While doing some property research last Friday, we wondered… what it would look like to compare 40 acres of land in every county in Texas?
Now, anyone who's spent more than a minute looking at land understands that there are a host of factors that influence the market value of a particular property at any given moment in time.
Factors To Consider When Determining Land Value
And a few that immediately come to mind include…
- the economy
- interest rates
- comparable sales
- location
- supply
- demand
- population density
- improvements
- attributes
- access
- drainage
- soil type
- utilities
- prior land use
- current land use
- future land use
- regulations
- restrictions
We could go on and on… right? BUT, before we get into that…
What does 40 acres actually look like?
Our Analysis of Texas Land Prices
So.. in a rudimentary (and flawed) attempt to at least get an overall relative comparison, we analyzed vacant land prices in all 255 counties in Texas to see in fact how much 40 acres of land in Texas costs.
Using filtering tools and data provided by PRYCD, who gets their data from First American-owned DataTree, we queried all tracts in the State of Texas between 35 and 45 acres with less than 5% improvements. There are over 27,300 of them! That's the easy part.
Texas Is a Non-Disclosure State
Now here's where it gets trickier…. being a non-disclosure state, transaction prices in Texas are not publicly disclosed. They are not a part of the public record, and the deed or conveyance typically only incudes token consideration of $10 or $100.
Without personally being a part of the transaction or knowing someone with loose lips who is, you can make some assumptions based on the asking price and a deed of trust, if they used a loan, but it's still a guess with a high degree of inaccuracy.
Unlike Texas, most states require the direct or indirect disclosure of real estate transaction prices, typically for the purposes of paying filing fees or taxes and substantiating annual tax appraisals, which as you know drives annual property taxes.
In Texas, although a local real estate appraiser, attorney or realtor may have proprietary information and personal knowledge, at scale and without spending a ton of time (or research budget), it's hard to cover an entire county accurately, let alone statewide. To do it right, you really have to break down a county or geographic region based on similar underlying property conditions and characteristics.
So, as a next best option, at least at a 35,000′ level, PRYCD uses self-reported sold prices and current asking prices from Realtor.com, Lands of America, Zillow, and LandFlip to generate estimated market values.
We've included the table below.
Draw Your Own Conclusions
As you review and manipulate the data — the table is searchable, and all columns are sortable — there are obvious flaws in the “Market Price/Acre” figure, primarily due to a lack of comparable sales data.
Stated differently, with some counties, there's not enough 40 acre properties on the market right now to draw any conclusion or a meaningfully accurate estimate.
