50 Cheapest Places To Buy Land in America

About two-thirds of Americans are homeowners. But when it comes to owning land — wide, open spaces — the percentage isn’t nearly as high.

In 2016, The Washington Post reported that the wealthiest 1% of households owned 40% of the nation’s non-home real estate. In fact, an increasing percentage of land has fallen into the hands of a wealthy few. The 100 largest landowners own about 42 million acres — which is 50% more than what they owned a little more than 10 years ago, The New York Times reported.

So if you’re not a millionaire or billionaire, does that mean land ownership is out of the question for you? To find out, GOBankingRates looked at property listings across the U.S. where land is affordable for those without really deep pockets.

GOBankingRates used LandWatch, an online rural property listing service, to identify parcels of land selling for $10,000 or less. Listings of less than 0.1 acres were excluded. The listings were then ranked by price per acre to determine the 50 cheapest places to buy land in America.

Note that, among these places, several counties appear more than once because they had multiple listings for $10,000 or less. Mohave County, Arizona, has the most listings of any county on the list at seven. Arizona also has more listings — 14 — than any other state. And the West has more cheap land listings than any other region.

The study shows that affordable land is available to people who aren’t super rich. If you’re looking for a good deal, keep reading to find out where the best places to own property are located.

Last updated: Nov. 6, 2020

• Acreage: 1.07
• Price: $9,500
• Price per acre: $8,878.50

Pictured: Homer, Alaska

• Acreage: 1.12
• Price: $9,900
• Price per acre: $8,839.29

Pictured: Cooper Landing, Alaska

• Acreage: 0.25
• Price: $2,159
• Price per acre: $8,636

• Acreage: 0.92
• Price: $7,870
• Price per acre: $8,554.35

• Acreage: 0.25
• Price: $2,125
• Price per acre: $8,500

Pictured: Belen, New Mexico

• Acreage: 1.06
• Price: $8,500
• Price per acre: $8,018.87

• Acreage: 0.25
• Price: $1,993
• Price per acre: $7,972

Pictured: Taos, New Mexico

• Acreage: 1
• Price: $7,500
• Price per acre: $7,500

• Acreage: 1
• Price: $7,500
• Price per acre: $7,500

• Acreage: 0.59
• Price: $4,407
• Price per acre: $7,469.49

• Acreage: 1.07
• Price: $7,950
• Price per acre: $7,429.91

• Acreage: 1.08
• Price: $8,000
• Price per acre: $7,407.41

• Acreage: 0.5
• Price: $3,297
• Price per acre: $6,594

• Acreage: 0.7
• Price: $4,500
• Price per acre: $6,428.57

• Acreage: 0.64
• Price: $4,000
• Price per acre: $6,250

• Acreage: 1.27
• Price: $7,895
• Price per acre: $6,216.54

Pictured: Nogales, Arizona

• Acreage: 1.3
• Price: $8,000
• Price per acre: $6,153.85

• Acreage: 1.1
• Price: $6,687
• Price per acre: $6,079.09

• Acreage: 1.68
• Price: $10,000
• Price per acre: $5,952.38

Pictured: Brookhaven, Mississippi

• Acreage: 0.5
• Price: $2,797
• Price per acre: $5,594

Pictured: Bosque Farms, New Mexico

• Acreage: 1.01
• Price: $5,273
• Price per acre: $5,220.79

Pictured: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

• Acreage: 1.33
• Price: $6,071
• Price per acre: $4,564.66

Pictured: Winslow, Arizona

• Acreage: 2
• Price: $9,000
• Price per acre: $4,500

Pictured: Kingman, Arizona

• Acreage: 2
• Price: $9,000
• Price per acre: $4,500

• Acreage: 0.92
• Price: $3,995
• Price per acre: $4,342.39

Pictured: Alturas, California

• Acreage: 1.14
• Price: $4,781
• Price per acre: $4,193.86

Pictured: Bullhead City, Arizona

• Acreage: 2.17
• Price: $8,995
• Price per acre: $4,145.16

• Acreage: 1.4
• Price: $5,533
• Price per acre: $3,952.14

Pictured: Downtown San Bernardino

• Acreage: 2.5
• Price: $9,867
• Price per acre: $3,946.80

• Acreage: 1.25
• Price: $4,822
• Price per acre: $3,857.60

• Acreage: 1.25
• Price: $4,674
• Price per acre: $3,739.20

Pictured: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

• Acreage: 2.52
• Price: $8,961
• Price per acre: $3,555.95

• Acreage: 1.25
• Price: $4,295
• Price per acre: $3,436

Pictured: Holbrook, Arizona

• Acreage: 1.91
• Price: $6,314
• Price per acre: $3,305.76

Pictured: Kingman, Arizona

• Acreage: 2.28
• Price: $6,900
• Price per acre: $3,026.32

Pictured: Kingman, Arizona

• Acreage: 2
• Price: $6,000
• Price per acre: $3,000

Pictured: Ash Flat, Arkansas

• Acreage: 1.18
• Price: $3,500
• Price per acre: $2,966.10

Pictured: Deming, New Mexico

• Acreage: 3.35
• Price: $8,900
• Price per acre: $2,656.72

Pictured: Sherman Bates House in Hardy, Arkansas

• Acreage: 2
• Price: $5,000
• Price per acre: $2,500

Pictured: Hardy, Arkansas

• Acreage: 2.43
• Price: $5,000
• Price per acre: $2,057.61

• Acreage: 4.7
• Price: $9,440
• Price per acre: $2,008.51

Pictured: Seward, Alaska

• Acreage: 5
• Price: $10,000
• Price per acre: $2,000

Pictured: Fort Garland, Costilla County, Colorado

• Acreage: 4.31
• Price: $8,600
• Price per acre: $1,995.36

Pictured: Anchor Point, Alaska

• Acreage: 2.53
• Price: $5,000
• Price per acre: $1,976.28

• Acreage: 5
• Price: $8,500
• Price per acre: $1,700

Pictured: Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas

• Acreage: 5
• Price: $6,500
• Price per acre: $1,300

Pictured: Trinchera Creek, Costilla County, Colorado

• Acreage: 2.5
• Price: $3,000
• Price per acre: $1,200

Pictured: Winslow, Arizona

• Acreage: 5
• Price: $4,500
• Price per acre: $900

Pictured: Garcia, Colorado

• Acreage: 20
• Price: $10,000
• Price per acre: $500

Pictured: Holbrook, Arizona

• Acreage: 10
• Price: $4,500
• Price per acre: $450

As this list shows, there are plenty of places where you can buy land for cheap. You’re especially likely to find affordable listings west of the Mississippi River, where more of the country is rural. However, four Western states have plenty of low-priced listings, specifically: Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico.

Counties in Southern and Midwestern states also make the list of cheapest places to buy land.

If you are in the market to buy land, be aware that getting a land loan can be more difficult to get than a traditional mortgage for a home. However, many prices on this list are so low that you might not even need a loan to purchase the property.

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Methodology: To determine the cheapest places to buy land in America, GOBankingRates used Land Watch to find all active U.S. land listings at a maximum price of $10,000 and compiled the county, state and price data per listing, eliminating duplicates, as well as listings of less than 0.1 acres. The listings were then ranked by price per acre. The data in this study was compiled and is accurate as of Oct. 22, 2019.