Cheap Land for Sale in Tennessee: 10 Real Tracts From $9,500 to $295,000

The average acre of Tennessee farmland was worth $5,156 in the last USDA census, and the Department of Agriculture puts farm real estate at $6,500 an acre in 2026. Three of the ten tracts on this page sell for $2,000 an acre or less. Together, the ten add up to 442 acres for $1,024,700, or about $2,319 an acre, and the cheapest one costs $9,500. That is what cheap land for sale in Tennessee looks like when you stop looking at houses.

There is no front door anywhere on this page. These are ten pieces of raw land, from a 169-acre hollow with springs and a waterfall near Cookeville to a two-acre lot in a West Tennessee lake community. The house is yours to decide: a log cabin, a barn home, a factory-built home, or nothing at all but a camper and a deer stand. What decides whether any of that is possible is not the view. It is five questions about access, power, water, septic and what you are allowed to build, and every tract below is run through all five.

This guide has two halves, and they age differently. The first half is permanent: what farmland is worth in each of the nine counties this batch touches, why cheap land in Tennessee is cheap where it is, the five questions, and the state rules that decide what raw land really costs you. The second half is a moment in time: ten real listings from October 2026. The county numbers and the rules are worth bookmarking. The ten listings are evidence, not inventory.

Four honest disclosures before you scroll. The 169-acre Cookeville tract is under a conservation easement, which may limit or rule out a house, and its section explains why that is also the reason it is cheap. Five of the ten sit in planned communities with dues, covenants or a road fee. The Eidson mountain tract needs four-wheel drive and gets its power from a neighbor. And four of the six small lots cost more per acre than their county’s farmland average, not less. Each point comes up again in its own section.

Watch the Full Tour

All ten tracts were filmed for the video version of this guide, with the drone shots, the trail-camera pictures and Mark’s read on each piece of ground. If you would rather watch than read, start here, then come back for the county data and the five-question check behind every parcel of cheap land for sale in Tennessee on this page.

Cheap Land for Sale in Tennessee: the numbers in short

What You’ll Find: Cheap Land for Sale in Tennessee

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 cheap land in Tennessee clusters where it does, and what that county benchmark can and cannot tell you about a listing. After that come the five questions, the Tennessee rules, and finally the dated snapshot. If you are comparing cheap land for sale in Tennessee, read the county table first: it is the quickest way to tell a bargain from a price that only looks low.

Tennessee has 95 counties and 10,732,951 acres in farms, and the census publishes a value for every one of them. The nine counties below are where this batch sits, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. All nine rank in the cheaper half of the state: the median Tennessee county is worth $5,222 an acre, and the most expensive county here, Campbell, comes in just under it.

Rank of 95	County	Region	Avg $/Acre	10 Acres at That Rate	Acres in Farms
10	Hancock	Northeast Tennessee, Clinch Mountain	$3,190	$31,900	55,692
13	Carroll	West Tennessee	$3,459	$34,590	179,424
17	Clay	Upper Cumberland, Dale Hollow Lake	$3,793	$37,930	61,730
22	Jackson	Upper Cumberland	$4,084	$40,840	77,471
27	Fentress	Cumberland Plateau, Big South Fork	$4,211	$42,110	109,309
34	Claiborne	Northeast Tennessee, Norris Lake	$4,395	$43,950	106,999
44	Grundy	South Cumberland Plateau	$4,988	$49,880	29,669
45	Hawkins	Northeast Tennessee, Cherokee Lake	$5,015	$50,150	119,016
47	Campbell	Cumberland Mountains, I-75	$5,131	$51,310	30,815
—	Tennessee (state)	All 95 counties	$5,156	$51,560	10,732,951

Source: USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Table 8 for Tennessee — “Estimated market value of land and buildings, average per acre, 2022.” All 95 counties publish a value; their farms and acres add up exactly to the state totals of 63,105 farms and 10,732,951 acres, with none suppressed. Rank is out of 95, where 1 is the cheapest. The census measures agricultural land and buildings on working farms, not asking prices for recreational tracts or subdivision lots.

Why These Counties Are Cheap

Four structural forces explain where cheap land for sale in Tennessee turns up, and each one is also a description of daily life in the places on this list.

• The cheapest belt is West Tennessee, with one mountain exception. The ten cheapest counties in the state are Chester ($2,781), Hardeman ($2,804), Decatur ($2,946), McNairy ($2,954), Henderson ($2,956), Hardin ($3,021), Madison ($3,099), Perry ($3,130), Wayne ($3,142) and Hancock ($3,190). Nine of them sit in the west or along the Tennessee River. The tenth is Hancock, on the Virginia line, where the Eidson tract on this page climbs Clinch Mountain. Carroll County, home to two tracts here, is 13th.
• Mountains and plateau keep the averages down. Thin soils, steep ground and hardwood forest make up much of the farm acreage in Hancock, Fentress, Grundy and Campbell. Forest does not earn what row crops earn, so the census average stays modest even where the scenery is spectacular. That is exactly the land most buyers of cheap land in Tennessee are after: ridges, hollows and creeks rather than corn ground.
• Lakes raise lot prices, not county averages. Claiborne (Norris Lake), Hawkins (Cherokee Lake) and Clay (Dale Hollow Lake) all rank between 17th and 45th. The farmland behind the shoreline is ordinary, but lake communities subdivide small lots near the water and price them by the lot, not the acre. That is why the lake lots on this page cost more per acre than their county averages.
• The expensive ground follows the cities. Davidson ($12,414), Knox ($12,302), Unicoi ($10,994) and Rutherford ($10,250) lead the state, about four times the cheapest counties. None of the tracts here is within an hour of Nashville. The closest to a big city is Duff, about an hour up Interstate 75 from Knoxville, and Campbell, on the interstate, is the most expensive county in this batch.

