Wikitractor

Insights

What 10,825 models from 245 makers say about how tractors changed. Figures count models by the decade they were launched, not how many were sold, and leave out models with no record for the figure in question.

Power

The typical tractor is 3.2× as powerful as in the 1910s

The median model launched in the 1910s was rated at 31 hp; in the 2020s (so far) it is 100 hp. The most powerful tenth grew much faster, from 62 to 468 hp, as big four-wheel-drive tractors arrived from the 1960s.

Median listed powerMost powerful 10% (90th percentile)
Chart data
DecadeMedian listed powerMost powerful 10% (90th percentile)
1910s31 hp62 hp
1920s34 hp55 hp
1930s34 hp71 hp
1940s32 hp60 hp
1950s40 hp67 hp
1960s55 hp125 hp
1970s74 hp212 hp
1980s69 hp213 hp
1990s82 hp200 hp
2000s78 hp253 hp
2010s92 hp333 hp
2020s*100 hp468 hp

Drive

Four-wheel drive went from rare to standard

Before the 1950s almost no models offered four-wheel drive. By the 1960s it was 34% of new models. In the 2020s (so far) it is 92%, counting models offered with 4WD as standard or as an option.

  1. 1%1910s
  2. 1%1920s
  3. 1%1930s
  4. 1%1940s
  5. 3%1950s
  6. 34%1960s
  7. 61%1970s
  8. 82%1980s
  9. 84%1990s
  10. 88%2000s
  11. 91%2010s
  12. 92%2020s (so far)

Weight

Each horsepower now carries far less tractor

In the 1910s a typical model weighed 231 lb for every hp of listed power. In the 2020s (so far) it is 87: engines grew far faster than the machines around them.

  1. 2311910s
  2. 1831920s
  3. 1601930s
  4. 1271940s
  5. 1181950s
  6. 991960s
  7. 931970s
  8. 951980s
  9. 921990s
  10. 882000s
  11. 852010s
  12. 872020s (so far)

Values in lb/hp. Only models with both a weight and a power figure are counted.

Makers

The number of makers peaked in the 1970s

76 different makers launched at least one model in the 1970s. Mergers since then mean fewer names on new models: 28 in the 2020s (so far).

  1. 421910s
  2. 331920s
  3. 401930s
  4. 551940s
  5. 601950s
  6. 601960s
  7. 761970s
  8. 761980s
  9. 561990s
  10. 662000s
  11. 422010s
  12. 282020s (so far)

Types

From standard-tread to compact utility

Launches of the six most common types, by decade. Standard-tread tractors faded out by the 1970s; compact utility tractors appeared in the 1960s and are now among the most launched.

  • Utility 2,484 models

    1. 01910s
    2. 01920s
    3. 41930s
    4. 171940s
    5. 881950s
    6. 1211960s
    7. 1901970s
    8. 3961980s
    9. 3691990s
    10. 6022000s
    11. 5062010s
    12. 1132020s (so far)

  • Compact utility 2,162 models

    1. 01910s
    2. 01920s
    3. 01930s
    4. 01940s
    5. 01950s
    6. 131960s
    7. 1911970s
    8. 3391980s
    9. 2641990s
    10. 5912000s
    11. 4432010s
    12. 1302020s (so far)

  • Row-crop 1,942 models

    1. 01910s
    2. 51920s
    3. 481930s
    4. 451940s
    5. 1021950s
    6. 1131960s
    7. 2471970s
    8. 2171980s
    9. 2891990s
    10. 3992000s
    11. 3902010s
    12. 672020s (so far)

  • 4WD 620 models

    1. 01910s
    2. 01920s
    3. 11930s
    4. 01940s
    5. 51950s
    6. 531960s
    7. 1541970s
    8. 1421980s
    9. 581990s
    10. 992000s
    11. 642010s
    12. 182020s (so far)

  • Standard-tread 394 models

    1. 1091910s
    2. 711920s
    3. 501930s
    4. 351940s
    5. 801950s
    6. 301960s
    7. 51970s
    8. 01980s
    9. 01990s
    10. 02000s
    11. 02010s
    12. 02020s (so far)

  • Crawler 391 models

    1. 81910s
    2. 151920s
    3. 511930s
    4. 191940s
    5. 561950s
    6. 171960s
    7. 131970s
    8. 251980s
    9. 331990s
    10. 732000s
    11. 382010s
    12. 142020s (so far)

* The 2020s are in progress, so their counts are lower than a full decade’s.