Cheap Houses for Sale in Pennsylvania With Land: 10 Real Listings From $49,900 to $345,000

The typical Pennsylvania home sold for $314,097 in September 2026, according to Redfin. Farmland is expensive here too. The USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture puts Pennsylvania land and buildings at $8,019 an acre, among the highest of any state we cover, with Lancaster County at $21,633. And yet the ten homes on this page run from $345,000 down to $49,900, most of them on several acres, and five of them sit in Pennsylvania’s 15 cheapest counties for farmland.

The explanation is the age of the houses. Pennsylvania has the fourth-oldest housing stock in the country, with a median home age of 57 years against 42 nationally (American Community Survey 2024, via NAHB). When you find cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land, you are rarely buying cheap land. You are buying an older house, priced for its age, on ground that is worth about a tenth of the asking price at its county’s census value. That changes what you should inspect, and it changes which listing is the real bargain.

This guide has two halves, and they age differently. The first half is permanent: what farmland is worth in every county this batch touches, why it is cheap where it is cheap, and the Pennsylvania rules that decide what you actually pay to own rural property. The second half is a moment in time: ten real homes for sale in October 2026, from a city lot to almost 14 acres. The county numbers are worth bookmarking. The ten listings are evidence, not inventory.

Three honest disclosures before you scroll. The cheapest home, in Washington, is a fixer on a 0.28-acre city lot, not a homestead. The Snow Shoe cabin is a seasonal hunting camp with a holding tank and generator power. And the Montoursville house sells at a live auction, so its price is an expectation, not an asking price. Each is flagged again in its own section.

Watch the Full Tour

All ten homes were filmed for the video version of this guide, with the photos, the drive-in shots and Mark’s read on each place. If you would rather watch than read, start here, then come back for the county data and the math behind each of these cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land.

Cheap Houses for Sale in Pennsylvania With Land: the numbers in short

What You’ll Find: Cheap Houses for Sale in Pennsylvania With Land

The permanent half of this page comes first, because it will still be useful a year from now. Below is what farmland is worth in each of the nine counties this batch touches, the reasons Pennsylvania land is cheap in some places and expensive in others, and the state rules that decide what you pay to own rural property. After that comes the dated snapshot. If you are comparing cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land, read the county table first, because it tells you how much of any price the land can explain.

Pennsylvania has 67 counties and 49,053 farms working 7,058,325 acres. The nine counties below are the ones where this batch of homes sits, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. The fifth column shows what ten acres of farm ground is worth at that county’s census average, the quickest way to see how small, or how large, a share of a listing the land really is.

Rank of 67	County	Region	Avg $/Acre	10 Acres at That Rate	Acres in Farms
5	Crawford	Northwest	$3,981	$39,810	204,717
10	Somerset	Laurel Highlands	$4,380	$43,800	197,565
12	Jefferson	Pennsylvania Wilds	$4,424	$44,240	78,845
15	Tioga	Northern Tier	$4,552	$45,520	204,782
19	Bedford	Southern Alleghenies	$5,010	$50,100	214,933
30	Lycoming	Susquehanna Valley	$6,578	$65,780	181,550
31	Forest	Allegheny National Forest	$6,579	$65,790	5,781
37	Washington	Southwest	$7,188	$71,880	182,118
44	Centre	Central	$8,311	$83,110	122,251
—	Pennsylvania (state)	All 67 counties	$8,019	$80,190	7,058,325

Source: USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Table 8 for Pennsylvania — “Estimated market value of land and buildings, average per acre, 2022.” All 67 counties were read from the published table and reconcile exactly to the state totals of 49,053 farms and 7,058,325 acres, with no county suppressed. Rank is out of 67, where 1 is the cheapest. The census measures agricultural land and buildings on working farms, not asking prices for residential lots.

Why Pennsylvania Land Is Cheap Where It Is Cheap

Four structural forces explain the map, and each one is also a description of daily life in the places on this list.

• The cheap counties are forest, not farmland. The ten cheapest counties are Cameron ($2,594), Pike ($3,130), Warren ($3,633), Potter ($3,653), Crawford ($3,981), Clarion ($4,159), Venango ($4,234), McKean ($4,268), Indiana ($4,312) and Somerset ($4,380). Most sit on the Allegheny Plateau, in the Pennsylvania Wilds and the northwest, where thin soil and short seasons grow hardwood and hay rather than row crops.
• The expensive land is Dutch Country. Leaving out Philadelphia and Delaware counties, which have under 1,000 acres of farms between them, Lancaster ($21,633), Montgomery ($21,260), Lebanon ($16,709), Bucks ($15,277) and Berks ($13,449) lead the state. Lancaster alone has 378,574 acres in farms, so its price reflects rich soil and intense farming, not a few suburban lots.
• The spread is the widest we have measured. Cameron to Lancaster is 8.3 times. That is why a statewide average means little in Pennsylvania: a cheap county in the northern tier and an expensive one in the southeast are different markets.
• Cheap houses follow old housing, not cheap land. Several homes on this page sit in middle-priced counties, Lycoming, Forest, Washington and Centre. Their prices are low because the houses are old or seasonal, not because the ground is cheap. The age of the building is doing the discounting.

