Map Options
![Cheapest Land by State [Updated August 2022] (1)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw== "Cheapest Land by State [Updated August 2022] (1)")
![Cheapest Land by State [Updated August 2022] (2)](https://i0.wp.com/worldpopulationreview.com/_next/image?url=%2Fsvg_placeholder.png&w=2048&q=75 "Cheapest Land by State [Updated August 2022] (2)")
Arizona
$4,164
New Mexico
$6,000
Mississippi
$10,835
Colorado
$11,561
Arkansas
$11,596
New York
$12,027
Missouri
$14,078
Oregon
$16,162
Alabama
$18,103
Michigan
$18,333
Oklahoma
$19,628
California
$19,965
North Carolina
$20,349
Kentucky
$21,357
South Carolina
$22,129
Tennessee
$22,727
Virginia
$23,864
Wisconsin
$25,229
Louisiana
$26,767
Kansas
$26,950
Montana
$28,861
Illinois
$29,250
Texas
$29,818
Georgia
$29,983
Florida
$34,900
Pennsylvania
$42,539
Indiana
$43,750
West Virginia
$44,833
Maine
$45,404
North Dakota
$46,117
Minnesota
$47,375
Nebraska
$49,830
Iowa
$51,087
Wyoming
$54,000
Nevada
$59,942
Alaska
$61,163
Vermont
$62,297
Idaho
$62,500
Ohio
$69,620
South Dakota
$77,352
Washington
$80,357
Maryland
$106,195
New Hampshire
$165,149
Delaware
$175,612
Utah
$195,960
Hawaii
$202,429
New Jersey
$242,883
Connecticut
$282,925
Massachusetts
$333,250
Rhode Island
$350,374
Cheapest Land by State [Updated August 2022]
People purchase land for many reasons. Land can be used for residential real estate, commercial real estate, farming, or left alone to appreciate and let nature roam. Some people purchase land to start a homestead, build a custom home, build apartment complexes, start farms, or have their personal space.
Whatever your reason, you’ll want to consider the following factors when making your purchase: location, buildable, condition of the lots, restrictions, zoning and utilities, possible environmental hazards, area population growth and development, and cost.
If you’re looking to homestead or farm, you’ll want to make sure that your land is arable. If you’re looking to build a home to raise a family in, you will want to check out your local community and school district.
When Buying Land:
Do:
- Work with a real estate agent
- Have your finances in order (land purchases are often done in cash)
- Consider the value of homes in the neighborhoodTake utilities and road access into accountConsider incentives
Don’t:
- Expect to get a loan
- Skip the environmental tests
- Forget the survey
- Talk to the neighbors*
- Assume you can have the property rezoned.
*A word of advice is to not tell your future potential neighbors that you’re planning on building a home before you build it. This can cause some problems for people who don’t want new construction or the noise of it.
States with the Cheapest Land for Sale
Land prices in the U.S. vary greatly, with some states going as high as $350,000. If you’re not too picky about where you’re purchasing, you can find many cheaper options. The least expensive states for land are going to be found mostly in the western parts of the country.
In several states, local governments are actively giving away land to be used for homesteading or small farms. Their goal is to hopefully create an industry with farming, which will attract more people into small towns and expand jobs in the area. Some of these towns include:
- Mankato, Kansas
- Marquette, Kansas
- Lincoln, Kansas
- Plainville, Kansas
- Osborne, Kansas
- Muskegon, Michigan
- Curtis, Nebraska
- Loup City, Nebraska
- Elwood, Nebraska
- Manilla, Iowa
- Marne, Iowa
- New Richland, Minnesota
- Claremont, Minnesota
- Flagler, Colorado
Before the pandemic, people generally considered the real estate market to be balanced. The lowest averages sat around $2,000 per acre and the highest were $200,000 per acre. It wasn’t a horrible experience to buy or sell a house in 2019, depending on where you were looking.
But after the pandemic struck, the cost of real estate soared. It became a seller's market that buyers could only hope to survive. The value of land, regardless of its condition, increased dramatically. So, when looking at the average costs of acres across the United States, be sure to look for references that are recent.
Lowest Median Cost Per Acre
InMyArea.com performed a study that took a look at the median prices per acre in 2021 and found that Arizona had the cheapest median cost per acre, at $4,164. The data includes the price of land with existing homes and the cost of land designated as a homesite was also included so that you can have some comparison.
We chose to use this data because medians more accurately represent the data because they cannot be skewed depending on how high the highs are or how low the lows are—like averages.
- Arizona: $4,164 per acre
- New Mexico: $6,000 per acre
- Mississippi: $10,835 per acre
- Colorado: $11,561 per acre
- Arkansas: $11,596 per acre
- New York: $12,027 per acre
- Missouri: $14,078 per acre
- Oregon: $16,162 per acre
- Alabama: $18,103 per acre
- Michigan: $18,333 per acre
![Cheapest Land by State [Updated August 2022] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)