diff --git a/torchgeo/datasets/usavars.py b/torchgeo/datasets/usavars.py
index b27bffaaf4b..43369dfdcab 100644
--- a/torchgeo/datasets/usavars.py
+++ b/torchgeo/datasets/usavars.py
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ def _load_image(self, path: str) -> Tensor:
         """
         with rasterio.open(path) as f:
             array: "np.typing.NDArray[np.int_]" = f.read()
-            tensor = torch.from_numpy(array)
+            tensor = torch.from_numpy(array).float()
             return tensor
 
     def _verify(self) -> None: