Where to Find Cheap Land for Sale in Colorado in 2023 (2023)

FAQs

How much is an acre of land worth in Colorado? ›

The 2021 Colorado average farmland real estate value, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, was $1,610 per acre. This is an increase of 1.3 percent from 2020 and 2.5 percent from 2019.

Recreational land in Colorado is always a good investment because it's guaranteed to serve your needs, it will almost always appreciate, and it can generate income. However, if you want to reap the benefits of buying recreational land in Colorado, ask yourself these five questions.

The people who live here spend much of their time criss-crossing the empty valley. The land is cheap because there is little demand, and few people. Conover observes, “A flip side of having all that space to yourself can be loneliness.” For some of the subjects of the book, the isolation is the point.

1 football field is roughly 1 acre. (The exact measurements of football fields vary.) 1 hectare = 2.47 acres.

Land investment may not be as common as residential real estate, rental properties, or REITs, but it's looking like a solid choice in 2023, and beyond. Investments in land have steadily increased over the last decade. Investors may purchase land for agricultural purposes or residential and commercial real estate.

Once a residence is put on the land, the residential tax rate (7.15%) is applied to the total assessed value of the land (ag or non-ag) and improvements. Property taxes collected in each county stay in the county and do not fund state services.

Land can be expensive to trade into and out of. There's real estate agent commissions, surveys, title insurance premiums, transaction taxes, etc. and all of these costs (those that you pay when you buy land and those that you pay when you sell it) reduce your profit.

The lowest median paid taxes were in Costilla, Cheyenne, and Baca counties, reporting a median under $400.

Where to live off grid in Colorado? ›

Some of the best counties for off-grid living in Colorado are Las Animas County, El Paso County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, and Eagle County. Winters in Colorado are chilly. If you want to cut power costs, think of using a propane stove or a wood stove for heating.

Land values are lowest at the edge of the city.

Lowest price per 5 acres: $6,500

So for both 1 acre and 5 acre plots, the cheapest states to buy land in 2023 are New Mexico, Arizona, Mississippi, followed by Colorado and California.

Parts of Wyoming can have some very large ranches that seem relatively inexpensive compared to ranches in other areas and other states. This may be because the land is not as productive, a long ways from a major town, and may have limited water or other resources.

Arizona. A desert climate will be a challenge, but not an impossibility, for growing your own crops and farming the land. It's one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) of all 50 states to buy land in, but you'll need to check whether the specific location you might have in mind actually allows for homestead building.

Texas. Texas tops the list of states offering cheap farmland. With its lengthy hot seasons and mild winters, the Lone Star State is especially ideal for growing cotton. The state is also a big beef cattle producer, so the price per acre may be lower due to the high demand for grazing land.

One acre is comparable to a square measuring 66 feet by 220 yards which equals 43,560 square feet. Additionally, an acre is about 0.405 hectares or 4,840 square meters. Consequently, 10 acres would equal 435,600 square feet.

One Square mile is equal to 640 Acres.

Is it smart to buy land and build later? ›

Perhaps there's a perfect property that comes up for sale and you don't want to lose it, so buying the land now and building later makes sense. From a financial perspective, it may be much more feasible to split up the investments and have time to rebuild your savings before being ready to build.

The land is always a profitable investment as you can make money off it quickly. You can either sell your land, use it to grow crops, use the land as boat storage, or lease it out. The highest and best use of land is an imperative factor that determines the value of your land.

Overall, it's cheaper to build a home than to buy one in California, with 13 out of the 20 counties saving you money if you decide to build your house from scratch. Budget-wise, building is more favorable in Southern California whereas Central California caters best to those interested in buying.

Colorado Retirement Taxes

Retirees can deduct between $20,000 and $24,000 in retirement income from state taxes in Colorado, depending on their age. Taking that deduction into account, income from sources such as Social Security or pensions may be mostly or entirely state-tax-free for many Colorado retirees.

In Colorado, “residential land” has generally been taxed at a significantly lower rate then “vacant land”. In 2020, the Residential Assessment Rate was 7.15%. In contrast, the assessment rate for “vacant land” was 29%, more than three times higher.

The residential assessment rate would be reduced to 6.7% from 6.765% in 2023, for taxes owed in 2024, and to 6.7% from 6.976% for taxes owed in 2025. The 6.7% rate would remain unchanged through the 2032 tax year, for taxes owed in 2033.

For small investors to truly enjoy the more traditional sense of land ownership, perhaps the best options are timber farms, mineral development lands, vegetable gardens, orchards, vineyards, and recreational land.

How much money should you save before buying land? If you're buying land to build a house for you or your family to live in, you should save up enough cash to make a down payment of at least 5–10% of your building loan.

In general, you'll likely find it cheaper overall to buy an existing home, but that also depends on the market. A home loan is less risky than a land loan, and typically comes with a lower down payment and better interest rate.

There are a total of 277 local tax jurisdictions across the state, collecting an average local tax of 4.116%. Click here for a larger sales tax map, or here for a sales tax table. Combined with the state sales tax, the highest sales tax rate in Colorado is 11.2% in the city of Winter Park.

What is Colorado's lowest tax rate? ›

Overview of Colorado Taxes

Colorado has low property taxes and a flat income tax rate of 4.40%. Colorado's state sales tax is the lowest in the country out of states with a sales tax, but county and city taxes mean Coloradoans can end up paying more.

Honolulu has the lowest rates, while Rochester, New York, has the highest.

