How Much Does an Acre of Land Cost?

Last Updated on November 7, 2025 | Prices Last Reviewed for Freshness: November 2025
Written by Alec Pow – Economic & Pricing Investigator | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

Educational content; not financial advice. Prices are estimates; confirm current rates, fees, taxes, and terms with providers or official sources.

TL;DR

• Typical U.S. anchors (2025): farm real estate ≈ $4,350/acre, cropland ≈ $5,830/acre, pasture ≈ $1,920/acre.
• State spreads are huge: top Midwest cropland often five figures; arid, non-irrigated rangeland can be well under $2,000/acre.
• “All-in” costs balloon once you add closing fees, surveys, driveway, power, septic/well; plan for several thousand to tens of thousands beyond the land price.
• Biggest drivers: access, utilities, zoning, soil/water, and local demand; acreage alone is a weak predictor.
• Alternatives (lease, fractional, funds) let you gain exposure without buying a whole parcel.

The acre you want is really three prices: the listed price (what the deed shows), the transaction (what it takes to close), and the usable price (what it costs to actually use the dirt). National anchors are simple; the real work is local, access, utilities, and zoning can swing outcomes by multiples. Recent land-market surveys show activity is still strong where supply is tight and build-ready sites are scarce.

This guide walks through price bands you can validate today, the largest drivers of value, and a realistic total you might pay once fees and site work are included. Searchers who type Acre of Land Cost want a grounded range, not guesswork. You will get it here, with current agricultural benchmarks and clear examples you can map to residential or recreational use.

Prices depend on use. Location multiplies value. In the United States, the most consistent, apples-to-apples yardstick comes from agricultural land, which is tracked annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That data anchors the national conversation and gives you firm reference points for cropland, pasture and overall farm real estate values as of 2025. From there, adjustments for residential or commercial sites hinge on access, utilities, zoning and demand around the parcel. The official summary with national/state tables is published each August by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

How Much Does an Acre of Land Cost?

At the national level, 2025 USDA figures show three reliable anchors. Farm real estate, which includes land and buildings, averages $4,350 per acre. Cropland averages $5,830 per acre. Pasture averages $1,920 per acre. These are broad means across regions, yet they reveal the core spread most buyers encounter when they move from rough grazing country to highly productive row-crop land (see the USDA’s farmland value overview).

“The acre you want has three prices: listed, transaction, and usable.”

These anchors also explain why local ranges diverge. Prime Midwest cropland often trades well above the national mean, while large Western grazing tracts can sit far below pasture averages because rainfall, soil and infrastructure are limiting.

As a practical rule, expect the following: the closer your parcel is to thriving job centers and paved access, with utilities at the lot line and permissive zoning, the more your final per-acre figure will drift upward from agricultural baselines published each August by USDA. One extended example makes the scale clear: a top-quality, survey-based Indiana index placed the 2025 average for the state’s top-quality farmland at $14,826 per acre, with overall averages by quality tier also near records.

One-table snapshot of national agricultural anchors, 2025

Numbers reflect the latest USDA Land Values Summary (Aug 2025). Use this table as your baseline, then adjust for local demand, utilities, access and zoning (see the publication record).

How prices changed (2015–2025)

Since 2015, national farm real estate values are up ~44%, cropland ~41%, and pasture ~44%, with the sharpest jumps in 2021–2022.

State-by-State 2025 Benchmarks

The table below gives fast, per-state farm real estate bands (land + buildings, dollars per acre). Bands match USDA’s 2025 state distribution, so readers can compare at a glance without leaving the page. If you need exact figures for negotiations or audits, pull the state row from the official 2025 highlights you saw above.

Source for state bands: USDA Land Values 2025 state distribution. Exact per-state dollars are in the USDA tables referenced at the top. Estimates are produced annually each August from the NASS Land Values & Cash Rents programs; see the methodology.

“State bands are a starting line; access, utilities, and zoning decide the finish.”

Edge-case spotlights (exact numbers): helpful when you want to see the true extremes in the data:

• California irrigated cropland: about $20,800/acre (USDA 2025 tables).
• Rhode Island cropland (all): about $32,900/acre (USDA 2025 cropland table).
• Massachusetts cropland (all): about $26,000/acre (USDA 2025 cropland table).
• Connecticut cropland (all): about $22,700/acre (USDA 2025 cropland table).
• New Mexico non-irrigated cropland: about $630/acre (USDA 2025 irrigated/non-irrigated tables).
• Wyoming non-irrigated cropland: about $1,130/acre (USDA 2025 irrigated/non-irrigated tables).

