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

Kenai Peninsula County, Alaska

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

Pictured: Homer, Alaska

Kenai Peninsula County, Alaska

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

Pictured: Cooper Landing, Alaska

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Valencia County, New Mexico

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

Modoc County, California

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

Valencia County, New Mexico

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

Pictured: Belen, New Mexico

Pulaski County, Missouri

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

Taos County, New Mexico

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

Pictured: Taos, New Mexico

Choctaw County, Oklahoma

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

Madison County, Florida

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

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Metcalfe County, Kentucky

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

Northampton County, North Carolina

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

Sandoval County, New Mexico

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

Benton County, Missouri

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

Etowah County, Alabama

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

Santa Cruz County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Nogales, Arizona

Pearl River County, Mississippi

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

Coconino County, Arizona

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

Lincoln County, Mississippi

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

Pictured: Brookhaven, Mississippi

Valencia County, New Mexico

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

Pictured: Bosque Farms, New Mexico

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Navajo County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Winslow, Arizona

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Kingman, Arizona

Klamath County, Oregon

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

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Modoc County, California

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

Pictured: Alturas, California

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Bullhead City, Arizona

Alamosa County, Colorado

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

San Bernardino County, California

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

Pictured: Downtown San Bernardino

Los Angeles County, California

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

San Bernardino County, California

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

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Los Angeles County, California

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

Navajo County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Holbrook, Arizona

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Kingman, Arizona

Mohave County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Kingman, Arizona

Sharp County, Arkansas

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

Pictured: Ash Flat, Arkansas

Luna County, New Mexico

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

Pictured: Deming, New Mexico

Sharp County, Arkansas

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

Pictured: Sherman Bates House in Hardy, Arkansas

Sharp County, Arkansas

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

Pictured: Hardy, Arkansas

Costilla County, Colorado

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

Kenai Peninsula County, Alaska

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

Pictured: Seward, Alaska

Costilla County, Colorado

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

Pictured: Fort Garland, Costilla County, Colorado

Kenai Peninsula County, Alaska

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

Pictured: Anchor Point, Alaska

Costilla County, Colorado

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

Sharp County, Arkansas

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

Pictured: Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas

Costilla County, Colorado

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

Pictured: Trinchera Creek, Costilla County, Colorado

Navajo County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Winslow, Arizona

Costilla County, Colorado

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

Pictured: Garcia, Colorado

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Navajo County, Arizona

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

Pictured: Holbrook, Arizona

Navajo County, Arizona

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

50 Cheapest Places To Buy Land in America

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.

About the Author

Cameron Huddleston

Cameron Huddleston is an award-winning journalist with more than 18 years of experience writing about personal finance. Her work has appeared in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Fortune, MSN, USA Today and many more print and online publications. She also is the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances.

U.S. News & World Report named her one of the top personal finance experts to follow on Twitter, and AOL Daily Finance named her one of the top 20 personal finance influencers to follow on Twitter. She has appeared on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and “Fox & Friends” and has been a guest on ABC News Radio, Wall Street Journal Radio, NPR, WTOP in Washington, D.C., KGO in San Francisco and other personal finance radio shows nationwide. She also has been interviewed and quoted as an expert in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, MarketWatch and more.

She has an MA in economic journalism from American University and BA in journalism and Russian studies from Washington & Lee University.

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