Major Uses of Land in the United States: 1987

Major uses of the Nation's nearly 2.3 billion acres of land in 1987 were: cropland, 464 million acres (20 percent); grassland pasture and range, 591 million acres (26 percent); forest land (exclusive of areas in parks and some other special uses), 648 million acres (29 percent); special uses, 279 million acres (12 percent); and miscellaneous other land, 282 million acres (13 percent). During 1982-87, changes in U.S. cropland, grassland pasture and range, and forest land acreages were quite small, but land in these uses declined. By contrast, special uses (which include parks, wilderness, wildlife, and related uses) and miscellaneous other land (which includes urban land) increased by a combined 3 percent.