| Rank |
County |
Total USDA - Subsidies
1995-2011 | Pct of
Total | Running
Percentage |
| 1 | Jefferson County, West Virginia | $25,510,255 | 14.2% | 14.2% |
| 2 | West Virginia NRCS | $22,100,359 | 12.3% | 26.5% |
| 3 | Berkeley County, West Virginia | $15,986,417 | 8.9% | 35.5% |
| 4 | Hampshire County, West Virginia | $13,282,282 | 7.4% | 42.9% |
| 5 | Mason County, West Virginia | $12,125,799 | 6.8% | 49.6% |
| 6 | Hardy County, West Virginia | $9,576,586 | 5.3% | 55.0% |
| 7 | Greenbrier County, West Virginia | $7,154,022 | 4.0% | 58.9% |
| 8 | Monroe County, West Virginia | $6,821,239 | 3.8% | 62.7% |
| 9 | Grant County, West Virginia | $5,903,535 | 3.3% | 66.0% |
| 10 | Pendleton County, West Virginia | $5,867,205 | 3.3% | 69.3% |
| 11 | Preston County, West Virginia | $4,999,351 | 2.8% | 72.1% |
| 12 | Lincoln County, West Virginia | $3,630,445 | 2.0% | 74.1% |
| 13 | Mineral County, West Virginia | $3,597,552 | 2.0% | 76.1% |
| 14 | Pocahontas County, West Virginia | $3,591,107 | 2.0% | 78.1% |
| 15 | Jackson County, West Virginia | $3,191,643 | 1.8% | 79.9% |
| 16 | Putnam County, West Virginia | $2,990,337 | 1.7% | 81.6% |
| 17 | Randolph County, West Virginia | $2,501,883 | 1.4% | 83.0% |
| 18 | Roane County, West Virginia | $1,860,688 | 1.0% | 84.0% |
| 19 | Cabell County, West Virginia | $1,712,563 | 1.0% | 85.0% |
| 20 | Marshall County, West Virginia | $1,672,732 | 0.9% | 85.9% |
| 21 | Harrison County, West Virginia | $1,573,768 | 0.9% | 86.8% |
| 22 | Morgan County, West Virginia | $1,527,339 | 0.9% | 87.6% |
| 23 | Barbour County, West Virginia | $1,470,834 | 0.8% | 88.4% |
| 24 | Braxton County, West Virginia | $1,443,909 | 0.8% | 89.2% |
| 25 | Summers County, West Virginia | $1,423,440 | 0.8% | 90.0% |
| 26 | Nicholas County, West Virginia | $1,414,667 | 0.8% | 90.8% |
| 27 | Mercer County, West Virginia | $1,194,062 | 0.7% | 91.5% |
| 28 | Gilmer County, West Virginia | $1,182,544 | 0.7% | 92.1% |
| 29 | Ohio County, West Virginia | $1,182,434 | 0.7% | 92.8% |
| 30 | Wood County, West Virginia | $988,695 | 0.6% | 93.4% |
| 31 | Upshur County, West Virginia | $902,711 | 0.5% | 93.9% |
| 32 | Taylor County, West Virginia | $899,003 | 0.5% | 94.4% |
| 33 | Wayne County, West Virginia | $855,927 | 0.5% | 94.8% |
| 34 | Lewis County, West Virginia | $810,741 | 0.5% | 95.3% |
| 35 | Raleigh County, West Virginia | $771,150 | 0.4% | 95.7% |
| 36 | Wirt County, West Virginia | $771,073 | 0.4% | 96.2% |
| 37 | Monongalia County, West Virginia | $721,188 | 0.4% | 96.6% |
| 38 | Tyler County, West Virginia | $682,418 | 0.4% | 96.9% |
| 39 | Ritchie County, West Virginia | $629,692 | 0.4% | 97.3% |
| 40 | Calhoun County, West Virginia | $617,676 | 0.3% | 97.6% |
| 41 | Brooke County, West Virginia | $566,159 | 0.3% | 97.9% |
| 42 | Marion County, West Virginia | $541,407 | 0.3% | 98.2% |
| 43 | Tucker County, West Virginia | $524,349 | 0.3% | 98.5% |
| 44 | Fayette County, West Virginia | $475,555 | 0.3% | 98.8% |
| 45 | Kanawha County, West Virginia | $435,462 | 0.2% | 99.0% |
| 46 | Doddridge County, West Virginia | $407,835 | 0.2% | 99.3% |
| 47 | Clay County, West Virginia | $361,489 | 0.2% | 99.5% |
| 48 | Webster County, West Virginia | $238,207 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 49 | Wetzel County, West Virginia | $237,832 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 50 | Pleasants County, West Virginia | $200,753 | 0.1% | 99.9% |
| 51 | Hancock County, West Virginia | $85,046 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 52 | Wyoming County, West Virginia | $71,329 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 53 | Boone County, West Virginia | $54,814 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 54 | Logan County, West Virginia | $31,815 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 55 | McDowell County, West Virginia | $16,089 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Source: Environmental Working Group. Compiled from USDA data.
Note: The information on conservation spending for 2011 is 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 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.
