OWNERSHIP. OF TENANT FARMS IN NORTH CENTRAL STATES 27 
Table 22. — Average age of owners of rented farms in the North Central States, 
January 1, 1920 
State 
Counties 
Land- 
lords re- 
porting 
age 
Average 
age re- 
ported 
Ohio . 
11 western.. 
Number 
1,476 
4,896 
1,094 
766 
2, 975 
1,107 
1,661 
Years 
59.52 
21 central and northern . 
60.52 
8 southern . _ 
59.40 
6 southern ... . _ . . . ... 
60.64 
18 central and northwestern ... _ 
59.07 
56.26 
10 central . . . 
59.21 
85. 
All areas studied 
13, 975 
59.53 
Women owners of rented farms reported an average age of 60.5 
years, whereas men owners averaged 59.2 years. That ownership of 
rented farms by women is to be accounted for in many cases by the 
death of the husbands is suggested by the fact that the average age 
of women owners of rented farms is more than that of men owners. 
This is substantiated by tabulations of replies to questions asking 
how the land was acquired. (See Table 29.) 
Male landlords without occupation averaged 66.2 years, whereas 
landlords who were still farming averaged only 53.9 years and the 
male landlords in other occupations averaged 54.2 years. 
It is interesting to compare the ages of owners of rented farms with 
those of tenant farmers and farmers operating their own farms. 
The average age for the farm tenants of the North Central States 
was about 39 years in 1920, whereas the farmers operating their own 
farms averaged about 49 years, and owners of rented farms, as in- 
dicated by questionnaire replies, averaged 59.5 years. Among the 
farm tenants are most of the farmers who will some day be operating 
their own farms, and among the farmers operating their own farms 
are most of the owners who will some day be farm landlords. Some 
farmers, even among the tenant class, own farms which they rent to 
tenants. Of the farm tenants of the North Central States 48.4 per 
cent are under 35 years of age, whereas only 15.7 per cent of the 
farmers operating their own farms and only 2.8 per cent of the 
owners of rented farms are under that age. (Table 23.) 
Table 23. — Percentage distribution by age of farmers of selected tenure and of farm 
landlords, North Central States, 1920 
Percentage distribution by age 
Age 
Farm 
tenants l 
Farm 
owner op- 
erators ! 
Farm 
land- 
lords ^ 
Under 25 years. ... 
Per cent 
9.5 
38.9 
27.5 
15.1 
6.7 
2.3 
Per cent 
1.7 
14.0 
24.6 
27.3 
20.9 
11.5 
Per cent 
0.4 
25 to 35 years ....... 
2.4 
35 to 45 years... 
9.4 
45 to 55 years 
20.5 
55 to 65 years. 
31.8 
65 years and over 
35.5 
Total 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
From Table 9, chap. 6, vol. 5, Fourteenth (1920) Census. 
From replies of 13,975 representative farm landlords owning rented farms in the North Central States. 
