AbstractThis article reports the findings of a cross‐sectional regional analysis of inter‐county variations in farmers' earnings in 1959. Location relative to industrial‐urban concentrations and local demographic and economic factors were used to explain median earnings of farmers by geographic divisions in the United States. The findings indicate the following: (a) In the divisions east of the Mississippi River, the closer a county to a large city and the larger the city, the higher the farmers' earnings. The reverse is true west of the Mississippi. (b) It is truer in the South than elsewhere that local demographic factors (age, education, and color) are more important than local market conditions in explaining the levels of farmers' earnings. (c) Land and capital inputs per farm are the most important factors influencing the level of farmers' earnings. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.