What the Land Is Actually Worth Under These Houses

Measured against each county’s census value, the land under these ten homes is worth a median of about 10.5% of the asking price. Under the Washington fixer it is 4.0%, under the Oil Creek camp 4.5% and under the Snow Shoe cabin 9.0%: on those, you are buying a building. Two parcels break the pattern. In Tionesta, 13 acres in a county where farmland is scarce carry 30.6% of the price. In Sabinsville, almost 14 acres of meadow and woods in Tioga County carry 21.3%. Those two give a land buyer the most ground per dollar, at about $21,400 to $21,500 an acre.

Two caveats. The census figure measures working agricultural land and buildings, so it is a fair benchmark for open acreage and a poor one for a town lot or a seasonal camp. And the benchmark moves with the county: ten acres in Crawford County are worth $39,810 at the census rate, against $83,110 in Centre County. Read every listing against its own county, never against the state average.

The Pennsylvania Rules That Change What You Really Pay

Six state rules shape the true cost of owning cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land, and none of them shows up in a listing.

• Clean and Green lowers farm taxes, with a long tail. Under Act 319, land of at least 10 acres in agricultural or forest use (or less, with at least $2,000 a year in farm income) is assessed on its use value, not its market value. If the use changes, the rollback taxes reach back seven years, plus 6% interest a year, and the clock passes to the buyer.
• Coal country needs its own insurance. More than a million Pennsylvania buildings sit above abandoned underground mines, and standard homeowner’s policies exclude mine subsidence damage. The state’s Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund, run by the Department of Environmental Protection since 1961, sells that coverage for about $40 a year per $150,000.
• Private wells have no statewide construction standard. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not regulate how private wells are built, and some counties fill the gap and others do not. Testing the water is your job: bacteria, nitrates and, in many areas, arsenic and radon.
• Septic permits run through the township. Under the Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537), a Sewage Enforcement Officer must test the soil and permit any new or repaired system. A failed perc test can make a vacant lot unbuildable, so ask for the permit history on any existing system.
• The building code is statewide, with local enforcement. The Uniform Construction Code applies across Pennsylvania, but each municipality decides whether it enforces the code itself or through a third-party agency. Ask the township who issues permits before you plan an addition or a new house.
• The effective tax rate varies more than the millage suggests. Millage rates are not comparable between counties, because assessments are years or decades old. Compare effective rates instead: 0.79% in Bedford County, 0.83% in Forest and 0.85% in Jefferson, against 1.26% statewide. School districts also offer a homestead exclusion on a primary residence.

October 2026 Snapshot: Ten Real Listings

These ten homes were for sale in October 2026. Three sit in the northwest and the Wilds, at Centerville, Tionesta and Sigel; one in Punxsutawney; one in the Northern Tier at Sabinsville; three in the central mountains, at Snow Shoe, Montoursville and Six Mile Run; and two in the southwest, at Central City and Washington. Here are the ten cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land, side by side.

#	Town	County	Price	Acres	Price / Acre	AHO Score
10	Central City	Somerset	$345,000	7.9	$43,671	77/100
9	Punxsutawney	Jefferson	$325,500	9.75	$33,385	79/100
8	Sabinsville	Tioga	$299,000	13.98	$21,388	77/100
7	Tionesta	Forest	$279,900	13	$21,531	80/100
6	Six Mile Run	Bedford	$238,000	7.5	$31,733	72/100
5	Snow Shoe	Centre	$185,000	2	$92,500	67/100
4	Sigel	Jefferson	$135,000	3.32	$40,663	70/100
3	Montoursville	Lycoming	$125,000 (auction)	0.92–5.22	$23,946–$135,870	70/100
2	Centerville	Crawford	$89,000	1	$89,000	64/100
1	Washington	Washington	$49,900	0.28	$178,214	60/100

How the AHO Score Works

Every property gets a score out of 100, built from six weighted categories: Price and Value (25), Land and Usability (20), Condition (20), Practical Location (15), Charm (10) and Future Potential (10). Scores come only from what the listing and the photographs show. Where data is missing, the property is scored mid-band and the gap is stated. The full rubric is on our AHO Score methodology page.

Bands run 90-100 Exceptional, 80-89 Strong AHO Pick, 70-79 Solid Rural Deal, 60-69 Niche Opportunity and below 60 High-Caution. In this batch the highest score is 80, for the Tionesta Victorian with 13 acres in town, and the lowest is 60, for the Washington fixer on a city lot, which is where a house that needs significant repairs should land even at $49,900. It is an editorial tool for comparison — not an appraisal, an inspection, or investment advice.

Published October 2026. Some of these listings will already be under contract or sold by the time you read this, and that is normal. The county figures, the state rules and the checklist at the bottom stay accurate regardless. For the full picture of the state, read our guide to buying rural land in Pennsylvania, with land values for all 67 counties, and our breakdown of the real cost of owning rural property in Pennsylvania. If you want the next cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land before they go public, the form above is how you get them.

The ten properties

Ten homes, most expensive to least. Every one includes its county land benchmark, the price per acre, the price per square foot and an honest read on what you are actually buying.