What Cheap Land Really Costs: The Size Discount

Measured against each county’s census value, the four big tracts are priced below what the average acre of farmland in their county is worth. The Duff mountain sells at 39% of the Campbell County benchmark, the Cookeville hollow at 43% of Jackson County’s, the Huntingdon creek bottom at 52% of Carroll County’s, and the Eidson ridge at 77% of Hancock County’s. The small lots run the other way: the Celina barn lot costs 2.45 times the Clay County average per acre, the Monteagle creek lot 2.05 times Grundy’s and the Jamestown lot 1.8 times Fentress County’s.

Neither result is a mistake. Large tracts sell to fewer buyers, carry steeper or wetter ground, and often come with a catch, like the conservation easement in Cookeville. Small lots come with things a farm acre does not: a paved road, a gate, a lake, utilities at the street. So the honest way to read cheap land for sale in Tennessee is in two steps. First the total ticket, then the price per acre against the county benchmark, and only then the question of what the price includes. The listing sites tell a third story: LandSearch showed an average asking price of $22,520 an acre across Tennessee land listings when we checked in September 2026, about 4.4 times the census figure, because what is for sale is mostly small lots, not farms.

The Five Questions to Ask About Any Tennessee Land

Raw land hides its costs. A house shows you its roof and its furnace; a field shows you grass. These five questions are where the real price of cheap land in Tennessee lives, and if a seller cannot answer them, the asking price does not mean much yet.

Tennessee Rules That Decide What Raw Land Costs You

Five state rules matter more on cheap land for sale in Tennessee than on a house, because they decide your carrying cost, your build cost and whether a bank will lend at all.

• Greenbelt starts at 15 acres. Tennessee’s Agricultural, Forest and Open Space Land Act (TCA 67-5-1001 to 1050) taxes qualifying land on its use value instead of its market value. Agricultural and forest land need at least 15 acres, open space at least 3, and leaving the program triggers rollback taxes: 3 years for farm and forest, 5 for open space. Four tracts on this page clear 15 acres. Apply through the county assessor early in the year and confirm the deadline.
• The state permits every septic system. No county waives it. A septic permit is required to build, modify or repair a system, and a TDEC environmental scientist evaluates the site. Raw land with no permit is land whose most expensive question is still open.
• Nobody tests the well for you. Tennessee licenses drillers but does not regulate private well water, and no test is required when land sells. Budget for drilling and for your own bacteria and nitrate test once the well is in.
• Zoning is local, and sometimes absent. Cities and some counties zone; many rural Tennessee counties have little or no zoning, and some have not adopted residential building codes. “No restrictions” in a listing usually means no deed restrictions; it does not cancel the septic permit, the well rules or the floodplain.
• Raw land is a different loan. Mortgages and USDA home loans are built for houses. Bare land usually means cash, a land loan with a bigger down payment and a shorter term, a lender such as a Farm Credit association, or seller financing. Rural property taxes are low in Tennessee, but there is no state income tax to lean on for land that earns nothing.

October 2026 Snapshot: Ten Real Tracts

These ten tracts were for sale in October 2026. Four are in East Tennessee, at Duff, Eidson, New Tazewell and Mooresburg; four are on the Cumberland Plateau and in the Upper Cumberland, near Cookeville, Celina, Monteagle and Jamestown; and two are in West Tennessee’s Carroll County, at Huntingdon and Cedar Grove. Here are the ten pieces of cheap land for sale in Tennessee, side by side, with each price per acre measured against its county’s farmland value.

#	Town	County	Price	Acres	Price / Acre	vs County Farm Value
10	Cookeville	Jackson	$295,000	168.79	$1,748	43%
9	Duff	Campbell	$208,000	104	$2,000	39%
8	Huntingdon	Carroll	$149,900	84	$1,785	52%
7	Eidson	Hancock	$115,000	46.84	$2,455	77%
6	Celina	Clay	$79,900	8.6	$9,291	245%
5	Monteagle	Grundy	$52,500	5.14	$10,214	205%
4	New Tazewell	Claiborne	$40,000	9.4	$4,255	97%
3	Jamestown	Fentress	$39,900	5.26	$7,586	180%
2	Mooresburg	Hawkins	$35,000	7.63	$4,587	91%
1	Cedar Grove	Carroll	$9,500	2.3	$4,130	119%

Why These Tracts Have No AHO Score

Our AHO Score grades homes, and a fifth of it is the condition of the house. Raw land has no house to grade, so instead of forcing a number, every tract below gets the same five-question check, a county benchmark and an honest read on who it suits. The check is an editorial comparison, not an appraisal, a survey or investment advice.

