| Rank |
County |
Total USDA - Subsidies
2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Southampton County, Virginia | $6,325,984 | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| 2 | Pittsylvania County, Virginia | $5,531,862 | 5.7% | 12.2% |
| 3 | Accomack County, Virginia | $4,214,985 | 4.3% | 16.5% |
| 4 | Halifax County, Virginia | $4,157,615 | 4.3% | 20.8% |
| 5 | Suffolk City, Virginia | $3,046,625 | 3.1% | 23.9% |
| 6 | Isle of Wight County, Virginia | $3,015,078 | 3.1% | 27.0% |
| 7 | Sussex County, Virginia | $2,941,519 | 3.0% | 30.1% |
| 8 | Northampton County, Virginia | $2,935,479 | 3.0% | 33.1% |
| 9 | Mecklenburg County, Virginia | $2,792,411 | 2.9% | 35.9% |
| 10 | Essex County, Virginia | $2,293,766 | 2.4% | 38.3% |
| 11 | Dinwiddie County, Virginia | $2,154,290 | 2.2% | 40.5% |
| 12 | Greensville County, Virginia | $2,148,547 | 2.2% | 42.7% |
| 13 | Franklin County, Virginia | $2,124,174 | 2.2% | 44.9% |
| 14 | Caroline County, Virginia | $2,106,086 | 2.2% | 47.1% |
| 15 | Surry County, Virginia | $2,091,111 | 2.2% | 49.2% |
| 16 | Northumberland County, Virginia | $2,068,598 | 2.1% | 51.4% |
| 17 | Brunswick County, Virginia | $2,051,129 | 2.1% | 53.5% |
| 18 | Westmoreland County, Virginia | $2,050,304 | 2.1% | 55.6% |
| 19 | Hanover County, Virginia | $1,916,900 | 2.0% | 57.5% |
| 20 | King William County, Virginia | $1,788,527 | 1.8% | 59.4% |
| 21 | Augusta County, Virginia | $1,642,333 | 1.7% | 61.1% |
| 22 | King and Queen County, Virginia | $1,590,563 | 1.6% | 62.7% |
| 23 | Richmond County, Virginia | $1,525,593 | 1.6% | 64.3% |
| 24 | Charlotte County, Virginia | $1,496,497 | 1.5% | 65.8% |
| 25 | Amelia County, Virginia | $1,467,099 | 1.5% | 67.3% |
| 26 | Rockingham County, Virginia | $1,434,360 | 1.5% | 68.8% |
| 27 | Fauquier County, Virginia | $1,223,436 | 1.3% | 70.1% |
| 28 | Campbell County, Virginia | $1,144,795 | 1.2% | 71.2% |
| 29 | Chesapeake City, Virginia | $1,116,981 | 1.1% | 72.4% |
| 30 | Shenandoah County, Virginia | $1,068,858 | 1.1% | 73.5% |
| 31 | Lunenburg County, Virginia | $1,015,289 | 1.0% | 74.5% |
| 32 | Culpeper County, Virginia | $966,652 | 1.0% | 75.5% |
| 33 | Washington County, Virginia | $966,267 | 1.0% | 76.5% |
| 34 | Charles City County, Virginia | $943,702 | 1.0% | 77.5% |
| 35 | Prince George County, Virginia | $924,884 | 1.0% | 78.4% |
| 36 | Louisa County, Virginia | $856,801 | 0.9% | 79.3% |
| 37 | Albemarle County, Virginia | $836,966 | 0.9% | 80.2% |
| 38 | Patrick County, Virginia | $822,898 | 0.8% | 81.0% |
| 39 | Prince Edward County, Virginia | $767,561 | 0.8% | 81.8% |
| 40 | Lancaster County, Virginia | $756,139 | 0.8% | 82.6% |
| 41 | Virginia Beach City, Virginia | $701,032 | 0.7% | 83.3% |
| 42 | Frederick County, Virginia | $698,168 | 0.7% | 84.0% |
| 43 | Bedford County, Virginia | $690,047 | 0.7% | 84.7% |
| 44 | Middlesex County, Virginia | $676,864 | 0.7% | 85.4% |
| 45 | Scott County, Virginia | $669,346 | 0.7% | 86.1% |
| 46 | Orange County, Virginia | $649,419 | 0.7% | 86.8% |
| 47 | Russell County, Virginia | $649,209 | 0.7% | 87.5% |
| 48 | New Kent County, Virginia | $631,432 | 0.6% | 88.1% |
| 49 | Madison County, Virginia | $625,303 | 0.6% | 88.7% |
| 50 | Goochland County, Virginia | $600,476 | 0.6% | 89.4% |
