Tens of thousands of people in major urban areas are receiving farm subsidies, despite not living or working on a farm, new analysis shows.
Tens of thousands of Americans in the country's largest metropolitan areas are receiving federal farm subsidies, despite not living or working on a farm, new analysis has revealed.by the research and advocacy organization Environmental Working Group found that over 92,000 people living in urban areas received more than $2.6 billion in federal farm subsidies between 2020 and 2025.
's second term as president, the EWG noted that his One Big Beautiful Bill Act enlarged preexisting loopholes, making it even easier for those not living or working on farms to claim the financial benefits. The bill also increased payment limits, allowing those not working or living on farms to get even more money from the government. Supporters of the changes have argued that the expanded eligibility reflects the way many modern family farms are legally organized.
They say that farms frequently operate as S corporations, limited liability companies or other business entities for tax, liability and succession-planning reasons, and that allowing all qualifying members of those operations to receive support helps ensure federal farm programs keep pace with contemporary agricultural business structures rather than favoring only traditionally organized farms. The EWG reported that the number of subsidy recipients in urban areas increased by more than 13,000 in 2025 compared to previous analysis.has contacted the White House via email outside of regular working hours for comment.
EWG's analysis of the 200 largest U.S. metropolitan areas found that the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington region had the largest number of urban subsidy recipients between 2020 and 2025, with 7,158 people receiving over $107 million. Chicago ranked second with 4,276 recipients collecting $36 million between 2020 and 2025, followed by Kansas City with 3,474 recipients receiving $31 million. Other major metropolitan areas with significant numbers of recipients included Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Houston.
When measured by the total value of payments rather than the number of recipients, those living in Amarillo, Texas, received a significant amount in subsidies—more than $211 million. Meanwhile, those in urban areas of California also collected notable benefits. Americans in Fresno received roughly $198 million in farm subsidies, while those in Visalia received more than $209 million.
"; however, as the data suggests, it seems to be rather easy to qualify as someone in that category, despite never living or working on a farm.to a Congressional Research Service report, individuals can qualify for payments if they make contributions of capital, land, labor or management to a farming operation and share in its profits and risks.
Special exemptions also exist for spouses, while partnerships and joint ventures can enable farms to qualify for larger overall payments by adding additional eligible members, each of whom may receive a separate payment limit.that around one-quarter of farm subsidy recipients do not contribute any personal labor to farms, while another report issued last month found that a tariff relief program from Trump’s first term had an improper payment rate of 19.3 percent. Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act also expanded eligibility for price support programs further, so that every member of a farm organized as a joint venture, S corporation or limited liability corporation could collect funds, and increased annual payment limits from $125,000 to $155,000 per person.
The impact of this is that more money will likely go to larger, more successful farms, while smaller farms that are struggling may not reap the same level of benefit. The EWG has warned that, without changes to the eligibility requirements for these subsidies, billions of dollars worth of subsidies, designed to help struggling farmers, will continue to go to city dwellers who have nothing to do with farming.
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Map shows where millions to swelter under dangerous heatwave this weekendDangerous heat is forecast to expand from the interior West into the Midwest and parts of the East.
Read more »
Map shows 'explosive' diarrhea hotspots as cases surgeA rapid surge in cyclospora cases across multiple states has triggered a federal investigation into a potential food outbreak.
Read more »
The Stellar New Restaurant That’s Put a Museum on the MapZoli, which now anchors the sprawling East Williamsburg art space Amant, earns its experimental flourishes by delivering pleasure at every turn.
Read more »
Find a pint at the edge of the map in these remote pubsA pint is never as satisfying as when it’s well earned — whether at the end of a long climb, a windswept ridge walk or a lonely road through the mountains.
Read more »