Missouri Homestead for Sale: 10 Real Listings From $39,500 to $349,900

The typical Missouri home sold for $298,656 in August 2026, according to Redfin. Farmland tells a different story. The USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture puts Missouri land and buildings at $4,612 an acre on average, and in the southern Ozark border counties it drops to $2,342 in Carter County and $2,560 in Oregon County. Five of the ten homes on this page sit in Missouri’s 15 cheapest counties for farmland.

That is what makes a Missouri homestead for sale different from a house with a yard. On a typical listing in this batch, the land under the house is worth about a tenth of the asking price at its county’s census value: you are mostly paying for the house, the well, the septic and the road. But on two of these ten, the land alone is worth most of the price, and those two are where the real homestead value sits.

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 Missouri land is cheap where it is cheap, and the state rules that decide what you really pay to own rural property here. The second half is a moment in time: ten real homes for sale in early October 2026, from $39,500 to $349,900, on anything from a town lot to 78 acres against a national forest. The county numbers are worth bookmarking. The ten listings are evidence, not inventory.

Two honest disclosures before you scroll. The cheapest home, in Kirksville, is a 1910 bungalow on a third of an acre in town: an investment house with a rental history, not a homestead. And the off-grid cabin near Noel has no well and no septic system yet, so water is the first project. Both are flagged again in their own sections.

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 Missouri homestead for sale.

Missouri Homestead for Sale: the numbers in short

What You’ll Find: Missouri Homestead for Sale

The permanent half of this page comes first, because it still works a year from now. Below is what farmland is worth in each of the ten counties this batch touches, the reasons Missouri land is cheap in some places and expensive in others, and the state rules that decide what you actually pay to own a homestead. After that comes the dated snapshot. If you are comparing every Missouri homestead for sale you can find, read the county table first, because it tells you how much of any price the land can explain.

Missouri has 114 counties and 87,887 farms working 27,026,243 acres. The ten 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 114	County	Region	Avg $/Acre	10 Acres at That Rate	Acres in Farms
4	Oregon	Southern Ozarks	$2,560	$25,600	272,656
7	Iron	St. Francois Mountains	$2,697	$26,970	84,993
8	Ozark	Southern Ozarks	$2,762	$27,620	229,631
12	Howell	Southern Ozarks	$2,894	$28,940	363,963
15	Douglas	Southern Ozarks	$2,936	$29,360	336,408
36	McDonald	Southwest Ozarks	$3,910	$39,100	191,401
43	Macon	North Missouri	$4,026	$40,260	432,256
45	Adair	North Missouri	$4,098	$40,980	249,382
53	Perry	Mississippi River hills	$4,388	$43,880	193,440
80	Butler	Bootheel edge	$5,085	$50,850	250,359
—	Missouri (state)	All 114 counties	$4,612	$46,120	27,026,243

Source: USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Table 8 for Missouri — “Estimated market value of land and buildings, average per acre, 2022.” All 114 counties were read from the published table and reconcile exactly to the state totals of 87,887 farms and 27,026,243 acres, with no county suppressed. Rank is out of 114, where 1 is the cheapest. The census measures agricultural land and buildings on working farms, not asking prices for residential lots.

Why Missouri 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 southern Ozarks are timber and grass. The ten cheapest counties all sit along the Arkansas border and in the St. Francois Mountains: Carter ($2,342), Shannon ($2,396), Wayne ($2,495), Oregon ($2,560), Madison ($2,627), Reynolds ($2,655), Iron ($2,697), Ozark ($2,762), Camden ($2,851) and Ripley ($2,855). Thin, rocky soil grows hardwood and pasture, not corn, and much of it borders the Mark Twain National Forest.
• The expensive land is cropland and suburbs. St. Louis County ($10,928), Lafayette ($7,328, outside Kansas City) and Greene ($7,004, around Springfield) top the list, followed by the flat Bootheel cropland of Dunklin ($6,938), Stoddard ($6,814) and Mississippi ($6,746). Rich soil and city growth set those prices.
• The spread is moderate. Carter to St. Louis County is 4.7 times. Leave out St. Louis County and the most expensive county, Lafayette, is only 3.1 times the cheapest. In Missouri, the road, the water and the house usually matter more than the county line.
• Cheap land comes with distance. The cheapest counties have small towns, critical access hospitals and long drives to a city. You trade drive time for acreage, and on this page that trade runs from 15 minutes (West Plains) to almost an hour (Drury).

