Cheapest Land Per Acre

Where, in the United States of America, is the cheapest land per acre? Depending on various circumstances and the urgency of any given seller at any particular time, the answer would be somewhere in Nevada, Wyoming, Texas, or New Mexico. In these four states, land can still be acquired for under $200 per acre, and in some very rare instances, for under $100 per acre. In no other state in the union—be it Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, or Utah—can land be found for such low prices.

Occasionally, a section of land (640 acres) will be advertised for sale in Nevada for $80 or $90 per acre. However, the transaction will involve a large down payment or all cash terms; the section is basically landlocked without legal access; there are no mineral rights involved; and Nevada state statutes forbid the division of the land into smaller parcels for resale with expensive and time consuming subdivision requirements.

In Wyoming, 160-acre tracts can still be found for $199 per acre, with small down payments and easy seller financing. These tracts also involve checkerboard land where federal lands have to be crossed for access. Technically, mineral rights aren’t included, but often, exploration companies provide surface owner agreements giving the landowner 2.5% royalties.

Occasionally, land in New Mexico can be found for under $200 per acre, but terms are usually all-cash and state subdivision regulations are not conducive to splitting or reselling the land.

Texas still affords opportunities to acquire 160-acre to 640-acre tracts for as little as $200 to $299 per acre, with excellent seller financing. As in most petroleum producing states, there will be no mineral rights, but there will be recorded and insurable access, and state subdivision laws are very lenient.

In summary, acquiring the cheapest land per acre—regardless of having no mineral rights and regardless of having to cross federal lands—has historically proven to be very financially rewarding over the years!

To view some of the cheapest land per acre, please click here.