Major Uses of Land in the United States, 1992

Major uses of the Nation's nearly 2.3 billion acres of land in 1992 were: cropland, 460 million acres (20 percent); grassland pasture and range, 591 million acres (26 percent); forest-use land (total forest land exclusive of forested areas in parks and some other special uses), 648 million acres (29 percent); special uses (which includes parks, wilderness, wildlife and related uses), 281 million acres (12 percent); and miscellaneous other land (which includes urban land), 283 million acres (13 percent). U.S. cropland composition was quite stable, but total area declined from 464 million acres in 1987. Grassland pasture and range, forest-use land, and miscellaneous other land were basically unchanged in aggregate. Special-use area increased less than 1 percent from 1987