Published October 2026. Some of these tracts will already be under contract or sold by the time you read this, and that is normal. The county figures, the five questions, 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 property in Tennessee, and see where Tennessee sits nationally in our ranking of the cheapest states to buy land. If you want the next cheap land for sale in Tennessee before it goes public, the form above is how you get it.

The ten tracts

Ten tracts, most expensive to least, each with its five-question check, its county land benchmark and an honest read on what you are actually buying.

#10 — Cookeville, TN — $295,000 — 168.79 acres

A 169-acre hollow on the Cumberland Plateau, with springs, a waterfall and a meadow along the creek, protected forever by a conservation easement

From the air it looks as if someone pressed a thumb into the Cumberland Plateau: 168.79 acres folded into a hollow, with wooded ridges on three sides and a ribbon of bright green meadow running along the bottom, following the water. The address says Cookeville, but the land lies to the north, in the Dodson Branch area of Jackson County.

The Land Up Close

A gravel road comes in low along the creek, under a wall of layered gray and tan rock ledges with ferns growing out of the seams. Springs feed the land in several places, and there is a waterfall on the property. The ground is steep on the sides and open in the bottom, where the meadows are flat enough to picture a camp.

This is a hunting and recreation tract first. Deer, turkey and small game move through the hardwoods and along the open bottomland, and the hollow shape means the whole property feels closed off from the roads around it.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Gravel road in along the creek; confirm it is deeded or public all the way.
Power	Not confirmed. Ask the utility how far the nearest line is.
Water	Springs and the creek on site; a well would still be the drinking-water source.
Septic	Not confirmed. Only relevant if the easement allows a dwelling.
Build	Decided by the conservation easement. Read the recorded document first.

What You Could Build Here

The whole tract is protected by a conservation easement, a recorded legal agreement that keeps the land largely as it is and follows the deed forever. Some easements reserve a building envelope for one home or cabin; others allow almost nothing beyond trails and hunting stands. Get the easement document and read it before you plan anything, because it is the single fact that decides this property’s use.

It is also why the price per acre is so low. If the easement reserves a homesite, a modest cabin or a factory-built home in the meadow would be the natural fit. If it does not, this is a legacy hunting and recreation property, and you would be paying well under the county’s farmland value for it.

About Cookeville, Tennessee

Cookeville is about 25 minutes south. It is home to Tennessee Tech University and to Cookeville Regional Medical Center, the main hospital for the Upper Cumberland, plus the big-box stores, groceries and hardware. Gainesboro, the Jackson County seat, is about 20 minutes away for basics, and Cummins Falls State Park, with one of the best-known swimming holes in the state, is a short drive away. Nashville is about an hour and a half west on Interstate 40. The honest trade-off: the last miles are narrow, winding country roads.

The math. $295,000 over 168.79 acres is $1,748 an acre, against a Jackson County benchmark of $4,084 — 22nd cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 43% of the county’s average farm acre, and about 27% of the USDA’s 2026 statewide figure of $6,500. The tract is sold for cash or a conventional loan. Size, water and the protected setting push the value up; the easement, the steep sides and the unconfirmed utilities explain the discount.

Mark’s Verdict

The most land and the most water on this page, at the second-cheapest price per acre. It is for a hunter, a naturalist or a family that wants land to hold for the next generation, and it is only for a homebuilder if the easement says so. Among all the cheap land for sale in Tennessee in this batch, it is the one where the paperwork matters more than the scenery.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#9 — Duff, TN — $208,000 — 104 acres

One hundred four acres of Campbell County mountain, with paved road frontage, power at the road and the Tackett Creek trails next door

One hundred four acres of mountain that turns red, yellow and bronze every October, rising straight off a paved road just east of Interstate 75. The lower ground along the road is open brushland going back to woods; above it the hardwoods close in and climb toward ridgelines with long views across the valley.

The Land Up Close

Up high there are outcrops of sandstone covered in bright green moss, and once the leaves drop the forest opens up into tall, straight hardwoods with a clean floor underneath. From the upper ridges you look out over folded mountains and a glint of water in the valley.

The tract sits next to the Tackett Creek off-road riding area, a large network of trails, so off-road riders could ride from their own land. It is one of five tracts being sold out of a larger mountain property, and the boundary lines in the marketing are approximate, so a survey belongs in the budget.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Paved road frontage. No shared driveway.
Power	Electricity at the road.
Water	A private well would be needed.
Septic	A private septic system would be needed; start with a soil evaluation.
Build	Suited to camping, hunting or a cabin; no restrictions are mentioned, so confirm in writing.