#10 — Central City, PA — $345,000 — 7.9 acres

A timber-frame house at the end of a private drive, with a stream you can hear from the porch

Almost eight wooded acres in the Laurel Highlands, a stone chimney, and the sound of moving water before you reach the front door. It is the most expensive home on this page, the newest of the farm-country houses, and the one that needs the least work.

Inside the Home

Built in 2001, the house is a timber frame sided in rough-sawn hemlock, and inside the frame is the show. The great room rises two stories under heavy squared beams and a pine plank ceiling, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a fieldstone fireplace that climbs from the hearth to the beams. The kitchen opens into it, with light maple cabinets, stainless appliances and track lighting along the timbers, and a tiled sunroom with windows on three sides sits off the main floor.

Upstairs, a balcony hallway looks down over the great room. The primary suite is 20 by 16 feet under a vaulted beam ceiling, with a dressing room and its own bath. Two more bedrooms and an 11-by-10 finished bonus room give you a home office or a fourth bedroom. In total, 1,640 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths, with electric radiant heat and a wood-burning fireplace.

Land and Outdoor Potential

7.9 acres at the end of a private drive in a small development, mostly hardwood forest with an open yard around the house and a stream running nearby. There is an attached two-car garage with an opener and an adjoining workshop with built-in benches. The house runs on a private well and a septic tank.

This is wooded ground, not pasture: room for a garden, a few chickens, firewood and privacy rather than livestock. The development’s dues are $377 a year and cover trash pickup, road maintenance and snow removal, which matters on a mountain drive.

About Central City, Pennsylvania

Central City is a small borough in Somerset County, on the Allegheny Plateau. The Flight 93 National Memorial is about 20 minutes away. Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center in Windber, a 54-bed community hospital, is roughly 20 minutes north, and Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, the region’s main trauma center, is about 40 minutes. Somerset and Bedford are each around half an hour, and Pittsburgh is close to two hours west. Local paychecks come from health care in Johnstown and Windber, the schools, and the turnpike corridor businesses around Somerset. The honest trade-off: winter on the plateau arrives early and stays late.

AHO Score: 77/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	15	25
Land / Usability	16	20
Condition	18	20
Practical Location	10	15
Charm	10	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	77	100

The math. $345,000 over 7.9 acres is $43,671 an acre, against a Somerset County benchmark of $4,380 — 10th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $34,602, or 10.0% of the price, and the house works out to $210 a square foot. Property taxes run $4,070 a year, the highest bill on this page, which is what a 2001 house in Somerset County looks like next to the century-old farmhouses further down the list. The condition, the stream and the timber-frame interior push the score up; the wooded, sloping ground and the 20-to-40-minute drives to services hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The best-built house on this page and the easiest move. If you want a finished home in the woods with a workshop, this is it. If you want pasture or a working farm, look further down the list. Ask for a year of electric bills before you offer, because radiant electric heat in Somerset County is comfortable and not cheap.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#9 — Punxsutawney, PA — $325,500 — 9.75 acres

An 1881 farmhouse with a stocked pond, a dock, a horse barn and its own maple sugar shack

Just outside the town that made a groundhog famous, 9.75 acres built around a spring-green pond, with a dock that walks out to a covered pavilion over the water. It is the most complete small farm on this page.

Inside the Home

The colonial was built in 1881 and still reads as a working farmhouse. Wood floors run through the main rooms. The living room is 14 by 16 feet with a cast-iron wood stove in the middle of it, and wood is the home’s heat source. The kitchen is 12 by 20, with a long run of oak cabinets, room for a big table and a second small stove in the corner.

Two bonus rooms on the main floor, one 20 by 17 feet and one 15 by 8, give you a den, a playroom or a winter workshop. Upstairs are four bedrooms with tall windows and wood floors, and old-style trim frames the doorways. A full basement walks out to the yard. In total, 2,700 square feet under a metal roof. The listing does not state the number of bathrooms, so confirm it at the showing.

Land and Outdoor Potential

9.75 acres of mixed open ground and woods. The pond is stocked, fed by a small stone waterfall, and has a dock leading to a covered pavilion with a fire pit. Up the hill is a big timber barn with box stalls, a pole shed and a maple sugar shack for spring syrup season, among mature trees.

This is real small-farm ground: room for horses or a few cattle, a market garden, maple sugaring and fishing. The house runs on a septic tank; the listing does not specify the water source, so ask whether it is a well or a spring and have it tested.

About Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

Punxsutawney is a Jefferson County town of about 5,800 people, best known for Punxsutawney Phil and Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob every February 2. Punxsutawney Area Hospital, a 49-bed community hospital, is in town. DuBois, with the larger Penn Highlands DuBois hospital, is about 30 minutes north, Indiana and Indiana University of Pennsylvania are around 40 minutes south, and Pittsburgh is roughly two hours. The honest trade-off: specialists and big-box shopping mean a drive to DuBois or Indiana.

