If you own bare land in Salem, Marion County, or anywhere across the Willamette Valley, “what is my Oregon land worth” is probably a question you have asked yourself more than once. The honest answer is that it depends on more variables than most land owners realize, and the number can shift more from year to year than people expect.
In this article, I’ll discuss what Oregon land is actually selling for right now, the specific factors that move your number up or down, and how to get a real answer for your property instead of a guess.
Read more: Land Specialist vs Real Estate Agent in Oregon: What Bare Land Owners Need to Know
Oregon Land Values in 2026: The Current Numbers
Land value in Oregon is not one number. It changes dramatically depending on land type, location, and use. Here is where things stand right now.
Statewide farmland and agricultural land
According to Oregon State University Extension Service data drawn from USDA estimates, the nominal per acre value of Oregon farm real estate reached $3,780, a $60 increase over the prior year. Within that figure, irrigated cropland has continued to climb, reaching $8,000 per acre, a $196 inflation adjusted gain of 2.5%, while non-irrigated cropland actually declined to $3,000 per acre, a real change of negative 2.3%. Pastureland sits lower and steadier, at $1,080 per acre, up a modest 0.8% for the year.
Willamette Valley specifically
Land in Marion, Lane, Benton, and Yamhill counties commands a real premium over the state average. Recent buyer guide data puts Willamette Valley agricultural land at $10,000 to $80,000 or more per acre, largely due to Exclusive Farm Use zoning protecting the region’s most productive farmland and heavily restricting residential development outside urban growth boundaries.
Marion County land listings
Actual current listing data backs this up. Recent market data shows the median price per acre in Marion County sits at $32,302, though this varies enormously by parcel type, size, and zoning. Farmland specifically is trading even higher, with recent listings showing an average cost of $38,235 per acre for Marion County farmland for sale.
Timberland
If your land includes standing timber, you are looking at a separate and more complex valuation entirely. Western Oregon timberland has held strong, with average per-acre prices of $15,586 in the Northwest region and $10,573 in the Southwest region over the past five years. Bare land value for Coast Range timber ground with reliable access is currently running lower than that headline figure, closer to $2,500 to $4,500 per acre, with mature standing Douglas fir adding another $1,500 to $3,500 per acre depending on volume and grade.
The takeaway: a flat statewide average tells you almost nothing about what your specific parcel is worth. Location, zoning, and land type create massive spreads even within the same county.
The Factors That Actually Determine Your Land’s Value
1. Zoning, Especially EFU
Much of the most valuable farmland in Marion County and the greater Willamette Valley is zone Exclusive Farm Use, commonly shortened to EFU. This zoning protects agricultural land by heavily restricting non-farm development, which sounds like a limitation but often works in the land owner’s favor. EFU land in a strong agricultural region like the Willamette Valley routinely commands premium pricing precisely because supply is protected and cannot be diluted by unlimited residential subdivision.
2. Water Rights
Irrigated land is worth substantially more than non-irrigated land in the same county, and the gap is not small. Statewide data shows irrigated cropland running well over double the value of non-irrigated cropland per acre. If your property has documented water rights, that is one of the single biggest value drivers you have, and it should be verified and clearly disclosed in any evaluation or sale.
3. Soil Quality and Productivity
Soil classification directly affects what your land can grow and how consistently it can produce, which in turn drives comparable sales. Prime Willamette Valley soils, the kind found in silt loam areas near Woodburn, St. Paul, and Silverton, consistently pull higher per-acre pricing than land with poor drainage or lower fertility ratings.
4. Access and Road Frontage
Land with reliable, all-weather road access is worth meaningfully more than landlocked or seasonal-access parcels, particularly for timberland. This is one of the most overlooked value factors by land owners who have never had their property professionally evaluated.
5. Standing Timber, Evaluated Separately From Bare Land
If your property includes timber, understand that timberland value has two separate components that both need evaluation: the bare land itself, and the standing timber on it. Standing timber value depends on species, volume, age class, and grade, and is determined through a professional timber cruise, not a general land appraisal. Confusing the two, or having only one evaluated, is one of the most common ways Oregon land owners leave money on the table.
