| Rank |
County |
Total USDA - Subsidies
1995-2012 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Haywood County, Tennessee | $258,869,695 | 7.1% | 7.1% |
| 2 | Gibson County, Tennessee | $233,384,316 | 6.4% | 13.4% |
| 3 | | $199,990,959 | 5.5% | 18.9% |
| 4 | Crockett County, Tennessee | $197,584,567 | 5.4% | 24.3% |
| 5 | Lauderdale County, Tennessee | $188,064,925 | 5.1% | 29.4% |
| 6 | Dyer County, Tennessee | $179,755,913 | 4.9% | 34.3% |
| 7 | Fayette County, Tennessee | $156,990,169 | 4.3% | 38.6% |
| 8 | Obion County, Tennessee | $152,592,407 | 4.2% | 42.7% |
| 9 | Tipton County, Tennessee | $149,736,493 | 4.1% | 46.8% |
| 10 | Madison County, Tennessee | $136,653,852 | 3.7% | 50.6% |
| 11 | Weakley County, Tennessee | $125,222,418 | 3.4% | 54.0% |
| 12 | Carroll County, Tennessee | $105,165,426 | 2.9% | 56.8% |
| 13 | Robertson County, Tennessee | $84,327,132 | 2.3% | 59.1% |
| 14 | Lake County, Tennessee | $81,433,471 | 2.2% | 61.4% |
| 15 | Shelby County, Tennessee | $80,679,450 | 2.2% | 63.6% |
| 16 | Henry County, Tennessee | $77,912,834 | 2.1% | 65.7% |
| 17 | Hardeman County, Tennessee | $65,695,054 | 1.8% | 67.5% |
| 18 | Macon County, Tennessee | $59,988,084 | 1.6% | 69.1% |
| 19 | Tennessee NRCS | $58,387,866 | 1.6% | 70.7% |
| 20 | Franklin County, Tennessee | $54,375,109 | 1.5% | 72.2% |
| 21 | Lincoln County, Tennessee | $48,571,133 | 1.3% | 73.5% |
| 22 | Henderson County, Tennessee | $46,759,777 | 1.3% | 74.8% |
| 23 | Lawrence County, Tennessee | $46,355,167 | 1.3% | 76.1% |
| 24 | Montgomery County, Tennessee | $45,470,896 | 1.2% | 77.3% |
| 25 | McNairy County, Tennessee | $42,719,679 | 1.2% | 78.5% |
| 26 | | $40,056,966 | 1.1% | 79.5% |
| 27 | Hardin County, Tennessee | $38,982,045 | 1.1% | 80.6% |
| 28 | Coffee County, Tennessee | $37,004,417 | 1.0% | 81.6% |
| 29 | Greene County, Tennessee | $36,198,860 | 1.0% | 82.6% |
| 30 | Warren County, Tennessee | $33,083,640 | 0.9% | 83.5% |
| 31 | Giles County, Tennessee | $31,292,648 | 0.9% | 84.4% |
| 32 | Sumner County, Tennessee | $25,259,096 | 0.7% | 85.1% |
| 33 | Bedford County, Tennessee | $24,140,556 | 0.7% | 85.7% |
| 34 | Rutherford County, Tennessee | $23,053,821 | 0.6% | 86.3% |
| 35 | Washington County, Tennessee | $21,997,731 | 0.6% | 86.9% |
| 36 | Maury County, Tennessee | $20,647,824 | 0.6% | 87.5% |
| 37 | Chester County, Tennessee | $19,329,283 | 0.5% | 88.0% |
| 38 | Smith County, Tennessee | $17,712,383 | 0.5% | 88.5% |
| 39 | McMinn County, Tennessee | $17,132,213 | 0.5% | 89.0% |
| 40 | Hawkins County, Tennessee | $16,013,042 | 0.4% | 89.4% |
| 41 | Benton County, Tennessee | $15,229,683 | 0.4% | 89.8% |
| 42 | DeKalb County, Tennessee | $14,475,631 | 0.4% | 90.2% |
| 43 | Marshall County, Tennessee | $14,157,152 | 0.4% | 90.6% |
| 44 | Cannon County, Tennessee | $13,339,032 | 0.4% | 91.0% |
| 45 | Monroe County, Tennessee | $12,744,592 | 0.3% | 91.3% |
| 46 | Claiborne County, Tennessee | $12,197,538 | 0.3% | 91.7% |
| 47 | Williamson County, Tennessee | $10,941,997 | 0.3% | 92.0% |
| 48 | White County, Tennessee | $10,912,469 | 0.3% | 92.3% |
| 49 | Humphreys County, Tennessee | $10,634,125 | 0.3% | 92.5% |
| 50 | Bledsoe County, Tennessee | $10,045,106 | 0.3% | 92.8% |
| 51 | Decatur County, Tennessee | $9,829,037 | 0.3% | 93.1% |
| 52 | Polk County, Tennessee | $9,677,914 | 0.3% | 93.3% |
| 53 | Loudon County, Tennessee | $9,525,167 | 0.3% | 93.6% |
| 54 | Overton County, Tennessee | $9,254,076 | 0.3% | 93.9% |