AHO Score: 79/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	16	25
Land / Usability	17	20
Condition	15	20
Practical Location	12	15
Charm	10	10
Future Potential	9	10
Total	79	100

The math. $325,500 over 9.75 acres is $33,385 an acre, against a Jefferson County benchmark of $4,424 — 12th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $43,134, or 13.3% of the price, and the house works out to $121 a square foot. Jefferson County has one of the lowest effective property tax rates in Pennsylvania (0.85%, Tax Foundation), and the bill here is $946 a year on almost ten acres with a barn. The pond, the barn, the sugar shack and the low taxes push the score up; wood-only heat and an 1881 house that will need ongoing care hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The most homestead per dollar in the upper half of this page, and one of the lowest tax bills on the list. It suits someone who wants animals, syrup and fish and does not mind splitting wood. Budget for firewood, a yearly chimney sweep and an insurance quote that accounts for wood heat.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#8 — Sabinsville, PA — $299,000 — 13.98 acres

A white Cape Cod on almost 14 acres of meadow, creek and woods in the Northern Tier

Rolling farm country close to the New York line, a creek, autumn hardwoods and a white Cape Cod with a porch swing. It has the most land of any home in the top half of this list.

Inside the Home

The 1901 Cape Cod has 1,926 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths. The living room has a white plank ceiling, wood floors and a staircase finished in dark stained boards. The kitchen has beadboard cabinets, a bar with stools and a gas cooktop under a window facing the orchard, with an adjoining dining area lined with windows. On the main floor there is also a bedroom that works as an office, a full bath and the laundry.

Upstairs, the primary bedroom is long and bright, with beams across the ceiling and windows at both ends, and two more bedrooms have bonus storage. The oversized upstairs bath has a freestanding clawfoot tub. A partial walk-out basement sits below, and the house has hot-water baseboard heat with coal and propane, and no central air.

Land and Outdoor Potential

13.98 acres of open meadow and woods with a stream. A covered front porch, a rear deck off the kitchen, a treehouse in the woods, a hanging swing chair and a storage shed with a red metal roof. Water comes from a spring, and the sewage system is a septic tank with a leach field.

The mix of field and forest supports hunting, hay, a large garden or a few animals. It is a genuine small homestead parcel, and the deck and porch are already set up for the kind of outdoor living that ground invites.

About Sabinsville, Pennsylvania

Sabinsville is a small crossroads in western Tioga County. Westfield, with groceries and a school, is about 15 minutes away, and Wellsboro, the county seat, is around 40 minutes, with UPMC Wellsboro, a 25-bed critical access hospital. Wellsboro is also the gateway to the Pine Creek Gorge, the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, and Cherry Springs State Park, known for some of the darkest skies in the eastern United States, is under an hour west. Local paychecks come from dairy farms, timber and natural gas. The honest trade-off: every big city is a long drive.

AHO Score: 77/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	17	25
Land / Usability	18	20
Condition	17	20
Practical Location	8	15
Charm	9	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	77	100

The math. $299,000 over 13.98 acres is $21,388 an acre, against a Tioga County benchmark of $4,552 — 15th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $63,637, or 21.3% of the price, and the house works out to $155 a square foot. Tioga County values the property at $185,830 for tax purposes, and the bill is $2,775 a year. The acreage, the stream and a well-kept house push the score up; the distance to a hospital and the spring-and-coal systems that need checking hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The best mix of land and house in the upper half of this page. It suits a buyer who wants space, hunting and a farmhouse they can live in on day one. Have the spring tested for bacteria and flow, ask how it holds up in a dry August, and get the coal furnace and chimney inspected before you write the offer.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#7 — Tionesta, PA — $279,900 — 13 acres

A Victorian in a river town with 13 acres of its own, a remodeled kitchen and an attic of timber rafters

In most places you choose between a house in town and acreage. Here you get both: a tall Victorian in the Forest County seat, with 13 wooded acres rising behind it.

Inside the Home

The front rooms keep their original character: a solid oak staircase with turned spindles and a paneled wall, bay windows, deep wood trim and a fireplace with its carved mantel and mirror. The kitchen has been fully updated with honey oak cabinets to the ceiling, granite counters, stainless appliances, a gas range and a large island with open shelving.

There are 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths in 2,448 square feet, including a bath with a raised jetted tub set between two turned wooden columns. The walk-up attic opens into one large room under the original timber rafters, ready to become a studio, a game room or a guest suite. A full basement sits below.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 13 acres, with lawn around the house and a wooded hillside behind it that you can walk or hunt without leaving your property. A detached garage provides storage and a workspace. The carport in the photos is excluded from the sale.

The utilities are an unusual combination: public sewer, so there is no septic to manage, and a spring-fed water system with a newer spring house. That is rare acreage for a home inside a town, and it is the reason this parcel scores high on land.

About Tionesta, Pennsylvania

Tionesta is the county seat of Forest County, one of Pennsylvania’s least populated counties, where Tionesta Creek meets the Allegheny River. The Allegheny National Forest starts at the edge of town and Tionesta Lake is minutes away. UPMC Northwest in Seneca, with 158 beds, is about 30 minutes south, Oil City is about the same distance, and Erie is a little over an hour. Local work comes from the county, the national forest, river tourism and the businesses in Oil City and Franklin. The honest trade-off: it is a quiet town, so most shopping means a drive.