For example, some counties have a “$0.00” Market Value/Acre, due to a lack of data, or Ochiltree County, with a population density of 11.4 people per square mile, shows a higher Market Value/Acre than Dallas County (2,880.25/mile), Harris County (2,644.13/mile), and Tarrant County (2,005.58/mile), and there's no way that make sense! But, we've left the data “as is,” and you can draw your own conclusions. 😊
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please contact us anytime. Thanks for reading! 🙏
🕵️ And happy land hunting!
Market Price Per Acre in Texas
| County | Population Density (a) | Tract Count (b) | Market Price/Acre (c) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson County, TX | 53.56 | 506 | $3,556.83 |
| Andrews County, TX | 11.81 | 38 | $14,138.46 |
| Angelina County, TX | 100.31 | 282 | $5,648.42 |
| Aransas County, TX | 43.86 | 21 | $17,257.20 |
| Archer County, TX | 9.79 | 172 | $2,513.09 |
| Armstrong County, TX | 2.08 | 61 | $2,751.40 |
| Atascosa County, TX | 36.78 | 409 | $5,680.50 |
| Austin County, TX | 43.32 | 384 | $10,725.44 |
| Bailey County, TX | 8.66 | 65 | $1,300.54 |
| Bandera County, TX | 25.67 | 339 | $10,350.09 |
| Bastrop County, TX | 82.75 | 325 | $9,214.59 |
| Baylor County, TX | 4.14 | 114 | $1,752.15 |
| Bee County, TX | 36.21 | 309 | $4,185.92 |
| Bell County, TX | 285.14 | 506 | $7,977.82 |
| Bexar County, TX | 1,365.27 | 428 | $12,675.77 |
| Blanco County, TX | 14.72 | 273 | $13,150.25 |
| Borden County, TX | 0.71 | 68 | $0.00 |
| Bosque County, TX | 18.16 | 333 | $5,144.50 |
| Bowie County, TX | 100.29 | 559 | $2,760.13 |
| Brazoria County, TX | 225.27 | 538 | $8,806.75 |
| Brazos County, TX | 382.57 | 203 | $14,669.09 |
| Brewster County, TX | 1.48 | 1361 | $324.76 |
| Briscoe County, TX | 1.81 | 106 | $1,152.92 |
| Brooks County, TX | 7.65 | 141 | $3,227.97 |
| Brown County, TX | 39.82 | 270 | $3,374.91 |
| Burleson County, TX | 26.9 | 460 | $6,457.69 |
| Burnet County, TX | 41.87 | 259 | $7,623.51 |
| Caldwell County, TX | 69.59 | 203 | $7,731.05 |
| Calhoun County, TX | 20.7 | 157 | $5,994.44 |
| Callahan County, TX | 15.03 | 363 | $2,939.42 |
| Cameron County, TX | 332.07 | 776 | $7,220.12 |
| Camp County, TX | 61.09 | 181 | $3,481.63 |
| Carson County, TX | 6.69 | 35 | $0.00 |
| Cass County, TX | 31.73 | 884 | $2,271.26 |
| Castro County, TX | 8.97 | 48 | $4,733.45 |
| Chambers County, TX | 47.58 | 231 | $8,056.57 |
| Cherokee County, TX | 47.88 | 830 | $3,305.29 |
| Childress County, TX | 9.93 | 53 | $1,006.33 |
| Clay County, TX | 9.63 | 312 | $3,860.09 |
| Cochran County, TX | 4.03 | 59 | $553.62 |
| Coke County, TX | 3.58 | 159 | $2,563.39 |
| Coleman County, TX | 6.94 | 268 | $2,634.14 |
| Collin County, TX | 1,134.48 | 370 | $15,645.41 |
| Collingsworth County, TX | 3.31 | 77 | $954.46 |
| Colorado County, TX | 21.43 | 378 | $9,139.89 |
| Comal County, TX | 258.04 | 156 | $17,713.99 |
| Comanche County, TX | 14.74 | 420 | $3,319.59 |
| Concho County, TX | 4.11 | 141 | $2,702.31 |
| Cooke County, TX | 43.59 | 608 | $9,341.67 |
| Coryell County, TX | 71.32 | 269 | $4,755.23 |
| Cottle County, TX | 1.67 | 70 | $1,333.37 |
| Crane County, TX | 5.57 | 72 | $1,531.36 |
| Crockett County, TX | 1.32 | 156 | $979.46 |
| Crosby County, TX | 6.72 | 78 | $0.00 |
| Culberson County, TX | 0.59 | 552 | $381.28 |
| Dallam County, TX | 4.73 | 32 | $7,153.20 |
| Dallas County, TX | 2,880.25 | 335 | $19,906.03 |
