Methodology

To identify the most (and least) valuable states, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the estimated average land value for each state from an April 2015 working paper by William Larson for the Bureau of Economic Analysis. To generate a comprehensive valuation of the 48 contiguous states, Larson’s study, “New Estimates of Value of Land of the United States,” presented a range of land value models for estimating land prices in 2009. The GDP-per-capita figures came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and are for 2017. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Consumer Survey 1-Year Estimates served as the source for the median home value data and figures are for 2017.