Top 10 Affordable States to Buy Land in 2024

Today, I’m going to tell you Top 10 Affordable States to Buy Land in 2024 in the United States. That’s right, we’re looking at those places for the Off the Grid homesteading hermit types. We’re talking acres here, not homes. Not everyone wants a new home with all the bells and whistles that come with a hefty mortgage.

Some people just want some land and to build their American dream. And sometimes, people turn it into a YouTube channel. Side note: that’s a very popular genre on YouTube – get a piece of land and start building a cabin. If done properly and interestingly, it’ll pay for itself, and you’ll probably be able to quit your day job.

The national average for an acre of land in the second quarter of 2023 is about $69,000. The states on this list are well below that number, and I promise you, you will be shocked at some of the states that have very affordable acres of land in this country. It kind of blew me away. I was a little surprised. Some that I thought for sure would be on this list weren’t, and as I got into it, I found out that there are different prices for the minerals and water rights, so states that you thought would have cheap land might not.

Our last article we did where you could find the cheapest homes in the United States, this ain’t that article. This is just the land, and for the most part, it’s completely different states. Get it? Not it? Good. Let’s take a look.

10. Perry County, Alabama

Perry County is located in Central Alabama, and it’s known for its rich civil rights history and contains the town of Marion and the Marion Military Institute. I have a friend that went there. We were talking about it one time. So, what’d you learn there? He goes, “I learned I didn’t want to be an officer.” It’s been years since I talked to him, but I think he retired as a sergeant major in the Army. The county was established in 1819 and is named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry of Rhode Island; he was the United States naval officer.

If you want to buy some residential acreage in Alabama, their average price is going to be $18,100, and your best bet of finding that price or lower is in Perry County. Currently, Alabama has 4,904 acres listed for sale.

9. Harmon County, Oklahoma

Located in the southwestern part of Oklahoma, Harmon is the least populous County, and it’s, for the most part, farmland, but they still have some residential acreage for sale. Harmon was established in 1909 and is named after Judson Harmon, who was the governor of Ohio at the time. The county seat is Hollis. Hollis is the biggest town with about 2,000 residents. The entire County of Harmon is bordered by Texas to the west and the prairie dog town fort of the Red River to the South. This whole county is flat and very rural, the kind of place where woodland is exciting.

The average acre of land in Oklahoma is $8,405, and if you want to live in Harmon, that’s where you’re going to find the best chance of finding some of that affordable acreage. Oklahoma right now has about 5,686 acres for sale, that’s just residential acres.

8. Lake County, Oregon

Lake County is located in South Central Oregon. This county is largely characterized by high desert mountains and vast open spaces. In case you don’t know much about Oregon, only like the Western third of the state is that forested rainy stuff. The back half, or the back two-thirds, that’s some mountains and a lot of high desert-type areas. You know, grassland-type things. This county is named after its many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Albert, Summer Lake, Heart Lake, and Goose Lake.

If you want to buy some acreage in Oregon, the average price is $16,200, and your best place to try and get that price is in Lake County. Currently, Oregon has 3,536 acres listed for sale.

Now when I say that, that’s just residential acres, and those are the only ones listed – just plots of land, no houses, zoned for residential. And we’re just talking about the average. In Oregon, there can be some like in Lake County right now that can be as low as $6,000.

7. St. Lawrence County, New York

St. Lawrence County is located in the northern part of New York. It’s the largest county in New York by area and is characterized by its rural landscapes and the Adirondack Mountains. You’re probably surprised that New York made this list. Everyone just assumes the entire state of New York is extremely expensive because of New York City. This whole state gets a bad rap – and a good rap sometimes – because of New York City. New York and New York City are two different states. They’re almost two different countries, it seems like.

The average acreage price in New York is $12,309 for residential acreage. Your best chance of finding that or something cheaper is in St. Lawrence County. There are currently 4,987 acres listed for sale.

6. Shannon County, Missouri

Shannon County is in the Ozarks, and it’s known for its state parks and forests. I know Arkansas and Missouri both have the Ozarks in it, and that’s, you know, those aren’t the greatest states, but the Ozarks are a beautiful thing. I love this part of the country, and especially Missouri. There always seems to be a lake, reservoir, creek, or river just to hang out by. There’s water everywhere, it seems like.

If you want to buy a few acres of land in Missouri, it’s going to run you about $11,100, that’s the average, and your best chance to find that or cheaper is going to be in Shannon County. Currently, Shannon County has 6,490 acres listed; they have a lot more; that’s just what’s listed right now, thank you.

5. Holmes County, Mississippi

If it’s gonna be cheap, Mississippi’s gonna be on the list. Even though Mississippi is one of the older states we have, it is very rural, always has been, always will be. So, that tells you they’re probably gonna have a lot of acreage for sale. Holmes County is in the Delta region of Mississippi. It is bordered to the west by the Yazoo River, and the eastern border is the Big Black River. If you’re looking for it on a map, it is north of Jackson, Mississippi. The biggest town in this county would be Durant, and it’s only got a population of about 2,200 residents.

