This Country Is Buying Up U.S. Land At A World-Leading Pace

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• Foreign land ownership in the United States increased 23.3% from 2013 to 2023.
• A dozen states have passed bills limiting or mandating special requirements for foreign land ownership.
• One country accounts for 89.1% of the increase in foreign land ownership.
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Over the past decade, foreign ownership of U.S. land has increased considerably. Total acreage owned by foreign entities rose 23.3%, from 25.9 million acres in 2013 to 32.0 million acres in 2023. The buying spree has been led by just one country and has reignited centuries-old debates about foreign land ownership in the United States.

Concerns over foreign land ownership in the U.S. are as old as the Declaration of Independence and have ebbed and flowed with the geopolitical tensions of the day. In 1978, the USDA enacted the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, requiring all foreign persons who acquire, transfer, or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to report their holdings and transactions to the U.S. government. A dozen states have passed bills mandating separate reporting requirements.

Close to half of all foreign-owned land is forested area, about one-third of which is owned by Canada. Italy is a major owner of cropland in the Midwest, while Denmark owns massive tracts of forest throughout the South.

To determine the foreign countries buying up the most U.S. land, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on U.S. landholding estimates by country from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act database. Countries were ranked based on the increase in total area of U.S. land held by individuals and entities from that country from December 21, 2013 to December 31, 2023. All data is from the USDA.

25. Honduras

• Total U.S. land area owned: 1,063 acres (+8 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $6.9 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (881 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (1,063 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Dade County, FL; Lowndes County, GA; Fort Bend County, TX

24. Uzbekistan

• Total U.S. land area owned: 40 acres (+40 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $420,000
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (40 acres)
• Primary landholding region: Midwest (40 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Dodge County, NE

23. Cyprus

• Total U.S. land area owned: 567 acres (+51 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $6.1 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (461 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (567 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Franklin County, WA; Grant County, WA

22. Albania

• Total U.S. land area owned: 178 acres (+178 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $1.7 million
• Primary landholding type: Pasture (121 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (178 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Linn County, OR

21. Mauritius

• Total U.S. land area owned: 622 acres (+622 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $14.7 million
• Primary landholding type: N/A
• Primary landholding region: South (622 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Morgan County, AL

20. Belgium

• Total U.S. land area owned: 239,885 acres (+1,083 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $128.6 million
• Primary landholding type: Pasture (225,453 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (193,860 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Rosebud County, MT; Big Horn County, MT; Garfield County, MT; Butte County, SD; Franklin County, NY

19. South Korea

• Total U.S. land area owned: 5,772 acres (+2,722 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $92.6 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (2,634 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (3,279 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Laramie County, WY; Hawaii County, HI; Williamson County, TX; Van Zandt County, TX; Cherokee County, GA

18. Guatemala

• Total U.S. land area owned: 5,870 acres (+4,225 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $21.0 million
• Primary landholding type: Forest (3,337 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (5,296 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Prince George County, VA; Creek County, OK; Chemung County, NY; Clay County, IA; Nottoway County, VA

17. United Kingdom

• Total U.S. land area owned: 1,660,784 acres (+4,935 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $3.8 billion
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (860,972 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (656,714 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Lincoln County, NM; Winn Parish, LA; Chaves County, NM; Tehama County, CA; Butte County, CA

16. Bahrain

• Total U.S. land area owned: 7,260 acres (+7,260 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $113.0 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (5,456 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (7,260 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: La Paz County, AZ; Riverside County, CA; Imperial County, CA

15. Egypt

• Total U.S. land area owned: 20,164 acres (+15,563 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $68.5 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (19,092 acres)
• Primary landholding region: West (18,761 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Mohave County, AZ; Imperial County, CA; Cochise County, AZ; Anderson County, TX; Spotsylvania County, VA

14. Uruguay

• Total U.S. land area owned: 48,607 acres (+25,841 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $141.4 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (42,319 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (44,264 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Matagorda County, TX; Franklin Parish, LA; Catahoula Parish, LA; Quitman County, MS; Crittenden County, AR

