Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2007

Excerpts from Study Summary:

"The United States has a total land area of nearly 2.3 billion acres. In 2007, the major land uses were forestland at 671 million acres (30 percent); grassland pasture and rangeland at 614 million (27 percent); cropland at 408 million (18 percent); special uses (primarily parks and wildlife areas) at 313 million acres (14 percent); miscellaneous uses (like tundra or swamps) at 197 million acres (9 percent); and urban land at 61 million acres (3 percent). This report presents findings from the most recent (2007) inventory of U.S. major land uses, drawing on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, public land management and conservation agencies, and other sources. The data are synthesized by State to estimate the use of several broad classes and subclasses of agricultural and nonagricultural land over time. National and regional trends in land use are compared with earlier major land-use estimates."

"Special-Use Areas. Special-use areas include rural transportation, national/State parks, wilderness and wildlife areas, national defense and industrial areas, and farmsteads and farm roads. Over all 50 States, special-use areas have increased nearly threefold since 1959, including a fourfold increase in rural parks and fish and wildlife areas. Over 2002-07, special-use areas increased more than 16 million acres (6 percent). Some of the estimated rise in special-use areas from 2002 to 2007 was driven by improved data, leading to a reclassification of miscellaneous and other land, which declined by 31 million acres (14 percent) over the same period."

The detailed dataset used to produce this report is available as well at the link below.