What You Could Build Here

With power at the road and a public road at the bottom, the lower part of this tract is the realistic homesite, and that is where a cabin or a factory-built home would go: the delivery truck needs a road it can turn on, and the ridges are too steep for that. The upper slopes are for timber, hunting and the view.

The honest number is the one nobody prints on the sign. A mountain well and a septic system together can run from several thousand dollars to well over $30,000, depending on how deep the driller has to go and what the soil accepts. Get quotes before you offer, not after.

About Duff, Tennessee

LaFollette is about 20 minutes south, with LaFollette Medical Center, groceries and hardware, and Jacksboro, the Campbell County seat, is right next to it. Norris Lake, with its marinas and coves, is closer than Knoxville, which is about an hour down Interstate 75. Duff itself is a small community just east of the interstate. The honest trade-off: the interstate corridor makes the land convenient, not silent.

The math. $208,000 over 104 acres is $2,000 an acre, against a Campbell County benchmark of $5,131 — 47th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties and the most expensive county in this batch. That is 39% of the county’s average farm acre, the deepest discount on the page. With well over 15 acres of forest, the tract can apply for greenbelt classification, and a forester can tell you what the standing hardwood is worth before you buy. Road frontage and power push the value up; the slope and the cost of a well and septic hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The easiest big tract on the page to actually use, because the road and the power are already there. It suits a hunter, an off-road rider or someone planning a mountain cabin who is ready to budget for water and septic from day one. If you want a lot of land with a paved road in front of it, this is the strongest cheap land for sale in Tennessee in this batch.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#8 — Huntingdon, TN — $149,900 — 84 acres

Eighty-four acres of creek bottom, timber and a stocked pond inside the city limits of a county seat

Eighty-four acres, and the surprise is where they are: inside the city limits of Huntingdon, the Carroll County seat. From the air you see rooftops at the edge of the frame, then a wall of trees, then farm fields running out to the horizon.

The Land Up Close

Beaver Creek winds through the property, wide, slow and green, still enough in places to reflect the trees like a mirror. There is a stocked pond, mixed timber and a power line corridor that cuts an open lane through the woods, the kind of edge deer use as a highway between the timber and the crop fields next door.

The best pictures of this land were taken by trail cameras: big-bodied bucks in daylight, a flock of wild turkeys under a tall stand, deer frozen in black and white in the middle of the night. The ground is level and low, which is good for walking and hunting and worth checking against the flood maps before you plan to build.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Paved frontage on two city streets, Main Street and Lexington Street.
Power	Electricity connected to the property.
Water	Public water.
Septic	Ask the city about sewer before planning a septic system.
Build	Zoned agricultural, inside city limits. One call to city hall settles it.

What You Could Build Here

With public water, power and two paved streets, this is the most buildable large tract on the page, provided the homesite sits out of the creek’s floodplain. City zoning decides what kind of home is allowed, including whether a manufactured home is permitted, so ask the city before you sketch anything.

A separate southern parcel of about 27.5 acres is also for sale. Together, the two would put more than 111 acres of creek bottom inside a county seat under one owner, which is the kind of holding that rarely comes up.

About Huntingdon, Tennessee

You cannot be much closer to town. Baptist Memorial Hospital Carroll County, groceries, schools and the courthouse square are a few minutes away. The Carroll County 1,000 Acre Recreational Lake, known for bass and crappie, is a short drive, and Jackson, the largest city in this part of West Tennessee, is about 45 minutes south. The honest trade-off: you are buying woods with a town around it, not wilderness.

The math. $149,900 over 84 acres is $1,785 an acre, against a Carroll County benchmark of $3,459 — 13th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 52% of the county’s average farm acre. Taxes run about $645 a year today. Inside city limits you usually pay city property tax on top of county tax, and many towns limit firing guns: ask the city exactly what is allowed before you plan a deer season. The utilities and the town push the value up; the floodplain question and the city rules hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A rare combination: real hunting land with town water and a hospital minutes away. It suits a buyer who wants acreage without giving up convenience, and a bowhunter more than a rifle hunter until the city says otherwise. As cheap land for sale in Tennessee goes, few tracts this size come with city services already at the street.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#7 — Eidson, TN — $115,000 — 46.84 acres

Nearly 47 acres to the crest of Clinch Mountain, with three springs, no zoning and a ready-made camp

Nearly 47 surveyed acres in Hancock County, way up in the northeast corner of Tennessee, climbing all the way to the crest of Clinch Mountain. From a drone in summer it is a green ocean, ridge after ridge, with fog sitting in the valleys.

The Land Up Close

Somebody has already started the dream. A travel trailer sits in a cleared opening, with a picnic table, a generator and a wood-fired water heater for a homemade hot shower in the woods. Inside the camper there are honey-colored cabinets, a small dinette and a bed, enough for a weekend while you decide where the real cabin goes.

There are three natural springs, several cleared food plots, mossy boulders and big old trees. The trail camera shows deer, turkeys and a black bear crossing the clearing in daylight. The last stretch in is a gravel and dirt lane under the trees, and four-wheel drive is not optional.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Shared driveway, four-wheel drive. Get the easement in writing.
Power	Available from the neighboring property; expect a separate easement for the line.
Water	Three natural springs; a well for a permanent home.
Septic	Required for a permanent residence.
Build	No zoning restrictions.

