In this guide
Maybe you want to raise a few head of cattle, put in row crops, or just park some money in dirt that grows more valuable while it grows food. Whatever the plan, the state you buy in shapes almost everything: what you'll pay per acre, how long your growing season runs, whether water's a fight, and what help you can get as a newcomer.
Here's what it comes down to. Cheap land and rich soil rarely sit in the same spot, cold country hands you low prices but short seasons, and the famous farm states charge a premium for that black dirt. There's no single best answer, only the best fit for your crop, your budget, and the winters you're willing to work through.
Row-crop investor, first-time farmer, family that wants a few animals and a big garden, retiree done paying city prices for a tomato? This one's for you. I'll run through ten states worth a look, the honest upside and the catch on each, and how to figure out which one fits.
What Makes a State Worth Buying Farmland In
A handful of things move the needle, and it pays to weigh them together instead of one at a time. Land price per acre sets your entry cost and the size of your loan. Soil quality decides your yields, the difference between fighting your dirt and working with it. Climate and growing-season length cap what you can grow and how many plantings you get in a year. Water access, meaning whether you can irrigate and who holds the rights, can make or break a dry-country parcel. And state programs, property taxes, and the local farm community decide how much help or friction you hit getting started.
Acreage matters too, but probably less than you'd think, so before you chase the biggest parcel you can afford, get clear on how much land you actually need for a small farm. Nail the fundamentals first, then talk size.
These are USDA's own numbers, from the Land Values summary it publishes every July, and they're sorted cheapest cropland first. Two figures to hold onto while you read the rest: the national average is $6,020 an acre for cropland and $2,000 for pasture. Anything above those is a premium state, whatever a listicle told you.
| State | Per acre: cropland / pasture | Growing season | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $1,350 / $940 | Short | Wheat, cattle, wide-open country |
| Texas | $2,790 / $2,420 | Long | Cattle and a bit of everything |
| North Dakota | $2,800 / $1,200 | Short, hard winters | Wheat, corn, soybeans |
| Arkansas | $3,850 / $3,500 | Long and warm | Rice, poultry, row crops |
| South Dakota | $4,770 / $1,400 | Short | Beef cattle, corn, soybeans |
| Missouri | $5,310 / $2,850 | Moderate to long | Row crops, cattle, dairy |
| Kentucky | $6,630 / $4,050 | Moderate | Family farms, livestock, horses |
| Nebraska | $6,960 / $1,590 | Moderate | High crop yields, cattle |
| Minnesota | $7,300 / $2,400 | Short to moderate | Corn, soybeans, dairy |
| Iowa | $10,700 / $3,800 | Moderate | The corn and soybean powerhouse |
North Dakota
North Dakota lands near the top of most lists, and the price is why: $2,800 an acre for cropland, less than half the national average, on ground that grows wheat, corn and soybeans well. Add a low population and plenty of room and the entry cost is about as friendly as productive farmland gets. I'll note it isn't actually the cheapest in the country, which surprises people. Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico all come in under it.
The catch is the weather. Winters are long and hard, the growing season is short, and you'll plan your whole year around both. If you can work with a tight calendar, the price of entry is tough to beat.
South Dakota
Its neighbor to the south tells a similar story: affordable land and a strong ag economy built on beef cattle, corn, and soybeans. The roads and distribution are good, and there's a healthy market for locally grown food that gives small family farms somewhere to sell.
You'll deal with the same frigid winters as North Dakota, and parts of the state lean dry enough that you'll need to think hard about irrigation and who actually holds the water rights before you count on a crop. For a buyer who's serious about farm income and doesn't mind the cold, it's a lot of value for the money.
Iowa
If soil is what you're after, Iowa is the gold standard, and you pay for it. At $10,700 an acre it's the most expensive cropland in the Corn Belt and nearly eight times what Montana ground costs, with only a handful of small development-pressured northeastern states above it nationally. The deep dark dirt backs the price up with some of the most consistent corn and soybean yields anywhere.
Two things temper it. Property taxes run higher than in a lot of farm states, and all that quality means Iowa ground is expensive, so it's worth running a soil test and the numbers carefully before you pay top dollar. You're paying a premium, but you're paying it for the best soil in the game.
Texas
Texas gives you room and range, from beef cattle to row crops to specialty acreage, and at $2,790 an acre for cropland it's the second cheapest state on this list. The growing season is long. The trade-off is heat: summers run long and brutal, and water planning is part of the deal across much of the state. Note the pasture figure, $2,420, sits close to the cropland number, which is unusual and tells you how much of Texas is grazing country.
