| Rank |
County |
Total USDA - Subsidies 1995-2011 | Pct of Total | Running Percentage |
| 1 | Dane County, Wisconsin | $353,565,808 | 5.3% | 5.3% |
| 2 | Grant County, Wisconsin | $290,859,501 | 4.4% | 9.7% |
| 3 | Rock County, Wisconsin | $266,687,477 | 4.0% | 13.7% |
| 4 | Lafayette County, Wisconsin | $249,809,217 | 3.8% | 17.5% |
| 5 | Dodge County, Wisconsin | $221,398,041 | 3.3% | 20.8% |
| 6 | Green County, Wisconsin | $190,728,974 | 2.9% | 23.7% |
| 7 | Columbia County, Wisconsin | $181,322,174 | 2.7% | 26.4% |
| 8 | Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin | $180,361,074 | 2.7% | 29.1% |
| 9 | Iowa County, Wisconsin | $175,725,753 | 2.6% | 31.8% |
| 10 | Marathon County, Wisconsin | $169,178,426 | 2.5% | 34.3% |
| 11 | Outagamie County, Wisconsin | $165,544,306 | 2.5% | 36.8% |
| 12 | Saint Croix County, Wisconsin | $157,899,805 | 2.4% | 39.2% |
| 13 | Walworth County, Wisconsin | $156,358,506 | 2.4% | 41.5% |
| 14 | Dunn County, Wisconsin | $153,007,605 | 2.3% | 43.8% |
| 15 | Chippewa County, Wisconsin | $141,927,028 | 2.1% | 46.0% |
| 16 | Jefferson County, Wisconsin | $139,942,455 | 2.1% | 48.1% |
| 17 | Trempealeau County, Wisconsin | $136,136,287 | 2.0% | 50.1% |
| 18 | Sauk County, Wisconsin | $132,837,084 | 2.0% | 52.1% |
| 19 | Clark County, Wisconsin | $130,278,232 | 2.0% | 54.1% |
| 20 | Pierce County, Wisconsin | $124,456,862 | 1.9% | 56.0% |
| 21 | Manitowoc County, Wisconsin | $124,410,798 | 1.9% | 57.8% |
| 22 | Barron County, Wisconsin | $120,681,675 | 1.8% | 59.6% |
| 23 | Brown County, Wisconsin | $118,400,103 | 1.8% | 61.4% |
| 24 | Shawano County, Wisconsin | $117,786,203 | 1.8% | 63.2% |
| 25 | Wisconsin NRCS | $116,136,989 | 1.7% | 64.9% |
| 26 | Polk County, Wisconsin | $100,567,451 | 1.5% | 66.5% |
| 27 | Monroe County, Wisconsin | $96,920,537 | 1.5% | 67.9% |
| 28 | Waupaca County, Wisconsin | $96,785,989 | 1.5% | 69.4% |
| 29 | Buffalo County, Wisconsin | $95,582,144 | 1.4% | 70.8% |
| 30 | Vernon County, Wisconsin | $93,019,847 | 1.4% | 72.2% |
| 31 | Winnebago County, Wisconsin | $91,937,066 | 1.4% | 73.6% |
| 32 | Oconto County, Wisconsin | $90,600,124 | 1.4% | 75.0% |
| 33 | Kewaunee County, Wisconsin | $87,229,680 | 1.3% | 76.3% |
| 34 | Sheboygan County, Wisconsin | $84,653,847 | 1.3% | 77.5% |
| 35 | Calumet County, Wisconsin | $80,508,909 | 1.2% | 78.8% |
| 36 | Racine County, Wisconsin | $76,884,865 | 1.2% | 79.9% |
| 37 | Eau Claire County, Wisconsin | $74,945,842 | 1.1% | 81.0% |
| 38 | Portage County, Wisconsin | $74,727,428 | 1.1% | 82.2% |
| 39 | Green Lake County, Wisconsin | $73,366,683 | 1.1% | 83.3% |
| 40 | Jackson County, Wisconsin | $73,363,413 | 1.1% | 84.4% |
| 41 | Richland County, Wisconsin | $72,657,390 | 1.1% | 85.5% |
| 42 | Juneau County, Wisconsin | $70,778,806 | 1.1% | 86.5% |
| 43 | Wood County, Wisconsin | $69,044,633 | 1.0% | 87.6% |
| 44 | Crawford County, Wisconsin | $59,988,375 | 0.9% | 88.5% |
| 45 | Taylor County, Wisconsin | $58,067,301 | 0.9% | 89.3% |
| 46 | Washington County, Wisconsin | $57,420,476 | 0.9% | 90.2% |
| 47 | Waukesha County, Wisconsin | $56,446,735 | 0.8% | 91.1% |
| 48 | Kenosha County, Wisconsin | $56,310,277 | 0.8% | 91.9% |
| 49 | Door County, Wisconsin | $52,411,957 | 0.8% | 92.7% |
| 50 | La Crosse County, Wisconsin | $50,992,733 | 0.8% | 93.5% |
| 51 | Waushara County, Wisconsin | $50,667,349 | 0.8% | 94.2% |
| 52 | Marquette County, Wisconsin | $49,871,313 | 0.8% | 95.0% |
| 53 | Marinette County, Wisconsin | $48,510,172 | 0.7% | 95.7% |
| 54 | Pepin County, Wisconsin | $46,056,705 | 0.7% | 96.4% |
| 55 | Adams County, Wisconsin | $45,755,211 | 0.7% | 97.1% |
| 56 | Ozaukee County, Wisconsin | $35,860,735 | 0.5% | 97.6% |
| 57 | Rusk County, Wisconsin | $31,860,390 | 0.5% | 98.1% |
| 58 | Langlade County, Wisconsin | $25,294,461 | 0.4% | 98.5% |
| 59 | Burnett County, Wisconsin | $22,566,021 | 0.3% | 98.8% |
| 60 | Washburn County, Wisconsin | $18,698,432 | 0.3% | 99.1% |
| 61 | Lincoln County, Wisconsin | $15,429,407 | 0.2% | 99.3% |
| 62 | Sawyer County, Wisconsin | $10,437,348 | 0.2% | 99.5% |
| 63 | Price County, Wisconsin | $8,557,539 | 0.1% | 99.6% |
| 64 | Bayfield County, Wisconsin | $7,175,875 | 0.1% | 99.7% |
| 65 | Ashland County, Wisconsin | $4,675,624 | 0.1% | 99.8% |
| 66 | Oneida County, Wisconsin | $3,320,433 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 67 | Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | $2,476,697 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 68 | Douglas County, Wisconsin | $1,936,855 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 69 | Vilas County, Wisconsin | $1,786,798 | 0.0% | 99.9% |
| 70 | Florence County, Wisconsin | $1,316,226 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 71 | Forest County, Wisconsin | $1,304,096 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 72 | Iron County, Wisconsin | $904,535 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 73 | Menominee County, Wisconsin | $145,223 | 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.