Why show extremes? They anchor the ceiling/floor for special-case parcels (orchard/vineyard districts on the high side; arid non-irrigated range on the low side) so buyers don’t overgeneralize from a single national mean; see ERS’s primer on irrigation and water use for why irrigation regions price differently.

Real-Life Cost Examples

You might also like our articles about the cost to build a house, transplant a tree, or remove brush.

Midwest prime cropland, Indiana. Purdue’s long-running survey pegged 2025 Indiana averages at $9,944 per acre for all quality (with top-quality parcels near $14,826 per acre). Buyers reported competition for well-drained, tiled soils, strong cash-rent potential and easy access to grain facilities—factors that keep even small hobby-farm parcels priced like productive assets (see Purdue’s 2025 survey page).

Premium Illinois farmland in a cooling market. After steep gains earlier in the decade, state analysts show farm real estate still averaging $8,930 per acre in 2025 with premium tracts selling above that, evidence that productivity and location keep a floor under the best ground according to University of Illinois analysis.

Low-end grazing benchmarks in the Plains. USDA’s pasture tables show Western and Plains averages well below national cropland means. Examples for 2025 include $2,120 per acre in Kansas, $1,510 in Nebraska and $1,140 in North Dakota, parcels lacking water, fencing or all-weather access often transact even lower because immediate improvement dollars are required (see the pasture value map).

These snapshots illustrate a simple pattern. Productive soils near markets and infrastructure command a large premium. Remote grazing with minimal improvements sells at a discount. Residential lots behave similarly once you layer in utilities, school districts and commute times, which is why an acre inside a metro fringe can cost many times a rural recreational acre; classic work on metropolitan land values explains these gradients.

Cost Breakdown

When you price a specific acre, separate the base land price from the deal costs and the site-readiness budget. The base price is what you agree to pay per acre. Deal costs are the fees to take clear title. Site-readiness is what it takes to make the dirt usable for your purpose; a good overview of typical closing costs will help you frame estimates.

“A $15k acre can become a $24k site the day you add drive, power, and septic.”

Deal costs you should plan for. Many buyers see some combination of title work, attorney or escrow, survey or boundary verification, recording and transfer charges, and if financing, lender fees and an appraisal. On small rural purchases, a new boundary or topographic survey can be a material line item. Title insurance is a one-time premium. Some counties add modest transfer taxes. Fees stack up fast.

Site-readiness adds real money. Clearing brush or trees, building a basic driveway, running power from the nearest pole, and testing soils for septic approval are typical first steps. If the parcel needs a well or a new septic system, the budget moves from thousands to tens of thousands. Typical 2025 benchmarks, compiled by homeowner trades, cover septic installations, well drilling, and gravel driveways.

Worked example, single acre, corn-belt edge. Suppose you purchase one acre adjacent to farmland in a high-demand Indiana county at $14,826. Add a title policy $900, a survey $800, recording and transfer $500, escrow and attorney $600, and due-diligence items like a soil review $500. Your all-in at closing would be about $18,126. If you then allocate a basic driveway and culvert $3,500, light clearing $1,500, and a temporary power connection $1,200, your functional cost to use the acre climbs to roughly $24,326 before any building plans are drawn. Figures are illustrative and vary by county and contractor availability. Land anchors for this example come from Purdue’s 2025 survey and USDA national tables; for fee benchmarking, review common closing cost line items.

Factors Influencing the Cost

Location and access. Distance to job centers, paved road frontage, and utility proximity can swing per-acre prices by multiples. Parcels inside metro commuter rings or near recreation hubs draw premium bids, while identical soil a few miles down a gravel road without power at the line can sell at a discount; the logic behind access-driven land value premiums is well documented.

Zoning and permitted use. Land zoned for dense residential or commercial use often prices well beyond agricultural anchors because buyers are paying for the right to build more. Conversely, conservation easements, floodplain limits or steep topography cap value. A clean path to the use you want is itself a valuable asset; see how density bonuses and entitlements change economics.

Soils, water and improvements. On agricultural and rural parcels, published soil indices, irrigation rights, tile drainage and existing lanes or fencing show up in offered prices. On building sites, perc approvals, well logs and utility easements matter just as much as view and privacy; start with the NRCS Web Soil Survey to understand on-site constraints.