| Dawson County, TX | 15.34 | 90 | $1,696.71 |
| Deaf Smith County, TX | 12.93 | 32 | $4,326.98 |
| Delta County, TX | 18.76 | 242 | $2,571.36 |
| Denton County, TX | 877.45 | 414 | $15,273.37 |
| DeWitt County, TX | 22.08 | 497 | $6,799.49 |
| Dickens County, TX | 2.7 | 127 | $1,635.88 |
| Dimmit County, TX | 7.49 | 161 | $5,376.88 |
| Donley County, TX | 3.75 | 61 | $2,325.01 |
| Duval County, TX | 6.56 | 640 | $2,932.80 |
| Eastland County, TX | 19.94 | 422 | $3,093.37 |
| Ector County, TX | 176.76 | 97 | $14,091.55 |
| Edwards County, TX | 0.94 | 453 | $2,199.94 |
| El Paso County, TX | 188.48 | 198 | $8,499.20 |
| Ellis County, TX | 827.99 | 322 | $7,865.95 |
| Erath County, TX | 44.95 | 423 | $6,073.64 |
| Falls County, TX | 23.08 | 482 | $3,429.66 |
| Fannin County, TX | 37.73 | 726 | $4,770.08 |
| Fayette County, TX | 25.58 | 597 | $7,622.13 |
| Fisher County, TX | 4.41 | 141 | $1,273.90 |
| Floyd County, TX | 6.49 | 222 | $526.67 |
| Foard County, TX | 1.89 | 133 | $1,185.85 |
| Fort Bend County, TX | 661.44 | 313 | $11,405.08 |
| Franklin County, TX | 35.95 | 245 | $3,247.81 |
| Freestone County, TX | 22.22 | 715 | $3,357.96 |
| Frio County, TX | 15.18 | 203 | $4,952.74 |
| Gaines County, TX | 13.73 | 90 | $3,327.14 |
| Galveston County, TX | 383.34 | 180 | $9,838.25 |
| Garza County, TX | 7.21 | 78 | $5,003.07 |
| Gillespie County, TX | 23.39 | 544 | $10,316.27 |
| Glasscock County, TX | 1.36 | 26 | $12,481.57 |
| Goliad County, TX | 8.39 | 277 | $5,439.42 |
| Gonzales County, TX | 18.51 | 574 | $6,374.09 |
| Gray County, TX | 24.26 | 81 | $3,413.94 |
| Grayson County, TX | 123.47 | 444 | $10,171.16 |
| Gregg County, TX | 441.05 | 90 | $7,409.03 |
| Grimes County, TX | 33.17 | 284 | $8,244.54 |
| Guadalupe County, TX | 183.96 | 460 | $11,093.67 |
| Hale County, TX | 36.09 | 140 | $0.00 |
| Hall County, TX | 3.71 | 90 | $1,691.80 |
| Hamilton County, TX | 10.19 | 315 | $4,038.10 |
| Hansford County, TX | 6.1 | 31 | $3,167.09 |
| Hardeman County, TX | 5.94 | 84 | $1,305.73 |
| Hardin County, TX | 60.84 | 255 | $3,073.50 |
| Harris County, TX | 2,644.13 | 305 | $20,774.29 |
| Harrison County, TX | 71.65 | 464 | $3,792.34 |
| Hartley County, TX | 4.14 | 34 | $0.00 |
| Haskell County, TX | 6.48 | 154 | $1,120.12 |
| Hays County, TX | 231.04 | 175 | $20,107.47 |
| Hemphill County, TX | 4.17 | 46 | $0.00 |
| Henderson County, TX | 82.84 | 474 | $5,661.04 |
| Hidalgo County, TX | 543.69 | 1285 | $10,165.07 |
| Hill County, TX | 35.59 | 540 | $4,452.48 |
| Hockley County, TX | 25.23 | 112 | $1,888.50 |
| Hood County, TX | 117.12 | 179 | $9,987.87 |
| Hopkins County, TX | 46.02 | 639 | $4,447.33 |
| Houston County, TX | 19.19 | 781 | $3,661.00 |
| Howard County, TX | 38.73 | 187 | $4,269.35 |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 0.96 | 1445 | $642.14 |
| Hunt County, TX | 106.43 | 472 | $5,638.64 |
| Hutchinson County, TX | 24.75 | 93 | $1,075.66 |
| Irion County, TX | 1.52 | 30 | $4,680.86 |
| Jack County, TX | 9.83 | 403 | $3,955.05 |
| Jackson County, TX | 16.42 | 288 | $5,052.76 |
| Jasper County, TX | 36.81 | 282 | $3,325.74 |
| Jeff Davis County, TX | 0.95 | 212 | $2,247.13 |
| Jefferson County, TX | 230.28 | 320 | $14,232.50 |
| Jim Hogg County, TX | 4.67 | 95 | $8,888.96 |