AHO Score: 80/100 — Strong AHO Pick

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	17	25
Land / Usability	17	20
Condition	17	20
Practical Location	11	15
Charm	9	10
Future Potential	9	10
Total	80	100

The math. $279,900 over 13 acres is $21,531 an acre, against a Forest County benchmark of $6,579 — 31st cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $85,527, or 30.6% of the price, and the house works out to $114 a square foot. Forest County has the lowest median property tax bill in Pennsylvania ($1,145, Tax Foundation), and this house pays $1,950 a year. The land here carries the highest share of the price on this page, because farmland in Forest County is scarce and valued accordingly. The in-town acreage, the updated kitchen and public sewer push the score up; the unfinished attic and the excluded carport are the minor deductions.

Mark’s Verdict

The highest score on this page, because it does two things at once: a house you can walk to town from, and acreage you can hunt. It suits a buyer who wants character and convenience. Treat the attic as a funded project, with insulation, heat and a second exit, not as finished space.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#6 — Six Mile Run, PA — $238,000 — 7.5 acres

A 1920s cottage on a hillside garden, with a heated sunroom that looks down over the town

Seven and a half wooded acres on a slope in old Broad Top coal country, turned into a garden by owners who clearly loved it: terraces, lamp posts, an arbor, a fish pond with a stone waterfall.

Inside the Home

The two-story home from the 1920s keeps its original woodwork: dark stained trim, a hardwood staircase and custom-made oak cabinets with glass doors in the dining room. The galley kitchen has a stainless refrigerator and gas range, with a small eat-in breakfast nook. The living room opens to a private office and to a heated sunroom that overlooks the town, and a long enclosed porch with built-in bookshelves runs down one side of the house.

Upstairs, the primary bedroom has an en suite full bath, a walk-in closet and a cedar closet. There are 2 bedrooms and 3 full baths, with 1,391 finished square feet above ground and 620 in the partly finished basement, for 2,011 in all. Heat is hot-water baseboard with propane and oil, plus a gas-start fireplace, and window units cool it in summer.

Land and Outdoor Potential

7.5 acres of gently sloping woods with year-round access. Perennial beds climb the hillside in terraces, with a decorative fish pond, a swing among the trees, a metal shed and a covered carport that doubles as an outdoor room. An old block spring house still stands in the woods.

The house is on public sewer and public water, with a spring on the property as well. The ground is too steep and wooded for livestock: this is a garden-and-forest homestead, not a pasture.

About Six Mile Run, Pennsylvania

Six Mile Run is an old coal village in northern Bedford County, on the edge of the Broad Top. Saxton is about 10 minutes away, and Raystown Lake, the largest lake entirely inside Pennsylvania, is around 15. The Huntingdon and Broad Top rail trail runs nearby. Penn Highlands Huntingdon, a 71-bed community hospital, is roughly 40 minutes north, and Altoona is about an hour. Bedford County has the lowest effective property tax rate in Pennsylvania, 0.79% (Tax Foundation). The honest trade-off: a big grocery run takes planning.

AHO Score: 72/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	16	25
Land / Usability	13	20
Condition	17	20
Practical Location	10	15
Charm	9	10
Future Potential	7	10
Total	72	100

The math. $238,000 over 7.5 acres is $31,733 an acre, against a Bedford County benchmark of $5,010 — 19th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $37,575, or 15.8% of the price, and the house works out to $118 a square foot. Taxes are $1,152 a year, and the seller accepts cash, conventional, FHA, VA, PHFA and USDA Rural Housing loans, the widest financing list on this page. The condition, the gardens and the financing options push the score up; the steep wooded ground and only two bedrooms hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A house someone cared for, in a county with Pennsylvania’s lowest effective tax rate. It suits a couple or a retiree who wants gardens and a lake nearby rather than animals. Because this is Broad Top coal country, price a policy from the state’s Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund before you close: standard homeowner’s policies exclude that damage.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#5 — Snow Shoe, PA — $185,000 — 2 acres

A turnkey cabin inside a gated mountain club with a stocked trout stream and a shooting range

Two acres of tall hardwoods inside the Snow Shoe Wilderness Club, 156 private acres of mountain forest shared by its members. Everything in the cabin stays, down to the towels and the forks.

Inside the Home

Knotty pine walls, dark exposed rafters, a sliding barn door and a black wood stove on a stone hearth set the tone. The kitchen has a gas range, wood cabinets, open shelving and a breakfast bar facing the living area, all on an open plan with wood floors.

There are 2 bedrooms, a full bath and a half bath on one level, in 960 square feet built in 1988. Heat comes from the wood stove and propane wall units, and there is no central air. The sale is turnkey: furniture, décor, kitchen utensils and towels are included, with only the owners’ personal items excluded.

Land and Outdoor Potential

A double lot of 2 acres with mature woods, a wraparound screened porch, a tool shed, a generator and a large outbuilding with a garage door for ATVs, storage or woodworking. Water comes from an on-site well and waste goes to a holding tank that must be pumped.

The club offers a stocked trout stream, a shooting range, gated access, road maintenance and snow removal for $200 a year, and thousands of acres of State Game Lands start nearby. Zoning is seasonal forest and recreational, which shapes how the cabin can be used and financed.

About Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania

Snow Shoe is a small mountain town in northern Centre County, right off Interstate 80. Bellefonte, the county seat, is about 25 minutes away, and State College and Penn State are about 35 minutes. Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, the region’s main hospital, has more than 200 beds. The Snow Shoe Rail Trail runs 18.4 miles of former railbed for ATVs and dirt bikes, including the 1,277-foot Peale Tunnel, completed in 1883. The honest trade-off: winter on the plateau is long and snowy.

AHO Score: 67/100 — Niche Opportunity

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	15	25
Land / Usability	11	20
Condition	16	20
Practical Location	11	15
Charm	8	10
Future Potential	6	10
Total	67	100

The math. $185,000 over 2 acres is $92,500 an acre, against a Centre County benchmark of $8,311 — 44th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $16,622, or 9.0% of the price, and the house works out to $193 a square foot. Property taxes are $643 a year, among the lowest on this page. The land share is small because Centre County farmland is valued at $8,311 an acre, near the expensive middle of the state, and this is a 2-acre lot. The turnkey sale, the club amenities and the low carrying costs push the score up; seasonal zoning, generator power and a holding tank hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A hunting camp, priced and equipped as one, half an hour from a Big Ten college town. It suits a weekend buyer with cash. Seasonal zoning, a generator and a holding tank put it outside most mortgage programs, so plan to pay cash or use a local lender that writes camp loans, and do not plan on living here full time without asking the township first.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#4 — Sigel, PA — $135,000 — 3.32 acres

A one-story ranch on three acres beside Clear Creek State Park, with natural gas heat

A flat, fenced lawn with tall pines behind, a stone chimney and a gravel drive: a simple 1952 ranch in the forest country of northern Jefferson County.

Inside the Home

The living room is 18 by 14 feet, with light wood floors and a wood-burning insert in a stone fireplace. It opens into a 14-by-12 kitchen with oak cabinets and a brick backsplash. There are 2 bedrooms, one paneled in knotty pine, a full bath and a laundry room, all on one level, in 1,046 square feet with no basement.

The washer, dryer, refrigerator, range and dishwasher are included. Heat is a natural gas forced-air furnace, uncommon in rural Pennsylvania and usually cheaper to run than propane or oil, and there is no central air.

Land and Outdoor Potential

3.32 acres of mostly open, level lawn with wire fencing along the front and woods behind, a gravel driveway, a covered porch and a utility shed attached to the house. Water is a private well. The parcels on both sides are listed for sale separately, so a buyer could assemble a much larger holding.

The septic is not a conventional system. It is a small treatment unit with a chlorine tank that discharges under a state permit, with no leach field. It works, but it has maintenance and testing requirements, so have it inspected and read the permit before you buy.

About Sigel, Pennsylvania

Sigel is a small crossroads in northern Jefferson County, surrounded by forest. Clear Creek State Park is about 5 minutes away, and Cook Forest State Park, known for some of the tallest old-growth white pines in the Northeast, is around 20. Brookville, the county seat, is roughly 20 minutes south on Interstate 80, with Penn Highlands Brookville, a hospital with 25 inpatient beds. The larger Penn Highlands DuBois is about 40 minutes away. The honest trade-off: this is camping country, and the closest real shopping is in Brookville.

AHO Score: 70/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	17	25
Land / Usability	13	20
Condition	14	20
Practical Location	12	15
Charm	5	10
Future Potential	9	10
Total	70	100

The math. $135,000 over 3.32 acres is $40,663 an acre, against a Jefferson County benchmark of $4,424 — 12th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $14,688, or 10.9% of the price, and the house works out to $129 a square foot. Taxes are $861 a year, in the same low-rate county as Punxsutawney, 12th cheapest of 67 for farmland. The price, the gas heat and the option to buy the neighboring parcels push the score up; a dated interior, two bedrooms and the permitted discharge septic hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A plain, sound starter house with room to grow, literally, if you buy the land next door. It suits a first-time rural buyer or someone who wants a base near Cook Forest and the Clarion River. Make the septic permit and its maintenance terms part of your due diligence.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#3 — Montoursville, PA — $125,000 (auction) — 0.92–5.22 acres

A 1958 brick ranch on the edge of Williamsport, selling at a live auction

A solid brick house with open fields behind it and a mountain ridge on the horizon, ten minutes from the largest city in north-central Pennsylvania. It is the only auction on this page.

Inside the Home

The house dates from 1958 and has the bones of its era: a den paneled floor to ceiling in knotty pine, a red brick fireplace, hardwood floors in the bedrooms and a 23-by-14-foot kitchen with original wood cabinets, a built-in wall oven, a cooktop and a cast-iron radiator. A covered back porch with a tongue-and-groove ceiling looks over the fields.

There are three bedrooms on the main floor and one upstairs, with about 2,217 finished square feet above ground and a full basement of roughly 1,380 square feet with a sump pump. Heat is oil-fired hot-water baseboard. The listing data is inconsistent on bathrooms and total size, so confirm them with the auction company. Expect a full update: kitchen, baths, windows and systems.

