Land use in United States
United States: Land use was 154.73 million hectares in 2023. ▼ Falling
Land use in United States, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, land use in United States stood at 154.73 million hectares. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in United States peaked at 191.01 million hectares in 1969 and was at its lowest, 154.73 million hectares, in 2022.
United States ranks 2nd of 223 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 181.04 million hectares | 176.31 million hectares | 191.01 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 189.27 million hectares | 188.22 million hectares | 190.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 189.36 million hectares | 187.78 million hectares | 190.62 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 183.37 million hectares | 178.07 million hectares | 187.78 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 170.16 million hectares | 161.77 million hectares | 178.10 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 159.14 million hectares | 157.71 million hectares | 160.44 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 155.59 million hectares | 154.73 million hectares | 157.01 million hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 5,913 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 17.39 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 257.35 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 9.47 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 418.87 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 1.54 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 843.36 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 3.59 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 149.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in United States?
- Land use in United States was 154.73 million hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 191.01 million hectares in 1969.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 154.73 million hectares in 2022.
- How does United States rank for land use?
- United States ranks 2nd out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).