What You Could Build Here

No zoning means the choice is yours: a cabin, a barn home or a factory-built home are all possible here, with a septic permit and a well. The practical limit is the road. A shared, steep, four-wheel-drive lane is hard on delivery trucks and concrete mixers, so price the driveway work before you choose what to build.

For now, the camp is ready. The camper, the generator and the wood-fired water heater come with the land, which means the next owner can spend the first weekend there instead of the first summer setting up.

About Eidson, Tennessee

Sneedville, the Hancock County seat, is about 25 minutes away, with Hancock County Hospital, a small critical access hospital run by Ballad Health. Rogersville is about 40 minutes for a full shopping run, and Kingsport, where Eastman’s chemical plant is one of the largest employers in East Tennessee, is about an hour. The Clinch River runs through the valley below. The honest trade-off: Hancock is one of the least populated counties in Tennessee, and that is the whole point.

The math. $115,000 over 46.84 acres is $2,455 an acre, against a Hancock County benchmark of $3,190 — 10th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties and the only one of the ten cheapest outside West Tennessee and the Tennessee River valley. That is 77% of the county’s average farm acre. At more than 15 acres, the tract clears the greenbelt minimum for forest or agricultural use. The springs, the camp and the absence of zoning push the value up; the shared four-wheel-drive access and borrowed power hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The off-grid tract on this page, and the most fun to own on the first weekend. It is for hunters, campers and patient builders who can pay cash, because land reached by a shared driveway with power from a neighbor is exactly what most banks do not like to lend on. Plan on cash, seller financing or a land loan with a bigger down payment.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#6 — Celina, TN — $79,900 — 8.6 acres

Eight and a half acres on a paved county road, with a two-story poplar tobacco barn and the utilities of an old farmhouse still in place

Eight point six acres in Clay County with about 1,000 feet along a paved county road. About an acre is open, a meadow of tall grass going gold in the fall, and the rest is mature woodland that drops into a hollow. At the edge of the clearing, weathered almost black, stands a two-story tobacco barn.

The Land Up Close

Inside the barn, the rails where tobacco once hung to cure still run across the rafters, and light comes through the gaps between the boards in thin gold stripes. It was built of solid poplar, and it is still standing straight: workshop, hay storage, tractor shed or the backdrop for every family photo.

At the bottom of the hollow there is a spring-fed stream, and an improved driveway is already cut in from the road. There are mountain views, plenty of wildlife and an old water well that would need work before use.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	About 1,000 feet of paved county road frontage and an improved driveway.
Power	Installed, from the farmhouse that once stood here.
Water	Public water installed; an old well on site needs maintenance.
Septic	There may be an old system with no records. Plan a new soil evaluation.
Build	No restrictions. Mineral and timber rights convey to the buyer.

What You Could Build Here

This is the easiest tract on the page to turn into a home. There used to be a farmhouse here; it is gone, but public water and electricity were left in place, and telephone, cable and fiber internet are available. With no restrictions, a site-built house, a cabin or a factory-built home on a permanent foundation would all fit on the open acre beside the barn.

The one thing to verify is the septic. The seller believes there may be a system from the old house but has no records and no guarantee. Treat it as if nothing is there, and apply for a new permit early: the state’s processing can take up to 45 days.

About Celina, Tennessee

Celina, the Clay County seat, is about 10 to 15 minutes away, and so is Dale Hollow Lake, known for some of the clearest water in the South and for its houseboats. The Cumberland River runs past town. Celina’s own hospital, Cumberland River Hospital, has closed, so the nearest full hospital is Livingston Regional, about 50 minutes away. The honest trade-off: lake-country beauty, long drives for medical care.

The math. $79,900 over 8.6 acres is $9,291 an acre, against a Clay County benchmark of $3,793 — 17th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 2.45 times the county’s average farm acre, the highest premium over its county on the page, and the reason is what you get with the ground: installed water and power, a paved road, a driveway and a barn. Taxes run about $140 a year today. The utilities and the barn push the value up; the unknown septic and the distance to a hospital hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The best place on this page to put a house next year. Small acreage with utilities already in is the easiest kind of land to build on and the easiest to finance, and this close to Dale Hollow a cabin could also rent to anglers. It is the one tract here where the higher price per acre buys you the most time.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#5 — Monteagle, TN — $52,500 — 5.14 acres

Five wooded acres behind a stone gate on top of the Cumberland Plateau, with a creek along the back line

Five point one four acres in Timberwood, a gated community on top of the Cumberland Plateau between Monteagle and Tracy City, in Grundy County. You come in through stone pillars and an iron gate, past a Japanese maple glowing red, onto paved roads under tall hardwoods.

The Land Up Close

Walk to the back of the lot and you hear it before you see it. A creek runs along the property line, clear and shallow over flat plates of stone, with mossy rocks and small pools where the sunlight reaches the bottom. In summer it is the coolest spot on the mountain.

