[Vision2020] What's Your Value Per Acre?

[Kenneth Marcy]

*The Most (and Least) Valuable States*

*http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/06/08/the-most-and-least-valuable-states-2/ 
*

A recent study estimates that the combined value of all land in the 
contiguous United States is worth nearly $23 trillion. The most valuable 
state, according to the survey, is California, which accounted for 17% 
of the total value of the 48 bordering states. New Jersey, however, had 
the most valuable real estate relative to its size, estimated at 
$196,400 per acre, or 16 times the average value per acre across the 
contiguous U.S.

The study, authored by William Larson, senior economist at the Federal 
Housing Finance Agency and previously at the Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, estimated the value of different property types, including 
agricultural areas, federal land, and developed suburban and urban areas.

States with generally larger rural areas tended to have a lower value 
relative to their size, while more densely populated states that contain 
large urban centers had the highest estimated worth per acre. 24/7 Wall 
St. reviewed the estimated value of land in each of 48 states.


*41. Idaho
 > Value of land per acre:* $3,435
*> Total value:* $182 billion (14th lowest)
*> Total acres:* 53.0 million (10th highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 99.4% (5th highest)

A majority of Idaho land, 65%, is federally owned, the third highest 
percentage nationwide. The U.S. government’s land accounts for nearly 
half of Idaho’s overall value, the second highest such contribution. 
Like many other states with relatively low land valuation, less than 2% 
of Idaho has been developed.

<[By way of comparison, here are values for surrounding states, and the 
national coastal extremes.]>


**

*48. Wyoming
 > Value of land per acre:* $1,558
*> Total value:* $97 billion (4th lowest)
*> Total acres:* 62.3 million (8th highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 99.8% (tied — the highest)

An average acre in Wyoming is worth just $1,600, less than any other 
continental state. Like most low-value states, Wyoming is one of the 
largest states in the country. But Wyoming’s 62.3 million acres were 
worth a total of $97 billion, less than all but a handful of other 
states. More than half of Wyoming is federally owned, and government 
property accounted for the majority of Wyoming’s overall value — the 
only state where this is the case. Lower population density tends to 
correlate with lower land value, and Wyoming has the least dense 
population in the lower 48 states, with just 5.8 residents per square 
mile, compared to a national population density of 87.4 people per 
square mile.

*
46. Nevada*
**

*> Value of land per acre:* $2,116
*> Total value:* $149 billion (10th lowest)
*> Total acres:* 70.4 million (6th highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 99.3% (8th highest)

Nearly 87% of Nevada is owned by the U.S. government, by far the largest 
such percentage nationwide. While federally owned land still accounted 
for a minority of the state’s overall value — 44.6% — the share is still 
the third highest in the country. Many states with low land values had 
relatively large proportions of land dedicated to agricultural use. In 
Nevada, however, just 7.4% of land is farmland, the fourth lowest figure 
in the country.


*44. Montana
 > Value of land per acre:* $2,283
*> Total value:* $213 billion (16th lowest)
*> Total acres:* 93.3 million (3rd highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 99.8% (tied — the highest)

Like many states with less valuable land, Montana is a geographically 
large and sparsely populated state. Montana spans more than 93 million 
acres, one of the largest land masses in the country. Each acre is worth 
just $2,283 on average, however, the sixth lowest value among the lower 
48 states. The state as a whole is worth just $213 billion, the 35th 
most valuable. More than 65% of Montana is classified as agricultural, 
the 10th largest percentage.


*38. Utah
 > Value of land per acre:* $4,664
*> Total value:* $247 billion (20th lowest)
*> Total acres:* 53.0 million (11th highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 98.9% (9th highest)

Utah is one of a number of Western states with primarily undeveloped, 
federally-owned, underpopulated land that is valued relatively low 
compared to the rest of the country. The federal government owns 68.8% 
of the land in Utah, which is the second highest proportion among the 
contiguous 48 states after only Nevada. Barely 1% of the state’s land 
mass is considered urban, roughly a third of the comparable contiguous 
U.S. share.


*34. Oregon
 > Value of land per acre:* $6,503
*> Total value:* $400 billion (18th highest)
*> Total acres:* 61.5 million (9th highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 98.9% (10th highest)

Nearly 55% of land in Oregon is owned by the federal government, the 
fourth highest percentage in the country. That share of land accounted 
for 28.9% of Oregon’s total value, also one of the highest among states 
reviewed. However, an average acre of land in Oregon is valued at just 
$6,500, approximately half the value of an average acre in the 
contiguous U.S. The majority of states with relatively low-valued land 
per acre tend to be larger, more rural states. Oregon is the ninth 
largest state in the contiguous U.S. by area, and 98.85% of the state’s 
total acreage is rural, the 10th highest proportion in the country.


*18. Washington
 > Value of land per acre:* $16,752
*> Total value:* $716 billion (10th highest)
*> Total acres:* 42.7 million (19th highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 96.4% (23rd lowest)

While only 6% of land in Washington is developed, this property 
accounted for more than half of the state’s total value of $716 billion, 
the 11th highest proportion in the contiguous U.S. Perhaps as a result, 
an acre of land in Washington is worth nearly $17,000 on average, over 
$4,000 more than the average value nationwide.


*8. California
 > Value of land per acre:* $39,092
*> Total value:* $3.91 billion (the highest)
*> Total acres:* 99.9 million (2nd highest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 94.7% (20th lowest)

Federal land is worth less on the whole than private property. Nearly 
52% of California is federally owned, the fifth largest figure 
nationwide and an exceptionally large percentage compared to other 
high-value states. The state’s almost 100 million acres were worth an 
estimated $3.9 trillion, making the state the most valuable in the 
country. On a per acre basis, however, California is worth just over 
$39,000, the eighth most valuable in the country. The state’s valuable 
property is reflected in the cost of California real estate. The typical 
California house is worth $412,700, the most of any state except for Hawaii.


*7. New York
 > Value of land per acre:* $41,314
*> Total value:* $1.25 trillion (3rd highest)
*> Total acres:* 30.1 million (20th lowest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 91.3% (11th lowest)

While the nation’s largest states tend to be worth less per acre, New 
York is quite large and very valuable per acre. The state’s more than 30 
million acres are worth $41,314 each, on average. In total, the Empire 
State’s acreage is worth $1.25 trillion. Because of the large rural 
areas in the state, less than 10% of New York’s total area is considered 
developed. However, that developed property is so valuable it accounts 
for roughly two-thirds of the state’s total value.


*1. New Jersey
 > Value of land per acre:* $196,410
*> Total value:* $930 billion (5th highest)
*> Total acres:* 4.7 million (4th lowest)
*> Percent land mass rural:* 60.3% (the lowest)

New Jersey has the most valuable land in the country, valued at an 
estimated $196,410 per acre. The state as a whole is worth $930 billion, 
fifth most nationwide. Developed, urban land is far more valuable than 
rural, undeveloped areas, and it should come as no surprise that barely 
60% of the state’s land mass is rural, the lowest proportion in the 
country. On a national level, about 97% of all land is rural. Population 
density also tends to correlate with higher land value, and New Jersey 
has the highest population density in the country at 1,196 people per 
square mile, compared to a national population density of 87.4 people 
per square mile.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/06/08/the-most-and-least-valuable-states-2/ 




Ken



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