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 11.5% of the asking price. Under the Kirksville bungalow it is 3.1%, under the Dora stone cottage 6.1% and under the big Des Arc farmhouse 7.9%: on those, you are mostly buying a building. Two parcels break the pattern. Near West Plains, 78.79 acres carry 76.3% of the price in land. Near Qulin, 10 acres of former cropland in Butler County, where farmland runs $5,085 an acre, carry 67.8%. Those two are where a homestead buyer gets the most ground per dollar.

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 lot in town. And the benchmark moves with the county: ten acres in Oregon County are worth $25,600 at the census rate, against $50,850 in Butler County. Read every listing against its own county, never against the state average.

The Missouri Rules That Change What You Really Pay

Six state rules shape the true cost of owning a Missouri homestead for sale, and none of them shows up in a listing.

• Farmland is taxed by what it produces. Missouri assesses agricultural land at 12% of its productive value, set by soil grade under State Tax Commission guidelines, while homes are assessed at 19% of market value. Land that is not actively farmed is valued at market. Ask how the parcel is classified before you buy.
• Values reset in odd-numbered years. Assessors place new real estate values on the rolls every odd-numbered year, and the value carries into the even year. A sale does not trigger a reassessment by itself, but new construction is added as soon as it is built.
• Seniors have two kinds of relief. Senate Bill 190, signed in 2023, lets each county freeze property taxes on the homes of seniors eligible for Social Security, and adoption varies county by county. The state Property Tax Credit pays qualifying senior homeowners up to $1,100 a year, based on household income.
• Septic permits depend on lot size. The Department of Health and Senior Services requires a construction permit to install or repair an onsite system on residential property under three acres. Some counties have their own ordinances that remove that exemption, and there is no state minimum lot size.
• Wells follow the Water Well Drillers Act. Private wells have been regulated since 1985 under Sections 256.600 to 256.640 RSMo and the 10 CSR 23 construction rules. The state samples household well water only at installation; after that, testing is up to you.
• There is no statewide residential building code. Codes are adopted by each county and city, and many rural counties have none outside town limits. Missouri also has a constitutional Right to Farm, approved by voters in 2014. Ask the county what it requires before you build.

Early October 2026 Snapshot: Ten Real Listings

These ten homes were for sale in early October 2026. Five sit in the southern Ozarks around West Plains, Alton, Dora and Drury; one in the St. Francois Mountains at Des Arc; one in the southwest corner at Noel; two in north Missouri at Ethel and Kirksville; and two in the southeast, at Perryville on the Mississippi and Qulin at the edge of the Bootheel. Here is each Missouri homestead for sale side by side.

#	Town	County	Price	Acres	Price / Acre	AHO Score
10	Des Arc	Iron	$349,900	10.26	$34,103	75/100
9	Alton	Oregon	$315,000	20.1	$15,672	77/100
8	West Plains	Howell	$299,000	78.79	$3,795	87/100
7	Drury	Douglas	$260,000	20	$13,000	75/100
6	Dora	Ozark	$224,900	5	$44,980	76/100
5	Ethel	Macon	$195,000	5	$39,000	72/100
4	Perryville	Perry	$150,000	2.96	$50,676	68/100
3	Noel	McDonald	$124,900	4.07	$30,688	72/100
2	Qulin	Butler	$75,000	10	$7,500	76/100
1	Kirksville	Adair	$39,500	0.3	$131,667	67/100

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 87, for the 78 acres beside the national forest near West Plains, and the lowest is 67, for the Kirksville bungalow, which is where a town lot should land on a homestead page even at $39,500. 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. Missouri ranks 17th in our index of the best states to homestead, and our rural property guides cover the buying process step by step. If you want the next Missouri homestead for sale before it goes public, the form above is how you get it.