| Jim Wells County, TX | 47.05 | 314 | $3,673.93 |
| Johnson County, TX | 205.63 | 367 | $12,007.59 |
| Jones County, TX | 21.56 | 255 | $2,363.65 |
| Karnes County, TX | 19.66 | 86 | $5,404.27 |
| Kaufman County, TX | 127.91 | 372 | $7,991.73 |
| Kendall County, TX | 64.16 | 217 | $16,465.04 |
| Kenedy County, TX | 0.21 | 11 | $0.00 |
| Kent County, TX | 0.89 | 56 | $2,370.33 |
| Kerr County, TX | 44.83 | 331 | $8,889.61 |
| Kimble County, TX | 3.68 | 264 | $4,482.59 |
| King County, TX | 0.32 | 24 | $0.00 |
| Kinney County, TX | 2.64 | 157 | $1,861.55 |
| Kleberg County, TX | 29.41 | 264 | $4,971.24 |
| Knox County, TX | 4.35 | 190 | $1,583.08 |
| La Salle County, TX | 53.62 | 198 | $4,134.68 |
| Lamar County, TX | 13.73 | 526 | $3,251.87 |
| Lamb County, TX | 27.56 | 91 | $823.75 |
| Lampasas County, TX | 4.61 | 315 | $4,794.15 |
| Lavaca County, TX | 19.86 | 518 | $6,827.01 |
| Lee County, TX | 26.2 | 466 | $6,551.25 |
| Leon County, TX | 15.54 | 802 | $4,165.20 |
| Liberty County, TXLiberty County, TX | 64.32 | 652 | $4,154.37 |
| Limestone County, TX | 25.06 | 458 | $3,169.72 |
| Lipscomb County, TX | 3.83 | 103 | $824.75 |
| Live Oak County, TX | 10.69 | 389 | $4,241.92 |
| Llano County, TX | 19.97 | 279 | $8,114.60 |
| Loving County, TX | 0.2 | 69 | $0.00 |
| Lubbock County, TX | 332.36 | 89 | $4,621.71 |
| Lynn County, TX | 6.62 | 50 | $13,659.98 |
| Madison County, TX | 7.72 | 301 | $6,209.29 |
| Marion County, TX | 240.2 | 188 | $2,402.81 |
| Martin County, TX | 0.61 | 187 | $6,379.37 |
| Mason County, TX | 28.95 | 300 | $6,000.09 |
| Matagorda County, TX | 25.11 | 442 | $5,344.21 |
| Maverick County, TX | 5.24 | 107 | $3,846.34 |
| McCulloch County, TX | 4.3 | 206 | $3,450.54 |
| McLennan County, TX | 22.75 | 366 | $6,171.41 |
| McMullen County, TX | 42 | 132 | $4,226.12 |
| Medina County, TX | 37.5 | 658 | $6,812.73 |
| Menard County, TX | 2.49 | 110 | $3,390.33 |
| Midland County, TX | 178.58 | 126 | $19,386.58 |
| Milam County, TX | 24.22 | 390 | $4,283.86 |
| Mills County, TX | 6.58 | 263 | $3,718.89 |
| Mitchell County, TX | 10.27 | 54 | $2,011.91 |
| Montague County, TX | 21.02 | 496 | $5,196.97 |
| Montgomery County, TX | 499.13 | 429 | $17,621.37 |
| Moore County, TX | 24.07 | 36 | $3,658.94 |
| Morris County, TX | 49.94 | 220 | $2,740.73 |
| Motley County, TX | 1.22 | 99 | $1,390.41 |
| Nacogdoches County, TX | 65.77 | 483 | $3,794.88 |
| Navarro County, TX | 43.95 | 541 | $3,763.92 |
| Newton County, TX | 15.37 | 255 | $2,742.62 |
| Nolan County, TX | 16.65 | 120 | $1,515.98 |
| Nueces County, TX | 291.79 | 330 | $9,268.56 |
| Ochiltree County, TX | 11.14 | 32 | $28,521.19 |
| Oldham County, TX | 1.41 | 68 | $7,350.32 |
| Orange County, TX | 215.36 | 75 | $3,611.99 |
| Palo Pinto County, TX | 370 | 366 | $6,462.33 |
| Panola County, TX | 28.98 | 862 | $3,429.97 |
| Parker County, TX | 128.49 | 699 | $11,674.12 |
| Parmer County, TX | 11.6 | 47 | $4,504.26 |
| Pecos County, TX | 3.4 | 852 | $790.49 |
| Polk County, TX | 44.29 | 321 | $4,032.46 |
| Potter County, TX | 131.32 | 86 | $3,715.31 |
| Presidio County, TX | 1.78 | 488 | $642.87 |
| Rains County, TX | 45.41 | 168 | $5,266.50 |
| Randall County, TX | 145.82 | 168 | $4,961.06 |
| Reagan County, TX | 2.86 | 15 | $6,553.99 |