If you want to get an acre of land in Mississippi, your best bet is going to be Holmes County, and the average price is around $9,720 per acre. And the entire state of Mississippi has about 4,300 acres for sale right now.

4. Costilla County, Colorado

If you’re from Arkansas, you probably want to call it “Costilla.” This County is located in the southern part of Colorado, and it has a rich history with many historic sites. It sits on the border with New Mexico, not too far north from Taos, New Mexico. The first time I drove through here, it reminded me of Southeastern California; it’s just got that whole same, I don’t know, desert-y look.

If you’ve never been to Colorado or you don’t know much about Colorado, the entire state is not the Rockies, so keep that in mind. The largest city and the county seat is San Luis. In 2020, it had about 3,500 residents, and it is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado.

The average acre price in Colorado is $8,214, and your best chance of finding that price or better would be in Costilla County. Currently, Colorado has 4,919 acres for sale, or at least listed.

3. Jackson County, Arkansas

Now we’re getting cheap. Arkansas has a whole bunch of problems; being expensive ain’t one of them. That’s if you’re buying a soda or an acre of land. It’s always cheap in Arkansas, and especially in Jackson County. Jackson County is located in northeastern Arkansas along the White River. It is largely agricultural with some forested areas as well.

This County, like just about everything else in the South, is named after Andrew Jackson, a national hero during the War of 1812. By the country’s formation in 1829, Jackson had become the seventh president of the United States. There’s a lot of Jacksons that a lot of things in the South are named after – Andrew Jackson, Stonewall Jackson, Michael Jackson, and of course, Alan Jackson. Nothing’s really named after him, but he is a southerner. Give it some time; they’ll name something after him.

He was born outside of Atlanta in Newnan. And I didn’t realize it; that dude is 64 years old. I honestly thought that he was a lot younger than that. I don’t really follow his music; I just always assumed he was in his 40s since like 1994, I guess.

But if you want to buy some acreage in Arkansas, the average price is $8,100, and your best chance of finding that is going to be in Jackson County, Arkansas. Currently, they have listed 8,750 acres for sale.

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2. Mora County, New Mexico

Have you ever seen New Mexico? I mean, they got great sunsets, but after that, it’s just a whole lot of desert. And when you got a whole lot of desert, you do have a whole lot of cheap land; that’s just how it goes. Mora County is situated in the northern part of New Mexico. It is known for its scenic beauty, including valleys, mountains, and historic sites. You know, like I’ve said many times, I’m not a desert guy, but I still recognize New Mexico is a beautiful state. It’s got a whole bunch of problems, and because of those problems, it’s really cheap to buy land here. The largest city here and the county seat is the city of Mora, and it’s not that big.

I called it a city; it’s really not. It’s only got 547 people living there. The original settlement, I guess you could say, in Mora dates back to 1818. It wasn’t always occupied, but that’s about when it started, at least for Europeans. It was the Spanish in this area.

If you wanted to buy some acres in New Mexico, the average price is $5,448, and Mora is where you’d want to go to find that price or lower, like I’ve been saying. And number one…

1. Apache County, Arizona

Now, this one’s really cheap, and there’s a little weird thing to it because not everyone can buy land in this whole County. Apache County is located in the northeastern corner of Arizona and contains parts of the Navajo Nation reservation. To buy land on the reservation, you gotta either be a Navajo or you got to do a bunch of paperwork. Sometimes you might not even be able to buy the land there. But not all of Apache County is on the Navajo reservation. This County is part of the Four Corners because its eastern border is New Mexico, its northern border is Utah, and at a point, it touches Colorado. They also have a small sliver of their border as the Hopi reservation.

If you want to buy some land in Arizona, an acre costs about $4,645 on average. Now, there’s certain parts of Arizona where it’s way above that, and about $4,000 is the absolute cheapest you’re gonna find, and that’s probably gonna be in Apache County, Arizona. Right now, Arizona has about 9,761 residential acres listed.

here’s a table summarizing the important data from the article:

County	State	Average Price per Acre	Number of Acres Listed for Sale
Perry County	Alabama	$18,100	4,904
Harmon County	Oklahoma	$8,405	5,686
Lake County	Oregon	$16,200	3,536
St. Lawrence County	New York	$12,309	4,987
Shannon County	Missouri	$11,100	6,490
Holmes County	Mississippi	$9,720	4,300
Costilla County	Colorado	$8,214	4,919
Jackson County	Arkansas	$8,100	8,750
Mora County	New Mexico	$5,448	–
Apache County	Arizona	$4,645	9,761

Alright, that’s today’s article. Hope you guys enjoyed it, hope you got some information out of it. Now go out, have a great day, and be nice to each other.