13. Spain

• Total U.S. land area owned: 265,262 acres (+26,410 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $483.3 million
• Primary landholding type: Pasture (128,239 acres)
• Primary landholding region: Midwest (159,628 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: McPherson County, SD; McIntosh County, ND; Jack County, TX; Pocahontas County, IA; Roger Mills County, OK

12. Israel

• Total U.S. land area owned: 32,160 acres (+29,558 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $36.6 million
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (21,057 acres)
• Primary landholding region: Midwest (23,561 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Fulton County, IL; Beaverhead County, MT; Brazoria County, TX; Pulaski County, IN; Warrick County, IN

11. Austria

• Total U.S. land area owned: 210,845 acres (+32,544 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $193.4 million
• Primary landholding type: Forest (202,095 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (176,937 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Monroe County, GA; St. Lawrence County, NY; Talladega County, AL; Oglethorpe County, GA; Coosa County, AL

10. United Arab Emirates

• Total U.S. land area owned: 46,496 acres (+38,567 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $373.8 million
• Primary landholding type: Pasture (40,775 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (45,866 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Osceola County, FL; St. Francis County, AR; Fayette County, KY; Hampshire County, WV; Woodford County, KY

9. Sweden

• Total U.S. land area owned: 193,994 acres (+39,408 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $306.7 million
• Primary landholding type: Forest (90,406 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (125,429 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Clatsop County, OR; Tyler County, TX; Newton County, TX; Jasper County, TX; Anderson County, TX

8. Switzerland

• Total U.S. land area owned: 711,466 acres (+54,247 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $1.5 billion
• Primary landholding type: Forest (413,336 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (487,585 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Maricopa County, AZ; Hancock County, MS; Washington County, ME; La Salle Parish, LA; Georgetown County, SC

7. Australia

• Total U.S. land area owned: 209,666 acres (+123,366 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $381.3 million
• Primary landholding type: Forest (90,441 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (119,598 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Stewart County, GA; King County, WA; McDowell County, WV; Randolph County, AL; Muskegon County, MI

6. Cayman Islands

• Total U.S. land area owned: 636,946 acres (+403,461 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $1.1 billion
• Primary landholding type: Forest (572,198 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (394,475 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: St. Lawrence County, NY; Beauregard Parish, LA; Iron County, MI; Vernon Parish, LA; Clark County, AR

5. Singapore

• Total U.S. land area owned: 599,052 acres (+491,433 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $1.1 billion
• Primary landholding type: Forest (508,554 acres)
• Primary landholding region: Midwest (560,099 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Caldwell Parish, LA; Gogebic County, MI; Keweenaw County, MI; Ontonagon County, MI; Houghton County, MI

4. Luxembourg

• Total U.S. land area owned: 711,434 acres (+517,599 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $1.4 billion
• Primary landholding type: Forest (686,824 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (398,040 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Somerset County, ME; Coconino County, AZ; Gulf County, FL; Coos County, OR; Curry County, OR

3. Denmark

• Total U.S. land area owned: 1,654,815 acres (+922,850 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $2.1 billion
• Primary landholding type: Forest (1,074,690 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (679,098 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Essex County, NY; Neosho County, KS; Hamilton County, NY; Jackson County, OR; Stewart County, TN

2. Italy

• Total U.S. land area owned: 2,640,749 acres (+1,310,544 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $5.4 billion
• Primary landholding type: Cropland (1,659,336 acres)
• Primary landholding region: Midwest (1,394,083 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Carteret County, NC; Plaquemines Parish, LA; Macon County, IL; Finney County, KS; Kit Carson County, CO

1. Canada

• Total U.S. land area owned: 12,137,968 acres (+5,371,575 acres from 2013)
• Total land value (at time of purchase): $12.0 billion
• Primary landholding type: Forest (5,806,095 acres)
• Primary landholding region: South (4,247,400 acres)
• Largest land parcel locations: Piscataquis County, ME; Penobscot County, ME; Alger County, MI; Hardin County, TX; Angelina County, TX

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