Compared to the rest of the country, Canon City's cost of living is 11.1% lower than the U.S. average and 1.36% lower than the Colorado average. If you're looking for cheap mountain towns in Colorado, Fruita, Trinidad, and Cañon City offer cheap living in Colorado, with a cost of living below the state average.

FAQs: Choosing the right Colorado community

The mountain communities of Fruita, Trinidad, and Cañon City all have affordable housing options that are well below average in the state.

Colorado's 35-acre rule can have unforeseen consequences when large landowners parcel off a portion of their ranch. Senate bill 35, passed in 1972, basically stipulates that subdivision of land resulting in acreage fewer than 35 must be approved by the county.

If you want to find free land, then the top states that offer free land include Kansas, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Some restrictions typically apply, such as building a home within a certain time frame or using the land for agricultural purposes.

Land values increase when demand for land exceeds the supply of available land or if a particular piece of land has intrinsic value greater than neighboring areas (e.g., oil can be found on the land).

Mississippi. Coming in as the cheapest state to live in in the United States is Mississippi with a cost of living index score of 83.3. It also has the lowest average housing costs in the nation at 33.7% below the national average.

Although home prices are expected to improve in the second half of the year, the California median home price is projected to decrease by 5.6 percent to $776,600 in 2023, down from the median price of $822,300 recorded in 2022.

What state to move in 2023? ›

Georgia. With Atlanta voted as the best place to move in 2023, The Peach State is expecting to see a lot of growth. This Southern state boasts an unemployment rate significantly lower than the national average at only 2.9%.

Wyoming has the lowest average cost of living among all of the Rocky Mountain states, beating out neighbors like Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. It also ranks among the top 20 most affordable states in the nation, according to MERIC data collected in 2022.

Buying cheap land in Wyoming

The 30 matching properties for sale in Wyoming have an average listing price of $64,293 and price per acre of $1,808. For more nearby real estate, explore land for sale in Wyoming.

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, who remains one of the richest people in the world, bought this historic ranch in 2009 (for $9 million). Known as the Irma Lake Lodge, the property was settled by Buffalo Bill himself, in 1902.

All of the data below comes from the Census Bureau's 2021 1-year American Community Survey (ACS) Estimates. Hawaii has the lowest property tax rate in the U.S. at 0.27%. The Aloha state has a home median value of $722,500.

The state with the highest percentage of land held by the federal government is Nevada (80.1%); the states with the lowest percentage of land held by the federal government are Connecticut and Iowa (0.3%).

Federal Government — 24.1 Million Acres

The US federal government owns 24.1 million acres of land in Colorado, including Rocky Mountain National Park.

See it: Largest land offering in California—50,000 acres in Bay Area— hits market at $72 million. A massive, unspoiled property in the Bay Area that stretches over 50,500 acres has hit the market for $72 million.

Colorado's ​66 million acres of land include 11.5 million acres of cropland, and 24.5 million acres of private rangelands, which support more than 36,000 ranches and farms.

Federal land is managed for many purposes, such as the conservation and development of natural resources, grazing and recreation. The federal government owns 36.23 percent of Colorado's total land, 24,086,075 acres out of 66,485,760 total acres. Colorado ranked 11th in the nation in federal land ownership.

Why 35 acres in Colorado? ›

35 acre lots are common because of a 1972 law in Colorado that restricted a landowner's ability to simply split off anything less than 35 acres. Commonly known as Senate Bill 35, it required landowners to go through a subdivision approval process for parcels smaller than 35 acres.

That's America's largest landowner, Colorado's John Malone.

Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos has amassed 420,000 acres in recent years. Other noteworthy farmland investors include Ted Turner and Thomas Peterffy.

Hosting Hunting and Fishing on Your Land

Another great way to make a profit off of 50 acres of vacant land is to host hunters, fishers and even have a campground. You would be surprised how many hunters and fishers are interested in guided activities. Plant some trees if you don't already have a decent wooded area.

Articles abound online comparing 10 acres of land to a host of seemingly relatable, visual examples. Commons visual representations include: 7.5 football fields. 90 basketball courts.

The answer is 15.13 football fields. Yes, imagine laying out nearly 15 football fields from end zone to end zone and that tells you the size of 20 acres.

Though homesteading in Colorado can be difficult due to the challenges of growing crops, the state's land is cheap and plentiful, livestock-friendly and offers opportunities to live off-grid. If you are looking to get started farming or homesteading out West, Colorado is a great place to do so.

The assessment rate is 29% for non-residential property. The residential assessment rate is established by the legislature every odd numbered year. The ability to change the residential assessment rate allows the tax burden to be balanced between residential properties and other property types.

Usually, the Colorado assessment rate is set at 7.15%. The current assessment value ratio for single-family real estate for the 2023 tax year was 6.765%. This means you'll pay property taxes on 6.7615% of your home's value. A $500,000 valued home will pay taxes on $33,825.

BLM-managed public lands in Colorado comprise an active, vibrant landscape where locals and visitors alike can live, work and play.

Is there BLM land in Colorado? ›

BLM Colorado focuses recreation on the visitors' freedom to choose where to go and what to do. More than 1/4 of BLM lands in Colorado are managed specifically for recreation and tourism. About six million visitors per year come to BLM Colorado lands to hike, mountain bike, whitewater raft, camp, fish and more!

A: The answer is yes. Lands identified as excess to the Federal Government's needs or more suited to private ownership are sometimes offered for sale. The Federal Government has two major property categories which it makes available for sale: real property and public land.