“Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff,” said Will Rogers. The famous actor and comedian was right. (See which people own the most land in America.)
The cost of real estate has soared in the past year. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index Reports, nationwide home prices rose 19.5% in September, compared to the same month in 2020. (In Phoenix, the figure was 33.1%.) But residential land prices have soared, too, and the most expensive place in America to buy residential land today is San Francisco County.
Land prices usually are measured by geographic area, which most often includes cities, states or counties. Lawn Love, an online lawn care marketplace, recently released its report on 2022’s Most Expensive Counties to Buy Residential Land. Examining the 300 of the biggest counties in America as measured by population, it considered price per acre and both annual property tax rate and annual property tax rate per acre, using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency and SmartAsset.
Counties that Americans are leaving because of high home prices topped the list. In first place, San Francisco County had a score of 90.12. There, reports Lawn Love, the average price of an acre of vacant residential land is $20.6 million. The county also had the highest average annual property tax rate per acre – and, not surprisingly, it’s also California’s entry on the list of the most expensive county to buy a home in every state.
Click here to see the most expensive counties in America to buy residential land
Next after San Francisco County came Kings County – synonymous with the New York City borough of Brooklyn – which had a score of 57.46. All but one of the top 10 most expensive are near San Francisco or New York City. The cheapest place to buy land out of the 300 surveyed? Montgomery County, Alabama.
25. Atlantic County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 11.65
> Price rank (out of 300) 101
> Tax rank (out of 300) 12
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24. Middlesex County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 12.29
> Price rank (out of 300) 53
> Tax rank (out of 300) 15
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23. Suffolk County, New York
> Overall Score: 12.50
> Price rank (out of 300) 47
> Tax rank (out of 300) 13
Source: ChrisBoswell / iStock via Getty Images
22. Camden County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 13.23
> Price rank (out of 300) 142
> Tax rank (out of 300) 7
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21. Passaic County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 14.23
> Price rank (out of 300) 56
> Tax rank (out of 300) 8
20. Bergen County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 14.31
> Price rank (out of 300) 30
> Tax rank (out of 300) 9
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19. Marin County, California
> Overall Score: 14.44
> Price rank (out of 300) 16
> Tax rank (out of 300) 103
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18. Honolulu County, Hawaii
> Overall Score: 14.62
> Price rank (out of 300) 7
> Tax rank (out of 300) 254
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17. Los Angeles County, California
> Overall Score: 15.32
> Price rank (out of 300) 14
> Tax rank (out of 300) 106
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16. Union County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 16.50
> Price rank (out of 300) 34
> Tax rank (out of 300) 5
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15. Essex County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 16.77
> Price rank (out of 300) 31
> Tax rank (out of 300) 4
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14. Richmond County, New York
> Overall Score: 17.03
> Price rank (out of 300) 15
> Tax rank (out of 300) 56
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13. Suffolk County, Massachusetts
> Overall Score: 17.67
> Price rank (out of 300) 11
> Tax rank (out of 300) 78
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12. Orange County, California
> Overall Score: 17.79
> Price rank (out of 300) 9
> Tax rank (out of 300) 90
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11. Alameda County, California
> Overall Score: 18.04
> Price rank (out of 300) 10
> Tax rank (out of 300) 70
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10. Arlington County, Virginia
> Overall Score: 18.11
> Price rank (out of 300) 13
> Tax rank (out of 300) 52
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9. Nassau County, New York
> Overall Score: 18.51
> Price rank (out of 300) 20
> Tax rank (out of 300) 6
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8. Bronx County, New York
> Overall Score: 18.93
> Price rank (out of 300) 12
> Tax rank (out of 300) 39
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7. Washington County, DC
> Overall Score: 25.12
> Price rank (out of 300) 5
> Tax rank (out of 300) 77
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6. Queens County, New York
> Overall Score: 27.30
> Price rank (out of 300) 6
> Tax rank (out of 300) 17
Source: Faina Gurevich / iStock via Getty Images
5. San Mateo County, California
> Overall Score: 28.22
> Price rank (out of 300) 3
> Tax rank (out of 300) 38
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4. Santa Clara County, California
> Overall Score: 28.60
> Price rank (out of 300) 4
> Tax rank (out of 300) 24
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3. Hudson County, New Jersey
> Overall Score: 33.99
> Price rank (out of 300) 8
> Tax rank (out of 300) 2
Source: NicolasMcComber / Getty Images
2. Kings County, New York
> Overall Score: 57.46
> Price rank (out of 300) 2
> Tax rank (out of 300) 3
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1. San Francisco County, California
> Overall Score: 90.12
> Price rank (out of 300) 1
> Tax rank (out of 300) 1
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