Land and Outdoor Potential

The listing data is inconsistent here too: the property facts show 5.22 acres, while the auction description describes a 0.92-acre parcel. Confirm exactly what is being sold, and see the survey, before you bid. The house has public sewer, a private well, an 8-by-12 outbuilding and views across open fields to the ridge.

Either way, this is a house with a big yard at the edge of town rather than a farm. Its value is the location, ten minutes from jobs and a hospital, and the brick shell.

About Montoursville, Pennsylvania

Montoursville sits just east of Williamsport in Lycoming County, along Loyalsock Creek. Downtown Williamsport is about 10 minutes away, home to UPMC Williamsport, the county’s largest employer, the Pennsylvania College of Technology and Lycoming Engines, which builds aircraft engines. Williamsport Regional Airport is in Montoursville, and the Little League World Series is played every August in South Williamsport, about 15 minutes away. The honest trade-off: at the edge of town, you get neighbors, not seclusion.

AHO Score: 70/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	18	25
Land / Usability	12	20
Condition	11	20
Practical Location	14	15
Charm	6	10
Future Potential	9	10
Total	70	100

The math. $125,000 is not a fixed asking price: it is the figure the sale is expected to land around, and bidding can open below it. Lycoming County assesses the property at $117,350, a useful frame of reference, and the taxes are $2,681 a year. Depending on whether 0.92 or 5.22 acres convey, the land is worth between about $6,100 and $34,300 at the county’s census rate. The Lycoming County benchmark is $6,578 an acre, 30th cheapest of 67 counties. At about 2,217 finished square feet above ground, the expected price works out to about $56 a square foot. The location and the brick construction push the score up; the dated interior, oil heat and the uncertain acreage hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

An auction can be a real opportunity: the house sells on the day for what the room decides, not for what a seller hopes, and fewer people show up to an auction than to an open house. The trade is strict. You need cash or financing arranged in advance, the house is sold as-is with no inspection contingency, a deposit is due when the hammer falls and a buyer’s premium is usually added to the winning bid. The public auction is scheduled on site on November 5, 2026, at 6 p.m.; confirm the terms with the auction company and inspect the house beforehand.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#2 — Centerville, PA — $89,000 — 1 acres

A family camp on the bank of Oil Creek, with trout swimming past the back deck

About an acre at the end of its own private drive, with hemlocks leaning over Oil Creek and a screened porch facing the water. The same family has owned it for generations.

Inside the Home

The camp has about 956 square feet on two floors, with 3 bedrooms and 1 full bath. The living room is 15 by 23 feet, with a fireplace, an open staircase and windows on three sides, and a 9-by-24 screened porch runs along the creek side, with dark green frames and a painted floor. One front room has a beamed ceiling and a hanging lantern.

Upstairs, three bedrooms have wide painted board walls, dark plank floors and old iron bed frames. The kitchen is small, with an electric range and refrigerator. Heat comes from propane and space heaters, with no central heating or air, which is why it is sold as a seasonal camp.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 1 acre on a rolling slope with impressive creek frontage, a back deck over the water, a shed and a fire ring, reached by a private drive off a dirt road. Water is a well and the sewage system is a septic tank. The property is listed as-is.

State Game Lands are less than a mile away. This is a fishing and family-weekend property, not a homestead: the ground is small and sloped, and its value is the creek.

About Centerville, Pennsylvania

Centerville is a quiet borough in eastern Crawford County, at the top of the Oil Creek valley. About 15 minutes downstream is Titusville, where Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in the United States in 1859, and Oil Creek State Park follows the creek south. Titusville Area Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital, is part of Meadville Medical Center, whose 235-bed main hospital is about 40 minutes west. Erie is about an hour north. The honest trade-off: this is camp country, and very quiet in winter.

AHO Score: 64/100 — Niche Opportunity

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	18	25
Land / Usability	10	20
Condition	10	20
Practical Location	10	15
Charm	9	10
Future Potential	7	10
Total	64	100

The math. $89,000 over 1 acres is $89,000 an acre, against a Crawford County benchmark of $3,981 — 5th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $3,981, or 4.5% of the price, and the house works out to $93 a square foot. Crawford County is the 5th cheapest county in Pennsylvania for farmland, and taxes here are $712 a year. The creek frontage and the low price push the score up; seasonal heating, the as-is sale and the small, sloped lot hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A rare piece of trout water at a camp price, and the kind of place families hand down rather than sell. It suits a weekend fisherman or a family that wants a gathering place. Check the flood zone and get an insurance quote before you offer, and budget real money if you want to use it in winter.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#1 — Washington, PA — $49,900 — 0.28 acres

A hilltop fixer-upper above a county seat, with no immediate neighbors and the city below

A long, narrow lot on top of a hill in Washington, Pennsylvania, with a green lawn running back from the house and a view over the whole city. It is the cheapest home on this page and the one that needs the most work.

Inside the Home

The 1900 two-story has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths in 1,346 square feet. On the main floor, a bedroom has direct access to a full bath with an original clawfoot tub, which makes a first-floor primary suite possible. The kitchen has been refreshed with white cabinets, a gray mosaic backsplash and vinyl plank flooring, while the living and dining rooms are wood-paneled under drop ceilings.