The lot is level and wooded, with a path in from the road, and the community has a creekside park with picnic tables and a fire pit.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Paved community roads behind a gate.
Power	Confirm the connection point for this lot.
Water	Public water available.
Septic	Septic system needed; confirm the soil evaluation for this lot.
Build	Residential zoning plus community covenants. Read every one.

What You Could Build Here

This is a homesite lot in a planned community, so the covenants decide the house. Many gated communities set a minimum home size and limit or prohibit manufactured homes, and some require plans to be approved before you build. Ask for the restrictions in writing before you make an offer.

The HOA dues are $500 a year, about $42 a month, and they pay for the gate, the paved roads and the park. In return, you live by the rules.

About Monteagle, Tennessee

This is waterfall country: Fiery Gizzard, Foster Falls and the trails of South Cumberland State Park are minutes away. Monteagle and Interstate 24 are about 10 minutes, with Sewanee and the University of the South just beyond. The nearest full hospital is in Winchester, about 35 minutes. Chattanooga is about 50 minutes and Nashville about an hour and a half. The honest trade-off: plateau fog and the occasional icy morning come with the altitude.

The math. $52,500 over 5.14 acres is $10,214 an acre, against a Grundy County benchmark of $4,988 — 44th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 2.05 times the county’s average farm acre, and the highest price per acre on the page, because you are paying for a gate, paved roads, public water and a creek. Taxes run about $177 a year, plus the $500 in dues. Cabins near the South Cumberland trails are popular weekend rentals, if the covenants allow them.

Mark’s Verdict

The most polished small lot on the page and the one with the best creek. It suits a buyer who wants a mountain getaway with paved roads and a gate, and who is comfortable with covenants. If you plan a factory-built home, read the rules before anything else.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#4 — New Tazewell, TN — $40,000 — 9.4 acres

Nine wooded acres above Norris Lake, with residents-only boat slips and fiber internet

Nine point four acres in Lone Mountain Shores, a lake community in Claiborne County, and the drone shots tell the story: green forest rolling down toward the long blue arms of Norris Lake, which wraps around the ridges in every direction.

The Land Up Close

On the ground it is a deeply wooded lot on a gravel community road, with tall grass along the shoulder and several places a driveway could go. Clear a few trees in the right spot and your morning coffee comes with a view of the water.

Owners get residents-only boat slips and ramps, community centers and high-speed fiber internet, which on a mountain in rural Tennessee is worth more than you might think.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Gravel community roads.
Power	Available in the community, along with fiber internet.
Water	Confirm what serves this lot: community water or a well.
Septic	Confirm the soil evaluation for this lot.
Build	Zoned residential, with community covenants. Dues are $330 a year.

What You Could Build Here

Nine acres is a lot of room for a lake-community lot, enough to set a home back for privacy and still clear a view lane. The covenants decide the type and size of home, so ask for them, and ask specifically whether factory-built homes are allowed and under what rules.

Here is what almost nobody tells you about Norris Lake. The Tennessee Valley Authority lowers the lake every winter for flood storage, and the drop is large. Your August view and your February view will be two different lakes, so visit in both seasons before you decide.

About New Tazewell, Tennessee

Tazewell, the Claiborne County seat, is about 25 minutes away, with Claiborne Medical Center, part of Covenant Health. Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate is about 35 minutes north, and Knoxville a little over an hour. Norris Lake has more than 800 miles of shoreline, so there is always another cove to explore. The honest trade-off: mountain roads mean every errand takes longer than the map says.

The math. $40,000 over 9.4 acres is $4,255 an acre, against a Claiborne County benchmark of $4,395 — 34th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 97% of the county’s average farm acre: a lake-community lot priced almost exactly at farmland value. Taxes run about $244 a year on an assessed value of $41,700, plus $330 a year in dues. The lake access and the fiber push the value up; the winter drawdown and the unconfirmed water and septic hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The best price on this page for lake access and acreage together. It suits a buyer who wants a weekend place or a quiet full-time home with a boat slip, and who will check the covenants and the septic before falling for the view. Among cheap land for sale in Tennessee near a big lake, nine acres at farmland price is hard to beat.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#3 — Jamestown, TN — $39,900 — 5.26 acres

Five acres behind a security gate, with a creek that tumbles through the rocks in a string of small waterfalls

Five point two six surveyed acres in Rockcastle, a gated community in the hills of Fentress County. The land is level to gently rolling hardwood forest, and in winter, with the leaves down, you can see blue ridgelines through the trunks.

The Land Up Close

Then there is the creek. After a rain, water drops white and loud through a narrow channel in the rocks, in a series of small cascades running down through the woods. It is the kind of feature buyers pay extra for, and here it comes with the lot.

There are several possible building sites and more than 240 feet of private paved road frontage. Electric, telephone and fiber optic lines are available to connect.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Private paved road behind a security gate.
Power	Electric, telephone and fiber available to connect.
Water	Private well.
Septic	Confirm the soil evaluation with the state.
Build	Modest restrictions on file. No HOA, just a $240-a-year road fee.