6. Proximity to Salem and Urban Growth Boundaries
Land closer to Salem or inside a nearby urban growth boundary tends to hold a development premium, even when it is currently zoned agricultural or vacant. Oregon’s statewide housing production targets continue to push demand toward land near buildable areas and growth corridors, while more remote parcels remain comparatively affordable.
7. Wildfire Risk and Insurability
This factor is newer to Oregon land valuation conversations but increasingly material. Research covering farmland sales between 2000 and 2023 found wildfire history was associated with a loss of $616 to $952 per acre in farmland values. Insurability, defensible space, and local fire history are now standard due diligence items that can move your number in either direction.
8. Carrying Costs and Highest and Best Use
Two identical parcels can have different true value once you factor in what it costs to hold each one and what each one is realistically capable of becoming. Property taxes, weed and fire management, and maintenance all erode the effective return of land that generates no income, which is a central reason many Salem area land owners eventually look at converting bare land into an income producing property.
Read more: Sell or Hold Oregon Bare Land? An Honest Financial Analysis (2026)
How Professionals Actually Determine Land Value
There is no single formula. Professional evaluation typically combines:
- Sales comparison approach. Comparing your land to similar parcels recently sold, listed, or under contract nearby, then adjusting for differences in size, access, soil, water rights, and timber.
- Timber cruise, if applicable. A field inventory of standing timber by species, volume, grade, and age class, separate from the bare land value.
- Local market knowledge. Marion County, Salem, and the broader Willamette Valley each have their own pricing patterns that do not always match statewide averages, which is why local experience matters more than a generic online estimate.
- Realistic use assessment. What your zoning actually allows, what infrastructure exists, and what a buyer could realistically do with the parcel, not just what it looks like on paper.
Why a Number Without Context Is Not Useful
A statewide average, a county median, or an online land value calculator can point you in a general direction, but none of them account for your specific parcel’s zoning, water rights, timber, access, and condition. Two neighboring properties in the same part of Marion County can have very different values based on those details alone.
If your land has sat unevaluated for years, or was inherited without a clear sense of its current worth, the gap between what you assume it is worth and what it is actually worth, or what it could be earning if converted into income producing property, is often larger than land owners expect.
Get a Real Answer for Your Property
I offer a free, no obligation land evaluation for bare land, timberland, and agricultural acreage across Salem, Marion County, Polk County, Yamhill County, and the greater Willamette Valley. With over 35 years in land, forestry, construction, and real estate, I look at your specific parcel, not a statewide average, and give you an honest number along with what it could be earning if repositioned through a 1031 exchange.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average price per acre for land in Marion County, Oregon?
Current listing data shows a wide range depending on land type. Farmland is trading around $38,235 per acre on average, while the overall median across all land types in Marion County sits closer to $32,302 per acre. Individual parcels can be significantly higher or lower depending on zoning, water rights, and access.
How is timberland value different from bare land value?
Timberland has two separate components. Bare land value depends on location, access, soil, and long-term growing capacity. Standing timber value is determined separately through a professional timber cruise that inventories species, volume, and grade. Both need to be evaluated to know the true worth of a forested property.
Does EFU zoning hurt or help my land’s value?
In the Willamette Valley, Exclusive Farm Use zoning generally supports value rather than hurting it, because it protects the region’s most productive agricultural land from unrestricted development and keeps supply limited in a high demand area.
How often should I get my land re-evaluated?
Land values shift meaningfully year to year, and inherited or long-held parcels are often working from outdated assumptions. A fresh evaluation every few years, or before any major decision like a sale or 1031 exchange, is worth the time.
Can I find out what my land is worth without listing it for sale?
Yes. A free land evaluation gives you a current, honest number with no obligation to sell or list your property.
📞 503-949-5025 | ✉️ al@cronemiller.com | HomesForSaleSalemOregon.net
Al Cronemiller | Oregon Land Specialist | MORE Realty | Salem, Oregon
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