Upstairs are two more bedrooms, a game room and a second full bath with a newer walk-in shower. The gas forced-air furnace is about four years old. A full walk-out basement holds the laundry and storage, and it shows its age.

Land and Outdoor Potential

0.28 acres, 61 feet wide and about 200 feet deep, with no immediate neighbors on either side, a two-car parking pad and a shed. The house is on public water and public sewer.

This is a city lot, not acreage. It is on this page because of what the building costs: $49,900 for a three-bedroom house minutes from a hospital and a college.

About Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington is the county seat of Washington County, a city of about 13,000 roughly 35 minutes southwest of downtown Pittsburgh on Interstate 79. UPMC Washington, formerly Washington Hospital, which joined UPMC in 2024, is minutes away, and Washington & Jefferson College is in town. Regional paychecks come from health care, education and the natural gas industry, and the Tanger Outlets and The Meadows racetrack and casino are about ten minutes out. The honest trade-off: city traffic and no acreage.

AHO Score: 60/100 — Niche Opportunity

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	20	25
Land / Usability	5	20
Condition	8	20
Practical Location	14	15
Charm	4	10
Future Potential	9	10
Total	60	100

The math. $49,900 over 0.28 acres is $178,214 an acre, against a Washington County benchmark of $7,188 — 37th cheapest of 67 counties. The land is worth about $2,013, or 4.0% of the price, and the house works out to $37 a square foot. Taxes are $1,453 a year. At $37 a square foot, this is the cheapest square foot on the page by a wide margin. The price, the location and the newer furnace push the score up; the condition and the city lot hold it down hard.

Mark’s Verdict

An investment or a sweat-equity first house, not a homestead. It suits a buyer with a contractor, cash or a renovation loan, and a plan to rent it or live in it while fixing it. It is sold completely as-is, so price the repairs before you bid, and have the basement and the 1900 electrical system looked at first.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

Final Thoughts on Cheap Houses for Sale in Pennsylvania With Land

Three things came out of this batch that were not obvious before the numbers were on the table. The first is where the value clustered. The four highest scores all belong to homes with real acreage: Tionesta (80), Punxsutawney (79), Sabinsville and Central City (77 each). Three of them sit in counties among Pennsylvania’s 15 cheapest for farmland, and the fourth, Tionesta, wins on something rarer: 13 acres attached to a house in town.

The second is that price per acre and price per square foot tell opposite stories. Sabinsville has the cheapest acre on the list at about $21,400, and Central City the most expensive square foot at $210, because it is the newest, best-finished house. Washington has the cheapest square foot at $37 and by far the priciest acre, about $178,000, for a city lot. Neither number means anything alone. Read them together, and always against the county benchmark.

The third is that the best value was not the cheapest property. The $49,900 fixer needs significant repairs, and the $89,000 camp is seasonal. The homes that give the most for the money sit in the middle of the list, where a sound house comes with ground you can use. When you shop for cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land, the question is never only what it costs. In a state where the median home is 57 years old, it is what the house needs and what the ground lets you do. Go stand on it before you decide.

A Checklist for Cheap Houses for Sale in Pennsylvania With Land

Before you make an offer on any of the cheap houses for sale in Pennsylvania with land, on this page or anywhere else, work through this list with the township, the county and the state, not with the listing.

1. Check for mine subsidence. Look the address up in the state’s mine map viewer and price a policy from the Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund. Standard homeowner’s insurance does not cover it, and the coverage is cheap.
2. Test for radon. Radon has been found in all 67 Pennsylvania counties. A test costs little, and a mitigation system usually costs far less than the price cut you can negotiate if the level is high.
3. Test the water yourself. With no statewide well construction standard, order a bacteria, nitrate and arsenic test on any well or spring, and ask how the supply holds up in late summer.
4. Get the septic history from the township. Ask the Sewage Enforcement Officer for the permit on file, the system type and its approved bedroom count. Holding tanks and discharge systems carry ongoing costs and rules.
5. Ask whether the land is in Clean and Green. If it is, you inherit the seven-year rollback clock. Keep the qualifying use, or budget for the rollback taxes plus 6% interest a year.
6. Compare effective tax rates, not millage. Ask for the current bill, check whether the school district offers a homestead exclusion, and remember that a sale does not reset an old assessment in most counties until a countywide reassessment.
7. Inspect the house as an old house. In a state where the median home is 57 years old, look hard at the roof, the wiring, the heating system and the chimney, and test for lead paint and asbestos in anything built before 1978.
8. Order a survey and a title search. Confirm legal access, easements and boundaries, especially on private drives, in hunting clubs and where the listing data on acreage is inconsistent.

Common Questions About Cheap Houses for Sale in Pennsylvania With Land

You Might Also Like

• Buying Rural Land in Pennsylvania — our state guide, with land values for all 67 counties, mine subsidence and radon.
• The Real Cost of Owning Rural Property in Pennsylvania — property taxes, the local earned income tax and what ownership costs each year.
• Cheap Farmhouses With Land in Western Pennsylvania — an earlier batch from the western half of the state.
• Log Home Insurance — what it takes to insure a log or timber-frame house.
• The Rural Property Buyer’s Field Guide — the free nine-page checklist for every walkthrough.