Median farm household income is forecast to reach $76,594 in 2018. In nominal terms, that income level represents an increase of 0.8% from its 2017 level; in inflation-adjusted terms, it is a 1.5% decrease. The total median income of U.S. farm households increased steadily over 2010-14, reaching an estimated $81,637 in 2014 in nominal terms. Median farm household income then fell 6% in 2015 and has remained relatively flat since. 

Farm households typically receive income from both farm and off-farm sources. Median farm income earned by farm households is estimated at -$800 in 2017 in nominal terms and is forecast to decline to -$1,548 in 2018. In recent years, slightly more than half of farm households have had negative farm income each year. Many of these households rely on off-farm income—and median off-farm income is forecast to increase 2.8% from $67,500 in 2017 to $69,418 in 2018. (Because farm and off-farm income are not distributed identically for every farm, median total income will generally not equal the sum of median off-farm and median farm income.)

See the Farm Household Income and Characteristics data product tables for financial statistics of farm operator households.