Report
Iowa land values by county
Iowa farmland averaged $11,549 an acre in ISU's 2025 survey, from $16,269 in O'Brien County to $6,679 in Appanoose. All 99 counties, plus timber and pasture.
By Jordan Johnson, Founder, Kedron Co.Updated 9 min read
Iowa farmland averaged $11,549 an acre in Iowa State University's 2025 Land Value Survey, up 0.7% from 2024, with county averages running from $16,269 in O'Brien County to $6,679 in Appanoose County (ISU, released December 17, 2025). The full county table is below, followed by district values and the timber and pasture values that matter for wooded and hunting ground.
Iowa land values by county, 2025
Source: Iowa State University, 2025 Iowa Land Value Survey, released December 17, 2025. Values are average dollars per acre for all farmland in the county as of November 1, 2025. These are survey estimates, not sales, so there is no sale count for each county (see "How to read these numbers").
| County | 2025 value ($/acre) | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Adair | $9,116 | +1.4% |
| Adams | $8,113 | +0.2% |
| Allamakee | $9,742 | +4.4% |
| Appanoose | $6,679 | -2.3% |
| Audubon | $11,956 | +2.4% |
| Benton | $12,689 | -0.7% |
| Black Hawk | $13,455 | +0.5% |
| Boone | $12,811 | -2.2% |
| Bremer | $13,134 | +2.7% |
| Buchanan | $12,957 | +2.3% |
| Buena Vista | $13,696 | 0.0% |
| Butler | $12,027 | 0.0% |
| Calhoun | $13,317 | -1.6% |
| Carroll | $13,239 | +1.7% |
| Cass | $10,612 | +1.9% |
| Cedar | $13,199 | +2.5% |
| Cerro Gordo | $11,594 | -0.4% |
| Cherokee | $13,665 | +2.4% |
| Chickasaw | $12,135 | +2.7% |
| Clarke | $7,348 | -2.1% |
| Clay | $13,112 | 0.0% |
| Clayton | $10,825 | +4.4% |
| Clinton | $12,154 | +3.0% |
| Crawford | $12,563 | +2.5% |
| Dallas | $11,883 | -1.0% |
| Davis | $7,735 | -0.3% |
| Decatur | $6,781 | -2.3% |
| Delaware | $13,891 | +3.7% |
| Des Moines | $10,976 | +1.3% |
| Dickinson | $12,869 | +2.2% |
| Dubuque | $13,677 | +4.2% |
| Emmet | $12,483 | -0.1% |
| Fayette | $13,037 | +3.6% |
| Floyd | $11,944 | +1.9% |
| Franklin | $11,926 | -3.0% |
| Fremont | $10,073 | +1.4% |
| Greene | $12,557 | -0.7% |
| Grundy | $13,658 | -1.0% |
| Guthrie | $11,055 | +1.5% |
| Hamilton | $13,130 | -3.0% |
| Hancock | $11,527 | -2.5% |
| Hardin | $12,619 | -3.0% |
| Harrison | $10,994 | +2.3% |
| Henry | $10,204 | +1.3% |
| Howard | $11,214 | +2.8% |
| Humboldt | $12,719 | -3.8% |
| Ida | $13,117 | +2.5% |
| Iowa | $11,454 | +1.0% |
| Jackson | $11,575 | +3.6% |
| Jasper | $11,784 | +1.2% |
| Jefferson | $8,839 | +1.3% |
| Johnson | $13,476 | +2.8% |
| Jones | $12,380 | +3.0% |
| Keokuk | $9,828 | +3.0% |
| Kossuth | $12,414 | -4.3% |
| Lee | $10,222 | -0.5% |
| Linn | $13,513 | +1.9% |
| Louisa | $11,632 | +2.8% |
| Lucas | $6,843 | -2.3% |
| Lyon | $15,764 | +2.2% |
| Madison | $9,770 | +0.1% |
| Mahaska | $10,209 | +1.4% |
| Marion | $10,379 | -0.5% |
| Marshall | $11,857 | -0.5% |
| Mills | $10,775 | +1.4% |
| Mitchell | $12,418 | +1.9% |
| Monona | $10,563 | +2.7% |
| Monroe | $8,023 | -0.3% |
| Montgomery | $9,221 | +1.4% |
| Muscatine | $12,125 | +2.6% |
| O'Brien | $16,269 | +2.2% |
| Osceola | $14,483 | +2.2% |
| Page | $8,513 | +1.4% |
| Palo Alto | $12,504 | -2.3% |
| Plymouth | $14,582 | +2.5% |
| Pocahontas | $12,951 | -3.1% |
| Polk | $12,174 | -1.4% |
| Pottawattamie | $11,571 | +1.9% |
| Poweshiek | $11,642 | +1.2% |
| Ringgold | $7,373 | -1.1% |
| Sac | $13,743 | +1.7% |
| Scott | $15,192 | +2.3% |
| Shelby | $11,847 | +2.3% |
| Sioux | $15,983 | +2.3% |
| Story | $13,479 | -2.1% |
| Tama | $11,968 | -0.6% |
| Taylor | $7,555 | +0.2% |
| Union | $8,255 | -1.1% |
| Van Buren | $8,438 | -0.4% |
| Wapello | $8,410 | +1.4% |
| Warren | $10,578 | -1.8% |
| Washington | $12,594 | +3.0% |
| Wayne | $7,227 | -2.3% |
| Webster | $12,694 | -3.0% |
| Winnebago | $11,217 | -2.5% |
| Winneshiek | $11,608 | +3.6% |
| Woodbury | $11,277 | +2.7% |
| Worth | $11,265 | -0.3% |
| Wright | $12,712 | -3.8% |
ISU reported nominal increases in 60 of the 99 counties. The table shows 59 with a plus sign because some small changes round to 0.0%. After inflation, ISU counted 78 counties with lower values. The biggest gains were in northeast Iowa: Allamakee and Clayton (both up 4.4%) and Dubuque (up 4.2%). The biggest drops were in north central Iowa: Kossuth (down 4.3%), Humboldt and Wright (both down 3.8%).