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 — Des Arc, MO — $349,900 — 10.26 acres

Five bedrooms, two fireplaces and ten level acres in the St. Francois Mountains, with the big repairs already done

Ten and a quarter acres of open, level pasture in Iron County, with wooded hills rolling away on every side and two enormous old oaks shading the circle drive. It is the most expensive home on this page and the biggest house, and the one where the big-ticket repairs are already behind you.

Inside the Home

3,160 square feet on two floors, built in 1951 and updated since. The main floor holds a living room, a family room, the kitchen, a dining room, an office, two bedrooms, a full bath and the laundry. Each living room has its own fireplace: painted white brick in the living room, which opens straight onto the back porch, and stone with a wood-burning insert against a navy wall in the family room.

The kitchen has cream cabinets, a farmhouse sink under the window, dark stone counters, a glass mosaic backsplash and a stainless range, with wood and laminate floors through the living areas. Upstairs are three more bedrooms, a full bath and a small nook at each end of the hallway. A new heating and cooling system went in in 2026, the roof is less than two years old and the exterior was freshly painted. A full unfinished basement runs under the house.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 10.26 acres, mostly cleared and level pasture with a few mature trees, private and set back from Highway 49 behind a gravel circle drive. There is a two-car attached garage, two outbuildings, a shed and a concrete pad, plus covered porches front and back.

The house runs on a well and a septic tank. Ten open acres are enough for a big garden, a few head of livestock, horses or a riding ring, and the ground is level enough to work without terracing. It is a real homestead parcel, with the house already built for a large family.

About Des Arc, Missouri

Des Arc is a small crossroads in Iron County, in the St. Francois Mountains. Clearwater Lake is about 30 minutes away, Sam A. Baker State Park about 20, and Johnson’s Shut-Ins, Elephant Rocks and Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in Missouri, are within 45 minutes. Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob, a 15-bed critical access hospital, is about half an hour north, and Poplar Bluff, with a 250-bed regional medical center, is about an hour. Local paychecks come from lead mining, the schools and the Forest Service. The honest trade-off: every big errand is a real drive.

AHO Score: 75/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	15	25
Land / Usability	17	20
Condition	17	20
Practical Location	10	15
Charm	8	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	75	100

The math. $349,900 over 10.26 acres is $34,103 an acre, against a Iron County benchmark of $2,697 — 7th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $27,671, or 7.9% of the price, and the house works out to $111 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $135,220 and the bill runs $1,340 a year. At $111 a square foot, it is one of the cheapest finished square feet on the list, and the seller accepts USDA financing, which can mean no down payment for buyers who qualify. The size, the updates and the level acreage carry the score; the highway frontage and the drive to a full hospital hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The most house on this page for a family, with the roof and the heating already done and enough flat ground to start a real homestead. It sits on a state highway, so go listen on a weekday morning. It suits a big household that wants space inside and out more than it wants seclusion.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#9 — Alton, MO — $315,000 — 20.1 acres

A remodeled Ozark ranch on 20 acres with vaulted beams, an in-ground pool and two RV hookups

Twenty acres in Oregon County, part wooded and part cleared, with paved frontage on a state highway. The house is a long ranch in cream siding under a red metal roof, with a stone chimney at one end, and it has been remodeled to a standard you rarely see at this price in the Ozarks.

Inside the Home

1,940 square feet on one level, built in 1978, with four bedrooms and two full baths. The living room is vaulted, with white beams crossing the ceiling, windows stacked two high and a stone gas fireplace. Every wall is white shiplap. A sunroom lined with windows on three sides is the brightest room in the house.

