807,023 | 0.7% | 92.4% |
| 38 | Weakley County, Tennessee | $748,533 | 0.7% | 93.1% |
| 39 | Blount County, Tennessee | $595,669 | 0.5% | 93.6% |
| 40 | Loudon County, Tennessee | $593,615 | 0.5% | 94.1% |
| 41 | Campbell County, Tennessee | $579,281 | 0.5% | 94.7% |
| 42 | Houston County, Tennessee | $477,171 | 0.4% | 95.1% |
| 43 | Knox County, Tennessee | $468,397 | 0.4% | 95.5% |
| 44 | Cannon County, Tennessee | $411,625 | 0.4% | 95.9% |
| 45 | Fentress County, Tennessee | $407,543 | 0.4% | 96.2% |
| 46 | Lawrence County, Tennessee | $405,111 | 0.4% | 96.6% |
| 47 | Marshall County, Tennessee | $399,381 | 0.4% | 96.9% |
| 48 | Giles County, Tennessee | $346,651 | 0.3% | 97.3% |
| 49 | Meigs County, Tennessee | $300,900 | 0.3% | 97.5% |
| 50 | Warren County, Tennessee | $286,276 | 0.3% | 97.8% |
| 51 | Unicoi County, Tennessee | $271,936 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 52 | Hickman County, Tennessee | $269,519 | 0.2% | 98.3% |
| 53 | Roane County, Tennessee | $246,837 | 0.2% | 98.5% |
| 54 | Bedford County, Tennessee | $213,893 | 0.2% | 98.7% |
| 55 | Moore County, Tennessee | $207,557 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 56 | Cumberland County, Tennessee | $175,745 | 0.2% | 99.0% |
| 57 | Franklin County, Tennessee | $163,229 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 58 | Bradley County, Tennessee | $133,193 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 59 | Morgan County, Tennessee | $116,198 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 60 | Anderson County, Tennessee | $111,090 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 61 | Davidson County, Tennessee | $101,296 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 62 | Rutherford County, Tennessee | $87,332 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 63 | Rhea County, Tennessee | $76,343 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 64 | Lewis County, Tennessee | $49,329 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 65 | Van Buren County, Tennessee | $36,340 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 66 | Polk County, Tennessee | $35,068 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 67 | Bledsoe County, Tennessee | $27,775 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 68 | Humphreys County, Tennessee | $26,960 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 69 | Marion County, Tennessee | $22,058 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 70 | Coffee County, Tennessee | $18,398 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 71 | Scott County, Tennessee | $7,462 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 72 | Obion County, Tennessee | $4,283 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 73 | Hamilton County, Tennessee | $3,886 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 74 | Grundy County, Tennessee | $1,345 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from USDA data.
Note: The information on conservation spending for 2011and 2012 are incomplete due to missing data from USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service. In addition some payments made in 2010 were not assigned to recipients in the data received from NRCS. Those payments are also not included.
The information provided for the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) provides an inaccurate picture of how WRP payments are distributed. USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service uses title companies as intermediaries to finalize wetlands easements under the Wetlands Reserve Program. As a result, the data provided to us shows large sums of money going to these title companies. In reality, the payments are ultimately distributed to landowners participating in the WRP.
Unfortunately, NRCS has not provided the data to show where these farms and wetlands are located or which farmers or landowners are enrolling in the program, so EWG is unable to allocate these large sums of money to individuals beyond the title companies. Therefore, these companies skew the conservation rankings and payment concentration, which EWG cannot avoid unless and until NRCS makes available the additional farm attribution data. Therefore, we have not included WRP payments in the 2011 or 2012 data update.
We have separated data on farm commodity, disaster and conservation payments in order to provide a more accurate picture of top recipients and concentration of payments among the three main categories of USDA programs.
Finally, EWG works hard to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides through its products and services, but obtains data for the Farm Subsidy Database from the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Therefore, EWG cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information USDA provides or any analysis based thereon. If you find an error or discrepancy on the site, please contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office to check its records before contacting EWG.