Iowa land values by crop reporting district
| District | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | $14,109 | $14,522 | +2.9% |
| North Central | $12,185 | $11,870 | -2.6% |
| Northeast | $11,884 | $12,365 | +4.1% |
| West Central | $11,798 | $11,806 | +0.1% |
| Central | $12,794 | $12,537 | -2.0% |
| East Central | $12,354 | $12,772 | +3.4% |
| Southwest | $9,340 | $9,460 | +1.3% |
| South Central | $7,754 | $7,623 | -1.7% |
| Southeast | $10,285 | $10,337 | +0.5% |
| State | $11,467 | $11,549 | +0.7% |
Source: ISU 2025 Iowa Land Value Survey, released December 17, 2025. ISU reported the Northeast and East Central districts as the largest percentage gains, at 4.1% and 3.4%.
ISU also splits the state by land quality: high-quality land averaged $14,030 an acre (average CSR2 of 83), medium $10,809 (CSR2 70) and low $7,580 (CSR2 55). Low-quality land rose the most, up 1.7%. If you price tillable ground by soil rating, CSR2 and price per acre in Iowa walks through it.
Iowa timber and pasture values
ISU doesn't report timber. The Realtors Land Institute's Iowa chapter does, twice a year, in its Land Trends and Values survey of land professionals.
| District | Timber, Mar 2026 | Timber, Sep 2026 | Pasture, Mar 2026 | Pasture, Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | $4,467 | $4,583 | $5,840 | $5,985 |
| North Central | $3,997 | $3,990 | $4,738 | $4,753 |
| Northeast | $5,192 | $5,429 | $5,492 | $5,736 |
| West Central | $4,769 | $4,838 | $5,093 | $5,186 |
| Central | $4,707 | $4,763 | $4,818 | $4,836 |
| East Central | $5,160 | $5,472 | $5,845 | $6,149 |
| Southwest | $4,639 | $4,644 | $5,161 | $5,144 |
| South Central | $4,759 | $4,750 | $4,672 | $4,672 |
| Southeast | $5,185 | $5,283 | $5,305 | $5,414 |
| State | $4,764 | $4,862 | $5,218 | $5,319 |
Source: RLI Iowa Chapter, September 2026 Land Trends and Values survey, survey date September 1, 2026, released September 24, 2026. Pasture is non-tillable pasture. Dollars per acre.
RLI reported timber and recreational land up 2.1% and pasture up 1.9% over the six months. The March column comes from the September release and differs from RLI's own March 2026 release (which had state timber at $4,850), so compare within one release, not across them.
For northeast Iowa hunting counties, the two surveys together give a useful frame. Allamakee County farmland averaged $9,742 an acre and Clayton County $10,825 in ISU's 2025 survey, while RLI put northeast district timber at $5,429 in September 2026. On a mixed farm, price the tillable and timbered acres separately. A single per-acre number across both is where pricing goes wrong.
How to read these numbers
- ISU's figures are opinions of value, not sales. The 2025 survey drew on 316 agricultural professionals (appraisers, lenders, farm managers and others) who gave 463 county-level estimates. That is why the table has no sale counts. It is the most cited Iowa number, and it is still an estimate.
- The county number is an all-farmland average. It blends high and low quality ground. Statewide, ISU's high-quality average ($14,030) and RLI's September 2026 timber average ($4,862) are more than $9,000 an acre apart (Kedron calculation). A county average says little about any single farm until you know what kind of ground it is.
- USDA's Iowa number is lower, and that is expected. USDA NASS put Iowa farm real estate (all land and buildings on farms) at $10,100 an acre and cropland at $10,700 in its 2026 survey, conducted April to June 2026 (USDA NASS Land Values 2026 Summary, July 31, 2026). ISU's statewide all-farmland average of $11,549 is $1,449 an acre, or 14.3%, above USDA's $10,100 farm real estate figure (Kedron calculation: $1,449 divided by $10,100). They measure different things on different dates with different methods, so quote each with its source.
- Lenders saw Iowa holding. In the Chicago Fed's survey of ag lenders for the second quarter of 2026, Iowa farmland values were up from a year earlier, while "good" farmland across the district was flat (Chicago Fed AgLetter, August 2026). The Fed did not publish an Iowa percentage in the text.
- Fewer sales, mostly farmer buyers. In ISU's 2025 survey, 42% of respondents saw fewer sales than in 2024, 41% about the same and 17% more. Existing farmers made 68% of purchases (66% local, 2% relocating), investors 26% (14% local, 12% non-local), new farmers 4% and other buyers 2%.
When this updates
| Source | Frequency | Latest | Next expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISU Iowa Land Value Survey | Annual (surveyed in November) | December 17, 2025 | Mid-December 2026 |
| RLI Iowa Land Trends and Values | Twice a year (March, September) | September 24, 2026 | March 2027 |
| USDA NASS Land Values | Annual | July 31, 2026 | Summer 2027 |
| Chicago Fed AgLetter | Quarterly | August 2026 | November 2026 |
Figures on this page are as of September 30, 2026. We'll update it when ISU releases its 2026 county values in December, and again when RLI publishes its March 2027 survey. For how Iowa compares with Minnesota and Wisconsin, see land values in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, and for rent per acre and per CSR2 point, see farm cash rents for 2026. Other reports are on the market data page.
Before a listing appointment, pull the county row, the district row and the RLI timber figure for that district. Those three numbers answer most first questions about price.
