Data report · 2026
The state of U.S. drone spraying: cost & operator report
What agricultural drone spraying costs per acre across the country, how each state compares to the national benchmark, and how big the for-hire operator network has become — drawn from extension custom-rate surveys and FAA records.
Operator figures reflect 3,593 active listings (2,561 with verified FAA Part 137 status) as of the last update. Rates are application-only; product and chemical are extra.
Key numbers, free to cite
- Drone spraying costs $12–$18 per acre for U.S. row crops in 2026 (application only); orchards and specialty crops run $18–$35.
- Ag Drone Sprayers has verified FAA Part 137 agricultural-aircraft status for 2,561 U.S. drone operations — the largest verified count published anywhere — among 3,593 tracked active listings across 50 states.
- U.S. drone-sprayed acreage hit 16.4 million acres in 2025, up ~59% year over year (American Spray Drone Coalition).
- FAA-registered agricultural spray drones grew from ~1,000 to ~5,500 from 2024 to 2025.
Cite as “Ag Drone Sprayers, U.S. Drone Spraying Cost & Operator Report (2026)” with a link. Press & custom state-level cuts: hello@agdronesprayers.com.
What drone spraying costs per acre
For standard row crops — corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum — agricultural drone application generally runs $12–$18 per acre, with a national typical near $12.50. Denser specialty canopies — orchards and vineyards — run higher, about $18–$35 per acre, because slower passes and lower per-acre throughput cost more to cover.
The biggest single lever is the state: labor, fuel, terrain, and how competitive the local aerial-application market is move the rate well above or below the national line. Carrier volume (gallons per acre) and restricted-use pesticide handling shift it further.
Drone spraying cost by state
Typical row-crop rate per acre for the 46 states with researched pricing, sorted highest to lowest. “vs national” compares each state to the $12.50 national row-crop benchmark (Iowa State Custom Rate Survey).
| State | Typical $/acre | Relative | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $25.00($18–$34) | +100% | |
| Connecticut | $24.00($18–$32) | +92% | |
| Massachusetts | $23.00($17–$31) | +84% | |
| New Hampshire | $23.00($17–$31) | +84% | |
| Vermont | $22.00($16–$30) | +76% | |
| Maine | $20.00($15–$28) | +60% | |
| California | $18.00($14–$22) | +44% | |
| Florida | $17.00($13–$28) | +36% | |
| New Jersey | $17.00($12–$27) | +36% | |
| Washington | $17.00($14–$22) | +36% | |
| West Virginia | $16.50($12–$28) | +32% | |
| Nevada | $16.00($12–$23) | +28% | |
| New York | $16.00($12–$24) | +28% | |
| North Carolina | $16.00($11–$26) | +28% | |
| Oregon | $16.00($13–$20) | +28% | |
| Pennsylvania | $16.00($12–$25) | +28% | |
| Utah | $16.00($12–$22) | +28% | |
| Virginia | $16.00($11–$27) | +28% | |
| Wisconsin | $16.00($11–$22) | +28% | |
| Missouri | $15.50($11–$19) | +24% | |
| Arizona | $15.00($10–$25) | +20% | |
| Idaho | $15.00($12–$20) | +20% | |
| Michigan | $15.00($11–$21) | +20% | |
| Ohio | $15.00($7–$20) | +20% | |
| South Carolina | $15.00($11–$25) | +20% | |
| Alabama | $14.00($10–$24) | +12% | |
| Maryland | $14.00($10–$24) | +12% | |
| Minnesota | $14.00($10–$20) | +12% | |
| New Mexico | $14.00($9–$23) | +12% | |
| Delaware | $13.50($10–$22) | +8% | |
| Indiana | $13.31($9–$20) | +6% | |
| Georgia | $13.00($10–$22) | ~national | |
| Illinois | $13.00($10–$18) | ~national | |
| Nebraska | $13.00($9–$18) | ~national | |
| South Dakota | $13.00($8–$18) | ~national | |
| Iowa | $12.50($8–$18) | ~national | |
| Kansas | $12.50($8.5–$16) | ~national | |
| Colorado | $12.00($8–$18) | ~national | |
| Kentucky | $12.00($9–$16) | ~national | |
| Louisiana | $12.00($9–$17) | ~national | |
| Oklahoma | $12.00($8–$16) | ~national | |
| Tennessee | $12.00($9–$17) | ~national | |
| Texas | $12.00($8–$21) | ~national | |
| Arkansas | $11.00($9–$16) | −12% | |
| Mississippi | $11.00($8–$16) | −12% | |
| North Dakota | $11.00($6–$18) | −12% |
States without a researched survey are estimated from the nearest same-region state and aren’t listed here. Use the cost calculator for any state.