| 55 | Cocke County, Tennessee | $9,164,562 | 0.2% | 94.1% |
| 56 | Trousdale County, Tennessee | $8,884,209 | 0.2% | 94.4% |
| 57 | Jefferson County, Tennessee | $8,845,470 | 0.2% | 94.6% |
| 58 | Hickman County, Tennessee | $8,819,621 | 0.2% | 94.8% |
| 59 | Bradley County, Tennessee | $8,777,240 | 0.2% | 95.1% |
| 60 | | $8,412,587 | 0.2% | 95.3% |
| 61 | Wayne County, Tennessee | $8,240,450 | 0.2% | 95.5% |
| 62 | Cumberland County, Tennessee | $8,166,607 | 0.2% | 95.8% |
| 63 | Clay County, Tennessee | $7,699,449 | 0.2% | 96.0% |
| 64 | Fentress County, Tennessee | $7,409,434 | 0.2% | 96.2% |
| 65 | Rhea County, Tennessee | $7,296,449 | 0.2% | 96.4% |
| 66 | Wilson County, Tennessee | $6,988,255 | 0.2% | 96.6% |
| 67 | Grundy County, Tennessee | $6,915,254 | 0.2% | 96.7% |
| 68 | Stewart County, Tennessee | $6,915,170 | 0.2% | 96.9% |
| 69 | Grainger County, Tennessee | $6,912,480 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 70 | Hamblen County, Tennessee | $6,782,047 | 0.2% | 97.3% |
| 71 | Dickson County, Tennessee | $6,435,869 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 72 | Blount County, Tennessee | $6,421,531 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 73 | Sullivan County, Tennessee | $6,057,263 | 0.2% | 97.8% |
| 74 | Putnam County, Tennessee | $6,006,922 | 0.2% | 98.0% |
| 75 | Hancock County, Tennessee | $5,791,723 | 0.2% | 98.1% |
| 76 | Johnson County, Tennessee | $5,244,335 | 0.1% | 98.3% |
| 77 | Marion County, Tennessee | $5,024,964 | 0.1% | 98.4% |
| 78 | Jackson County, Tennessee | $4,987,393 | 0.1% | 98.6% |
| 79 | Cheatham County, Tennessee | $4,973,567 | 0.1% | 98.7% |
| 80 | Pickett County, Tennessee | $4,947,008 | 0.1% | 98.8% |
| 81 | Perry County, Tennessee | $4,796,361 | 0.1% | 99.0% |
| 82 | Meigs County, Tennessee | $4,276,390 | 0.1% | 99.1% |
| 83 | Knox County, Tennessee | $3,549,632 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 84 | Carter County, Tennessee | $3,486,027 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 85 | Sequatchie County, Tennessee | $2,515,854 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 86 | Union County, Tennessee | $2,469,136 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 87 | Moore County, Tennessee | $2,407,813 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 88 | Morgan County, Tennessee | $2,374,614 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 89 | Van Buren County, Tennessee | $2,225,433 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 90 | Sevier County, Tennessee | $2,202,005 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 91 | Hamilton County, Tennessee | $2,106,801 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 92 | Houston County, Tennessee | $1,936,586 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 93 | Lewis County, Tennessee | $1,833,277 | 0.0% | 99.8% |
| 94 | Roane County, Tennessee | $1,663,853 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 95 | Campbell County, Tennessee | $1,312,346 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 96 | Scott County, Tennessee | $1,225,880 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 97 | Davidson County, Tennessee | $1,137,193 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 98 | Anderson County, Tennessee | $806,915 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 99 | Unicoi County, Tennessee | $618,023 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
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.
