The cost of farmland continues to remain at record highs, even amid slowing growth.
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s recently released 2026 Land Values report demonstrates that farm real estate value, cropland value and pasture value have seen increased gains in 2026 from last year.
Average farm real estate value, which includes all land and buildings, averaged $4,500 per acre in 2026, a 3.4% increase from 2025. Cropland value averaged $6,020 per acre, up 3.3% from last year. Pasture value averaged $2,000 per acre, up 4.2% from 2025.
Since 2020, average farm real estate values have increased nearly 44%, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). This shows the resilience of farmland as an asset despite tighter margins across some of the farm economy, the organization said.
Cash rents remain near record-high levels but did not show noticeable growth from last year. The average cropland rent declined by $1 to $180 per acre in 2026, irrigated cropland held at $244 per acre, non-irrigated rent decreased by $1 to $146 per acre and pasture rent increased by $1 to $16.50 per acre.
“Rather than signaling a broad shift in rental markets, the figures show that land costs remain elevated even as farm revenues and margins face pressure,” wrote Daniel Munch, AFBF economist, in a Market Intel report.
Munch continued that the continued increase offers a mixed signal for the farm economy, as higher values provide landowners with additional equity and collateral, but they also increase the expenses of buying, renting or expanding an operation.
“Development, energy projects, outside investment and generational ownership changes can intensify competition for a limited land base,” Munch said, “leaving land technically agricultural but less available, affordable or workable for the farmers and ranchers seeking to use it.”
Farm real estate value
The average farm real estate value has made steady gains since 2022, rising to $4,500 per acre in 2026 from $3,720 per acre in 2025.
The Southeast region has seen the greatest growth from 2025-26, up 4.3% to $6,000 per acre. The Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Of the region, Florida showed the greatest increase at 5.2%, bringing the state’s average farm real estate value to $8,150 per acre in 2026.
The Northeast region has the most expensive rates per acre, due to limited land availability. Rhode Island had the highest average at $23,600 per acre, followed by New Jersey at $17,000, Massachusetts at $15,200 and Connecticut at $14,600. The next highest farm real estate value was seen on the West Coast, with California at $14,100.
The most affordable farm real estate value was reported in New Mexico at $735 per acre, followed by Wyoming at $1,030, Nevada at $1,230 and Montana at $1,260.
“Lower values in much of the Mountain West reflect a larger share of arid rangeland, lower cropping potential and less pressure from development,” Munch said.
When looking at the longer-term focus, the region that has shown the largest percentage gains since 2020 is the central Plains, with values increasing 76% in Kansas, 65% in Nebraska and 61% in South Dakota.
“These states began from lower per-acre values than many coastal markets, while the 2021-2022 surge in grain and livestock returns, limited land for sale and longer-term productivity gains supported stronger bids for available ground,” Munch said. “The result has been a rapid repricing of productive agricultural land even as annual growth has slowed.”
Cropland value
Cropland value includes the land used to grow field crops, vegetables and hay. The average cropland value in the U.S. rose 3.3% since 2025 to a record $6,020 per acre in 2026. This was the smallest annual gain since the current upswing began in 2021, AFBF said, but values are now 48% higher than in 2020.
The Northeast and California also led for the highest average cropland values. Rhode Island cropland values averaged $34,300 per acre, followed by Massachusetts at $26,600, Connecticut at $23,200, California at $18,430 and New Jersey at $17,100.
“Limited acreage and intense development pressure support values in the Northeast, while California’s irrigated ground and concentration of high-value fruit, vegetable and nut production raise its agricultural earning potential,” Munch said.
The lowest cropland values were led by Montana at $1,350 per acre, followed by Wyoming at $2,080, New Mexico at $2,090 and Oklahoma at $2,560. These states generally have more arid conditions, lower expected crop returns and less competing land pressure, according to AFBF.
The greatest changes since 2020 are similar to real estate values, with Kansas leading at a 78% increase, followed by Nebraska at 67% and South Dakota at 64%, and Wisconsin and Tennessee each at 60%.
“In the Plains and western Corn Belt, the 2021-2022 surge in crop returns, limited land offered for sale and improvements in production potential translated directly to higher cropland prices,” Munch said. “In other regions, development, energy projects and other competing uses have also kept values elevated by increasing demand for the same limited acres.”
Pastureland value
Pastureland values in 2026 increased to a record $2,000 per acre, a 4.2% increase from 2025. The value of pastureland grew faster than both farm real estate and cropland values. Since 2020, pastureland values have increased by 43%
The Northeast led once again for highest values, with Rhode Island at $17,500 per acre, followed by New Jersey at $15,600.
“In these markets, limited private open land faces competition from residential development, recreation, rural lifestyle demand and other uses in addition to grazing,” Munch said. The lower pastureland values were led by New Mexico at $650 per acre, followed by Wyoming at $770, Nevada at $870 and Montana at $940.
“Lower forage productivity, arid conditions, larger tracts of rangeland and less development pressure generally keep values lower across much of the Mountain West,” Munch said.
The states with the largest percentage gains since 2020 were Kansas at 83%, Nebraska at 60%, North Dakota at 57% and Utah at 55%.
“The 2026 report is notable not simply because farmland values reached another record, but because the sharp post-2020 increase is proving durable,” Munch concluded. “Annual appreciation has slowed, but there is little evidence of a broad reset. Instead, farmland appears to have settled onto a substantially higher cost base.”
