What percent of the US's economy is agriculture and farming?

1 Answer
May 4, 2016

The contribution or proportion of agriculture in relation to the US's economy depends on your measurements.

Explanation:

Exact numbers will differ depending on the measurements and methods used. If one considers agriculture (fishing, forestry, and other related industries) as opposed to farming only, calculations will differ. Generally, agriculture is reported to account for roughly 1% of the US economy.

Data on the value added by industry reports that farms contributed 1.0% in 2014 and 0.9% in 2015. Value added is the contribution of the industry's labor and capital to its gross output and to the overall gross domestic product of the US. See the data from the US Department of Commerce here.

The World Factbook also estimates that agriculture accounts for 1.6% of the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015.

The US Department of Agriculture reports slightly higher numbers. Fir example, in 2014, agriculture and agriculture-related industries contributed 4.8% of GDP.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/detail.aspx?chartId=40037&ref=collection&embed=True