What You Could Build Here

The restrictions are modest and on file with the community documents; read them for minimum home size and for any rule on manufactured homes. With level building sites and fiber at the road, this lot would suit a small cabin or a full-time home.

Two adjoining lots, about 10.85 acres together, are listed next door by a different owner. Land you can grow into later is worth more than land you cannot.

About Jamestown, Tennessee

Jamestown is about 20 minutes away, with groceries and a Walmart. The town lost its hospital in 2019, and in 2023 the University of Tennessee Medical Center opened an emergency department there; for a full hospital, plan on Livingston or Crossville. The Big South Fork, with its gorges and horse trails, is about 20 minutes, and the Glenobey horse trails are minutes away. The honest trade-off: emergency care close by, everything else a drive.

The math. $39,900 over 5.26 acres is $7,586 an acre, against a Fentress County benchmark of $4,211 — 27th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 1.8 times the county’s average farm acre, for a lot that comes with a gate, a paved road and fiber. Taxes run about $169 a year, and the road fee is $20 a month. On private roads, ask what happens when the road needs repaving: that bill can arrive as a special assessment to every owner at once.

Mark’s Verdict

The prettiest water on any small lot in this batch, with no HOA. It suits a buyer who wants a quiet homesite near the Big South Fork and can live with a 20-minute drive for groceries. Check the restrictions and the septic, and buy the creek.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#2 — Mooresburg, TN — $35,000 — 7.63 acres

Seven and a half wooded acres at the end of a cul-de-sac in a gated lake community on Cherokee Lake, with a pool and a marina

Seven point six three acres at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Legacy Bay, a gated lakefront community on Cherokee Lake in Hawkins County. The drive in is a tree-lined paved road, then brick pillars and an iron gate, then a wide view of blue water and green islands.

The Land Up Close

The lot is mostly wooded on rolling ground, and that is the point: you choose where to clear, how much view you want and how much privacy you keep. In late winter you can see the bones of it, sloping ground under the leaves, a small stream threading through the low spot and the line of the mountains through the trees.

A lot of the value lives in the community: a clubhouse, a swimming pool, tennis courts, barbecue areas, a private marina and a community boat ramp. That is lake life most people only rent for a week in July.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Paved community roads behind a gate.
Power	Underground electricity and fiber at the road.
Water	No public water listed; confirm with the community, or plan a well.
Septic	No sewer; a septic system and a soil evaluation are needed.
Build	Build-ready lot with community covenants. Dues are $500 a year.

What You Could Build Here

It is marketed as a build-ready lot with several possible homesites. As in any gated lake community, the covenants decide the house, so ask about minimum size, approved building types and tree-clearing rules before you plan anything.

The honest part: this is a lakefront community, not a lakefront lot. The tract has mountain views and seasonal lake views. If you want to see water from the porch all year, you will be clearing trees, so check the rules on tree removal before you count on it.

About Mooresburg, Tennessee

Mooresburg is a small community between Rogersville and Morristown. Rogersville is about 20 minutes away. Morristown is about 25, with Morristown-Hamblen Hospital and a long list of factories and distribution centers that hire, and Knoxville is about an hour. The honest trade-off: a gated lake community is a lifestyle with rules and dues, not a homestead where you raise goats.

The math. $35,000 over 7.63 acres is $4,587 an acre, against a Hawkins County benchmark of $5,015 — 45th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 91% of the county’s average farm acre, which buys you a gate, a pool and a marina for less than the price of ordinary farmland. The dues are $500 a year. The amenities push the value up; the seasonal view, the dues and the well-and-septic question hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The cheapest way onto Cherokee Lake on this page, and a strong one if you want a retirement or second home with the amenities already built. It is not for a homesteader. Bring a well driller’s quote, a septic evaluation and the covenants to the table, and the price looks even better.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#1 — Cedar Grove, TN — $9,500 — 2.3 acres

Two wooded acres in a quiet West Tennessee lake community, with a 100-acre fishing lake, a boat ramp and a boardwalk

Two point three acres in the Indian Lake community in Carroll County, West Tennessee. The lot is wooded with oaks and pines, on a quiet gravel road a short drive from the water.

The Land Up Close

The water is the star. Indian Lake covers about 100 acres and is trolling-motor only, so there are no wakes and no roaring engines. In the morning, mist lifts off the surface; there is a boat ramp, a dock where pontoons tie up and a long wooden boardwalk out over the water.

At sunset the sun drops into the tree line and turns the lake orange, and on the way back to the lot there is a good chance of a deer standing in the tall grass, deciding whether you are worth running from.

The Five Questions

Question	The answer here
Access	Gravel community roads.
Power	Lines along the road.
Water	Confirm with the community and the county.
Septic	Confirm the soil evaluation for this lot.
Build	Community rules apply. Get them in hand before you buy.