The trade-off is heat. Summers run long and brutal, and water planning is part of the deal across much of the state. Texas is also one of the two states on this list we actually sell in, so if you want owner-financed land in Texas, that door's open.
Missouri
Missouri is underrated. Per-acre prices are low, and the ag scene is varied, from corn and beans to cattle and dairy, so you're not locked into one thing. Federal programs help new farmers get going, and rural stretches have gotten more livable as services have improved.
The climate opens up a lot of crop options, though water quality in some regions is worth checking before you commit. For a buyer who wants flexibility without a big price tag, Missouri deserves a longer look than it usually gets.
Kentucky
Kentucky is horse country, sure, and it's a genuinely good farm state built on family-owned operations and quality local products. One honest correction to what you'll read elsewhere, though: Kentucky is not a cheap state anymore. Cropland runs $6,630 an acre and pasture $4,050, both above the national average, and the pasture figure is the second highest on this list. If you're drawn to raising animals and a bit of everything, the mix fits. Just don't go in expecting a bargain.
If you're drawn to raising animals and a bit of everything, the mix of livestock, tobacco history, and diversified small farms fits, and it's classic country for building a working homestead with animals and gardens. It's a state where the farm community itself is part of what you're buying.
Nebraska
Nebraska is farming to the bone, with strong crop yields and farm income and a low population across much of the state. Distribution is efficient, so getting a crop to market is straightforward. The thing to know is that the land isn't cheap: $6,960 an acre for cropland, above the national average. Pasture is a different story at $1,590, which is one of the better grass-to-dollar ratios on this list if cattle are the plan.
The knock is the same as its neighbors: weather swings and a season you have to respect. For a buyer who wants to be in the heart of American row-crop country, it's hard to argue with.
Montana
Montana is where affordable land meets wide-open country, and it isn't close. At $1,350 an acre, Montana has the cheapest cropland of any state in the country, less than a quarter of the national average, with pasture at $940. There's a healthy mix of small farms and big operations, and if the elbow-room version of this is what you're after, this is the state.
Just go in clear-eyed: the season is short, the country is big and sometimes remote, and a lot of that cheap acreage is rangeland better suited to grazing than row crops. Match the ground to the plan and Montana is a lot of land for the money.
Arkansas
Arkansas quietly checks a lot of boxes. Cropland runs $3,850 an acre, well under the national average, the weather is warm with a long season, and the soil is productive. Pasture is the outlier at $3,500, which is high relative to the cropland figure, so run the numbers on which one you actually need. It's also one of the two states on this list we sell in, and the Ozarks in particular are full of affordable small-farm and homestead ground.
It's also the other state on this list we sell in, and the Ozarks in particular are full of affordable small-farm and homestead ground, so it's worth reading up on buying land in the Ozarks and browsing owner-financed land in Arkansas. For a new farmer who doesn't want a big start-up bill, it's one of the best values here.
Minnesota
Minnesota pairs modern agriculture with an old farming tradition, fertile ground, a workable climate and steady farm communities, with corn, soybeans and a strong dairy sector. It's also the second most expensive state on this list at $7,300 an acre for cropland. Winters are real and the season runs short in the north. It's a solid pick, but it's a premium one.
Winters are real and the season runs short in the north, so plan around it. But the balance of reasonable land prices and an active, growing ag economy makes it a solid pick for someone who wants tradition and productivity in the same place.
How to Pick the Right State for You
Start with what you're actually doing. If you're farming for a living, weight soil and season heaviest, because a great price on ground that won't yield is no bargain. If you're buying land mostly as an investment and to grow something on the side, lean toward affordability and appreciation, since land has long been a steady way to build wealth and hedge against inflation. And if you want the small-farm or homestead life, a few animals, a big garden, room to breathe, then price, water, and how remote you're willing to go matter more than raw crop economics.
Then do the homework the listicles skip. Pull a soil test, check the water rights, learn the property-tax bill, and understand the season for your specific crop in your specific county. Two counties in the same state can farm completely differently. The best state on paper still comes down to the right parcel on the ground.
Ready to Buy Rural Land?
Most of the states on this list are farm-belt country we don't sell in, and I'd rather tell you that than pretend otherwise. Two of them, Texas and Arkansas, are ours, and both are strong picks for affordable small-farm and homestead ground. We carry owner-financed rural land in the other states we sell in too. Most parcels start at $150 to $175 down with a payment near a streaming bundle, and if you're weighing how to pay for it, here's how owner financing compares to a bank loan. When something looks right, our Land Specialists will walk you through it.