Where the operators are
The 3,593 active operators we track cluster where row-crop acreage and aerial application are densest — but the map fills in coast to coast, and thinner-coverage states are exactly where rates run highest.
Here are the top 15 states by number of agricultural drone operators.
Of all tracked operators, 2,721 advertise for-hire spraying and 2,561 carry a verified FAA Part 137 agricultural-aircraft status — the certification required to apply crop inputs for compensation.
How fast the industry is growing
Drone spraying is the fastest-growing application method in U.S. agriculture. The American Spray Drone Coalition’s 2025 survey put drone-sprayed acreage at 16.4 million acres in 2025 — up about 59% from 10.3 million the year before — and counted 1,710 FAA Part 137 drone operations nationwide. FAA registration data tells the same story from the aircraft side: registered agricultural spray drones grew from ~1,000 to ~5,500 between 2024 to 2025.
The equipment is compounding, too. Flagship spray-drone tank capacity has grown roughly 5x in four years (the current 26-gallon class covers ~70 acres an hour), and FAA-approved swarm operations already let one pilot fly three drones at once. Each season, the same operator covers more acres for less — which is why the per-acre rates in this report keep pace with, and increasingly undercut, traditional application methods.
Methodology & sources
Per-acre rates are researched per state and crop class from land-grant university extension custom-rate surveys, drone-operator pricing, and aerial-applicator rates. The national row-crop anchor is the Iowa State University 2026 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey. Each state is confidence-tagged; where no state survey exists, the rate is estimated from the nearest same-region state and excluded from the table above.
Operator counts come from the Ag Drone Sprayers directory, compiled from public records and cross-checked against FAA Part 137 / Part 107 data and state Department of Agriculture registrations. Counts reflect active listings at the last daily refresh and exclude listings hidden for missing location or for-hire signals.
Part 137 status is verified, never assumed. We mark it only on a confirmed match to the FAA certificate record. Tracked listings without it are typically compiled from state applicator registries where the certificate is held under a different name — an owner’s personal name, a parent company, or the certificated operation a pilot flies under — or haven’t been matched yet; a small share offer only non-dispensing services (mapping, scouting) that require Part 107 but not Part 137. When citing a count of certificated operations, use the verified Part 137 figure.
Free to cite. You may republish these figures with attribution and a link to agdronesprayers.com (CC BY 4.0).
Frequently asked questions
- How much does drone spraying cost per acre in 2026?
- Agricultural drone spraying generally runs about $12–$18 per acre for row crops and $18–$35 for specialty crops like orchards and vineyards. Rates vary by state, crop, carrier volume (gallons per acre), and whether a restricted-use pesticide is involved. Figures are application only — product and chemical are extra.
- Which states have the most drone spraying operators?
- Operator density tracks row-crop acreage and aerial-application activity — the Corn Belt and Plains states lead. The report's operator table ranks states by the number of tracked agricultural drone operators, cross-referenced against FAA Part 137 records.
- Where does this data come from?
- Per-acre rates are researched from land-grant university extension custom-rate surveys (anchored on the Iowa State Custom Rate Survey) plus drone-operator and aerial-applicator pricing, indexed by state and crop. Operator counts come from our directory, which is cross-checked against FAA Part 137 / Part 107 records and state Department of Agriculture registrations.
- How fast is drone spraying growing in the U.S.?
- Fast. U.S. drone-sprayed acreage reached about 16.4 million acres in 2025, up roughly 59% from 10.3 million in 2024 (American Spray Drone Coalition survey), and FAA-registered agricultural spray drones grew from ~1,000 to ~5,500 between 2024 to 2025. Tank capacity on flagship models has grown about 5x in four years, so per-drone productivity keeps climbing too.
- Can I cite or republish these figures?
- Yes. The figures are free to cite or republish with attribution and a link to Ag Drone Sprayers. See the methodology and sources section for how each number is derived.
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