| 51 | Nottoway County, Virginia | $563,800 | 0.6% | 89.9% |
| 52 | Henrico County, Virginia | $547,333 | 0.6% | 90.5% |
| 53 | Gloucester County, Virginia | $536,673 | 0.6% | 91.1% |
| 54 | Smyth County, Virginia | $510,816 | 0.5% | 91.6% |
| 55 | Carroll County, Virginia | $510,454 | 0.5% | 92.1% |
| 56 | King George County, Virginia | $500,735 | 0.5% | 92.6% |
| 57 | Lee County, Virginia | $452,830 | 0.5% | 93.1% |
| 58 | Loudoun County, Virginia | $424,145 | 0.4% | 93.5% |
| 59 | Rockbridge County, Virginia | $414,818 | 0.4% | 94.0% |
| 60 | Spotsylvania County, Virginia | $378,452 | 0.4% | 94.3% |
| 61 | Wythe County, Virginia | $373,343 | 0.4% | 94.7% |
| 62 | Clarke County, Virginia | $343,187 | 0.4% | 95.1% |
| 63 | Botetourt County, Virginia | $324,335 | 0.3% | 95.4% |
| 64 | Cumberland County, Virginia | $310,430 | 0.3% | 95.7% |
| 65 | Appomattox County, Virginia | $291,388 | 0.3% | 96.0% |
| 66 | Nelson County, Virginia | $262,083 | 0.3% | 96.3% |
| 67 | Powhatan County, Virginia | $254,161 | 0.3% | 96.6% |
| 68 | Page County, Virginia | $243,242 | 0.3% | 96.8% |
| 69 | Buckingham County, Virginia | $240,534 | 0.2% | 97.1% |
| 70 | Fluvanna County, Virginia | $226,396 | 0.2% | 97.3% |
| 71 | Grayson County, Virginia | $215,907 | 0.2% | 97.5% |
| 72 | Montgomery County, Virginia | $214,680 | 0.2% | 97.7% |
| 73 | Chesterfield County, Virginia | $210,407 | 0.2% | 97.9% |
| 74 | Stafford County, Virginia | $203,804 | 0.2% | 98.2% |
| 75 | Tazewell County, Virginia | $191,337 | 0.2% | 98.4% |
| 76 | Prince William County, Virginia | $187,851 | 0.2% | 98.5% |
| 77 | Highland County, Virginia | $179,041 | 0.2% | 98.7% |
| 78 | James City County, Virginia | $176,410 | 0.2% | 98.9% |
| 79 | Henry County, Virginia | $167,870 | 0.2% | 99.1% |
| 80 | Amherst County, Virginia | $124,691 | 0.1% | 99.2% |
| 81 | Bland County, Virginia | $119,038 | 0.1% | 99.3% |
| 82 | Mathews County, Virginia | $89,201 | 0.1% | 99.4% |
| 83 | Greene County, Virginia | $83,025 | 0.1% | 99.5% |
| 84 | Floyd County, Virginia | $82,482 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 85 | Pulaski County, Virginia | $82,020 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 86 | Rappahannock County, Virginia | $81,326 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 87 | Bath County, Virginia | $66,714 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 88 | Craig County, Virginia | $42,971 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 89 | Buchanan County, Virginia | $30,182 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 90 | Alleghany County, Virginia | $29,118 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 91 | Wise County, Virginia | $14,003 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 92 | Warren County, Virginia | $11,967 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 93 | Roanoke County, Virginia | $11,661 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 94 | Dickenson County, Virginia | $9,401 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 95 | Giles County, Virginia | $8,188 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 96 | York County, Virginia | $2,119 | 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.