What You Could Build Here

Two wooded acres is plenty for a small cabin or a modest home, if the community rules and the soil allow it. Ask the community for its restrictions, and ask the state whether a septic permit has ever been issued for the lot; on a $9,500 parcel, the septic can cost more than the land.

The dues are $625 a year, about $52 a month. On a lot this inexpensive, do the math: in ten years the dues add up to about two-thirds of what you paid for the land. For a lake, a ramp and the docks, plenty of buyers will say it is worth it. Just say it with your eyes open.

About Cedar Grove, Tennessee

Huntingdon, the county seat, is about 20 minutes away for groceries and Baptist Memorial Hospital Carroll County. Jackson, the hub of West Tennessee, is about 40 minutes away, with Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, one of the largest in the region, plus Union University and plenty of jobs. Lexington is about 25 minutes, and Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River are within an hour. The honest trade-off: it is quiet, and quiet means a drive for almost everything.

The math. $9,500 over 2.3 acres is $4,130 an acre, against a Carroll County benchmark of $3,459 — 13th cheapest of Tennessee’s 95 counties. That is 1.19 times the county’s average farm acre. The property tax is about $31 a year on an assessed value of $7,800, so the $625 in dues is twenty times the tax bill. The lake and the price push the value up; the dues and the unconfirmed water and septic hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The cheapest way into Tennessee land on this page: less than a 3% down payment on a typical Tennessee home, which sold for a median $360,000 in 2025, according to the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. It suits a camper, a fisherman or a buyer who wants a small lake lot to hold and build on later. Of all the cheap land for sale in Tennessee in this batch, it has the lowest ticket and the highest dues per dollar, so run both numbers.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

Final Thoughts on Cheap Land for Sale in Tennessee

Three things came out of this batch that were not obvious before the numbers were on the table. The first is the size discount. The four big tracts, from 47 to 169 acres, sold for about $1,900 an acre, between 39% and 77% of their county’s farmland value. The six small lots averaged about $6,700 an acre, and four of them cost more per acre than their county’s farmland. If price per acre is your test, buy more land; if total price is your test, buy a lot.

The second is that price per acre and usefulness tell opposite stories. The cheapest acre on the page, about $1,750 near Cookeville, may not allow a house at all because of its conservation easement. One of the most expensive, about $9,300 at Celina, already has water, power, a paved road and a barn. The difference between those two numbers is the cost of the five questions, already answered.

The third is that the best value was not the cheapest tract. The $9,500 Cedar Grove lot is a real bargain on the ticket, but its dues are twenty times its tax bill. The tracts that give the most for the money are the ones where the land and the answers come together: Duff’s paved road and power on 104 acres, Huntingdon’s town water on 84, Celina’s utilities and barn on 8.6. When you compare cheap land for sale in Tennessee, the question is never only what it costs. It is what the road, the power, the water, the soil and the rules will let you do with it. Go walk it before you decide.

A Checklist for Cheap Land for Sale in Tennessee

Before you make an offer on any cheap land for sale in Tennessee, on this page or anywhere else, work through this list with the county, the state, a surveyor, a title company and a well driller, not with the listing.

1. Prove the access. Confirm public road frontage, or get the recorded easement for any shared driveway or private road, including who maintains it. Our free Access and Easement Check flags the gaps.
2. Order a survey. Marketing boundary lines are approximate, and several sellers on this page say so. A current survey settles the acreage, the corners and any encroachment.
3. Get the septic answer before you close. Ask whether a soil evaluation or a septic permit exists for the parcel. If not, apply to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation early, or make the contract depend on it; processing can take up to 45 days.
4. Price the water. Get a quote from a licensed well driller for the area, and plan your own bacteria and nitrate test once the well is in. Tennessee does not regulate private well water.
5. Get the power quote in writing. Ask the utility what it costs to bring service to your homesite, and whether the line crosses a neighbor’s land.
6. Read every restriction. Zoning, subdivision covenants, HOA rules and anything recorded against the deed, including conservation easements. Ask specifically about minimum home size and manufactured homes.
7. Check greenbelt and the tax bill. On 15 acres or more of farm or forest, ask the county assessor about greenbelt and its rollback rules. On a small lot, add the dues to the tax bill to see what you really pay each year.
8. Line up the money first. Raw land rarely qualifies for a regular mortgage. Know whether you are paying cash, using a land loan, a Farm Credit association or seller financing before you make an offer.

Common Questions About Cheap Land for Sale in Tennessee

You Might Also Like

• Buying Rural Property in Tennessee — our state guide, with land values by region and the costs most buyers miss.
• The Best Counties in Tennessee for Homesteading — where the land, the rules and the soil line up for a working homestead.
• Country Homes for Sale in Tennessee — our move-in ready batch, if you would rather buy the house too.
• Property Taxes in Tennessee — how the 25% assessment, county rates and reappraisals work for a buyer.
• Access and Easement Check — our free tool for the first and most important land question.
• Putting a Manufactured Home on Rural Land — our plain-English guide to the most affordable way to put a house on cheap land.
• The Rural Property Buyer’s Field Guide — the free guide and printable checklist for every walkthrough.