| Real County, TX | 4.73 | 183 | $3,817.96 |
| Red River County, TX | 12.17 | 690 | $1,967.78 |
| Reeves County, TX | 5.58 | 958 | $2,121.84 |
| Refugio County, TX | 8.87 | 145 | $5,305.64 |
| Roberts County, TX | 1.02 | 66 | $0.00 |
| Robertson County, TX | 19.22 | 383 | $6,277.46 |
| Rockwall County, TX | 589.33 | 66 | $24,761.71 |
| Runnels County, TX | 9.93 | 273 | $2,482.94 |
| Rusk County, TX | 56.86 | 787 | $3,346.76 |
| Sabine County, TX | 18.78 | 218 | $3,236.85 |
| San Augustine County, TX | 14.97 | 290 | $3,522.27 |
| San Jacinto County, TX | 42.01 | 198 | $5,289.26 |
| San Patricio County, TX | 91.53 | 332 | $8,109.94 |
| San Saba County, TX | 5.39 | 320 | $4,084.17 |
| Schleicher County, TX | 2.64 | 97 | $4,464.46 |
| Scurry County, TX | 18.64 | 116 | $2,783.28 |
| Shackelford County, TX | 3.69 | 96 | $2,429.22 |
| Shelby County, TX | 30.48 | 565 | $3,725.10 |
| Sherman County, TX | 3.29 | 35 | $1,323.44 |
| Smith County, TX | 220.75 | 806 | $7,176.24 |
| Somervell County, TX | 44.22 | 62 | $10,993.18 |
| Starr County, TX | 49.61 | 634 | $3,603.75 |
| Stephens County, TX | 10.46 | 276 | $3,228.85 |
| Sterling County, TX | 1.24 | 20 | $0.00 |
| Stonewall County, TX | 1.62 | 90 | $1,176.38 |
| Sutton County, TX | 2.84 | 123 | $1,858.53 |
| Swisher County, TX | 8.72 | 51 | $2,246.56 |
| Tarrant County, TX | 2,005.58 | 283 | $21,065.89 |
| Taylor County, TX | 143.05 | 243 | $4,262.63 |
| Terrell County, TX | 0.35 | 149 | $567.39 |
| Terry County, TX | 14.2 | 96 | $2,033.20 |
| Throckmorton County, TX | 1.79 | 89 | $1,784.81 |
| Titus County, TX | 75.9 | 323 | $4,275.15 |
| Tom Green County, TX | 71.53 | 247 | $6,276.21 |
| Travis County, TX | 1,199.12 | 378 | $17,357.61 |
| Trinity County, TX | 20.43 | 292 | $3,704.27 |
| Tyler County, TX | 23.25 | 262 | $3,434.07 |
| Upshur County, TX | 66.29 | 521 | $3,959.49 |
| Upton County, TX | 2.7 | 106 | $3,165.45 |
| Uvalde County, TX | 16.94 | 223 | $4,900.49 |
| Val Verde County, TX | 15.12 | 191 | $1,083.45 |
| Van Zandt County, TX | 61.14 | 583 | $6,189.09 |
| Victoria County, TX | 97.63 | 338 | $6,630.67 |
| Walker County, TX | 84.61 | 216 | $6,153.12 |
| Waller County, TX | 83.41 | 182 | $14,277.10 |
| Ward County, TX | 14.02 | 504 | $1,407.74 |
| Washington County, TX | 54.21 | 352 | $10,853.70 |
| Webb County, TX | 81.42 | 261 | $5,758.49 |
| Wharton County, TX | 37.73 | 529 | $6,159.24 |
| Wheeler County, TX | 5.91 | 81 | $2,144.28 |
| Wichita County, TX | 207.74 | 215 | $3,694.85 |
| Wilbarger County, TX | 13.84 | 121 | $2,598.44 |
| Willacy County, TX | 28.23 | 802 | $4,497.36 |
| Williamson County, TX | 489.75 | 727 | $9,494.77 |
| Wilson County, TX | 61.02 | 258 | $7,063.62 |
| Winkler County, TX | 9.01 | 44 | $0.00 |
| Wise County, TX | 71.7 | 453 | $8,991.72 |
| Wood County, TX | 63.67 | 517 | $4,867.83 |
| Yoakum County, TX | 10.71 | 119 | $2,213.75 |
| Young County, TX | 19.31 | 233 | $3,311.87 |
| Zapata County, TX | 13.54 | 163 | $2,900.64 |
| Zavala County, TX | 9.18 | 150 | $3,252.97 |
Data Sources: (a) “Population Density” is the population per square mile from Wikipedia; (b) “Tract Count” is the number of DataTree owner records; and (c) “Market Price/Acre” is based on PRYCD‘s pricing algorithm.
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