Macro forces. USDA data across 2015–2025 show steady long-run appreciation in farm real estate with a pronounced surge during 2020–2022 when commodity prices jumped. The 2025 summary still reflects higher-than-2019 levels nationwide, with cropland at $5,830 and pasture at $1,920 on average, even as some local markets cooled from peak enthusiasm; regional credit surveys, like the Kansas City Fed’s Ag Credit Survey, corroborate the pattern.

Alternative Ways to Control Land

Some buyers want land benefits without buying a full acre outright. Three common alternatives lower the initial cash outlay and smooth risk, and they align with how farmland ownership and tenure work in practice.

Lease the rights you need. Agricultural tenants secure use through cash rents or crop-share agreements. Recreational users sometimes lease seasonal access to private timber or pasture. Lease rates move with local demand and commodity returns, so they are an operating expense rather than a capital purchase; see NASS’s Cash Rents survey guide.

Buy a smaller interest. Land trusts, conservation partnerships and farmer-focused investment clubs let participants own slices of larger tracts. Returns mirror the underlying land’s rental cash flow and appreciation; benchmark performance with the NCREIF Farmland Index.

Own the exposure, not the parcel. Public farmland funds and real estate investment vehicles spread risk across many properties. You give up control of a specific acre in exchange for diversification and professional management; here’s a primer on institutional farmland and natural-capital investing.

Precedent and Market Signals to Watch

Public agricultural benchmarks are updated midyear. The comparisons most buyers rely on come from long-running federal series and state surveys. In 2025, independent state coverage reinforced the same message: values remain elevated, with premium tracts still clearing five-figure per-acre levels in top counties, especially across the Midwest. Purdue’s survey placed Indiana near record levels, while Iowa’s portal centralizes methodology and time series for the state’s closely watched survey (see the Iowa Land Value Survey portal).

Ways to Spend Less

Be flexible on use and timing. Shopping outside peak planting or building seasons can help you negotiate on raw parcels where sellers face carrying costs. Agreeing to a longer close or letting a farmer harvest before possession may earn price or credit concessions; watch seasonal days-on-market and pricing in quarterly land-market pulse reports.

Trade improvements for price. Buyers willing to tackle their own clearing, fencing and driveway installation often capture discounts on unimproved tracts. If you can accept a parcel with power across the road rather than at the line, and budget to bring it over later, the upfront sticker can fall; budgets for basic fencing illustrate how sweat equity can substitute for list price.

Let data steer your offer. Bring the latest USDA state or county values to the table and anchor them to your parcel’s soil class, pasture utility and access. Transparent comps reduce haggling and help you avoid overpaying for attributes the land does not actually have. The USDA 2025 benchmarks and state-level surveys are persuasive in negotiations; you can also pull county slices from the Quick Stats database.

Answers to Common Questions

How do I estimate a fair per-acre price for a rural parcel? Start with USDA’s latest state or regional averages for cropland or pasture, then adjust for your parcel’s access, utilities, soil and zoning. Premium locations with build-ready status price above state means, remote raw acres price below. To visualize the spread quickly, skim the state maps.

Are residential lots priced per acre or per lot? Most suburban and urban parcels are marketed per lot, then translated to per-acre figures for comparison. Where utilities are stubbed and zoning allows higher density, the implied per-acre price rises quickly relative to agricultural anchors; see recent residential lot value data.

Why do Midwest prices look so high compared with Western rangeland? Soils, rainfall and proximity to markets push the Midwest higher. State data show many Plains and Western pasture averages near or below $2,000 per acre, while top Midwest cropland can sell several times higher due to yield potential and infrastructure; regional surveys like the Chicago Fed’s AgLetter routinely document the gap.

Is now a good time to buy an acre? USDA’s 2025 figures confirm values remain elevated versus the late 2010s. If you need a specific location with utilities, waiting rarely makes it cheaper. If you are flexible on location and improvements, patience and off-season shopping can pay off; the long-run trend is visible in this farm real estate value series.

What hidden costs catch first-time land buyers? Surveys, title and recording fees at closing, then driveways, clearing, power pulls and soil testing afterward. If the parcel needs a well or septic, those can add five-figure amounts that are separate from the recorded purchase price; see consumer primers on title insurance and the site-readiness ranges above.

This article uses USDA’s 2025 Land Values Summary as its statistical backbone, plus 2025 state surveys and academic reporting, to give you a current and defensible range for the price of an acre in the United States.