This publication presents the results of the latest (2002) inventory of U.S. major land uses, drawing on data from the Census, public land management and conservation agencies, and other sources. The data are synthesized by State to calculate the use of several broad classes and subclasses of agricultural and nonagricultural land over time. The United States has a total land area of nearly 2.3 billion acres. Major uses in 2002 were forest-use land, 651 million acres (28.8 percent); grassland pasture and range land, 587 million acres (25.9 percent); cropland, 442 million acres (19.5 percent); special uses (primarily parks and wildlife areas), 297 million acres (13.1 percent); miscellaneous other uses, 228 million acres (10.1 percent); and urban land, 60 million acres (2.6 percent). National and regional trends in land use are discussed in comparison with earlier major land-use estimates.
Publications
Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2002
Publication Name
ERS Statistical Bulletin
Downloadable Documents
Links
Author
Ruben N. Lubowski, Marlow Vesterby, Shawn Bucholtz
Publisher
Washington, DC: USDA Economic Research Service
Page Numbers
i, 47
Publication Date
May 01, 2006
Publication Type
Reports and Guides
et al. Author(s)
Alba Baez and Michael J. Roberts
State
National
Keywords
Agricultural Statistics, Land Use Changes