The kitchen is new: gray shaker cabinets, quartz counters, a butcher-block island, a gas range and new appliances, with a sliding glass door from the dining area to the patio. One bath has a double vanity and a freestanding soaking tub. New windows and new laminate floors run throughout, with central heat and air, propane heat and an unfinished basement.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 20.1 acres, level, part wooded and part cleared, with paved road frontage. The front yard is fenced in chain link, and a separately fenced kidney-shaped in-ground pool sits behind the house on a concrete deck. There are two outbuildings for a shop or storage, a steel garage, a two-car carport and two RV hookups, one at the house and one tucked into the woods.

The cleared ground is room for a garden, chickens or a couple of horses, and the woods give privacy and firewood. With the second RV site already in place, a guest or a paying camper can stay without being under your roof. It is a homestead parcel with a finished house on it.

About Alton, Missouri

Alton is the county seat of Oregon County, a small town with a courthouse square, a grocery store and its own school district. The Eleven Point River, one of the original National Wild and Scenic Rivers, runs just east of town, fed by Greer Spring, the second-largest spring in Missouri. The nearest full hospital is Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains, the regional hospital for the south-central Ozarks, about 40 minutes away, and Springfield is around two and a half hours. Local paychecks come from the schools, the county, timber and cattle. The honest trade-off: specialists and big-box stores mean a trip to West Plains.

AHO Score: 77/100 — Solid Rural Deal

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

The math. $315,000 over 20.1 acres is $15,672 an acre, against a Oregon County benchmark of $2,560 — 4th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $51,456, or 16.3% of the price, and the house works out to $162 a square foot. Property taxes run $766 a year. At $162 a square foot you are paying for a remodel, and the seller takes VA, FHA and conventional loans, so this is one of the easiest homes on the list to finance. The 20 acres, the remodel and the paved access carry the score; the 40-minute hospital drive and the price per square foot hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The most finished house on the page, on the second-largest parcel, with the work already done. The pool is a pleasure and a running cost, so budget for it and for the insurance. It suits a buyer who wants acreage and a move-in kitchen on day one, not a project.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#8 — West Plains, MO — $299,000 — 78.79 acres

78 acres bordered on three sides by the Mark Twain National Forest, with a new cabin, three ponds and a greenhouse

Almost 79 acres of meadow and hardwood outside West Plains, and on three sides the property line runs straight into the Mark Twain National Forest. It is the largest parcel on this page by far, and the one where the land is worth most of the price.

Inside the Home

The cabin is 576 square feet, built in 2024, a green barn-style building with a metal gambrel roof. Inside, one open room has sky-blue walls, a pine plank ceiling crossed by dark beams and a kitchen along one wall. A wooden ladder climbs to the loft, where two sleeping areas sit under the curve of the roof, finished in warm wood.

The bathroom is painted deep green with wood wainscoting and a walk-in shower, and there is a walk-in closet built from rough lumber. The cabin is off-grid: propane runs to the kitchen and to a ventless heater, and an RV-style water system feeds the sink, the toilet and the shower. Double-pane windows, ceiling fans and a lagoon for wastewater. It is a comfortable base camp while you build, not a finished family home.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 78.79 acres of open meadow and hardwood timber, rolling, with three ponds, barbed-wire fencing and a gate at the road. Around the cabin there is a planted garden with gravel paths, raised beds, an arbor and a glass greenhouse, plus a fire ring and a shed. Horses are allowed and there are no deed restrictions.

This is the best homestead parcel in the batch: room to build a full house, run livestock, cut firewood and still keep most of the land wild. Deer and turkey cross constantly, and the public land next door adds thousands of acres for hiking and hunting. The road in is part asphalt, part gravel.

About West Plains, Missouri

West Plains is the Howell County seat and the regional hub of the south-central Ozarks, less than 10 miles away, about 15 minutes. It has Ozarks Healthcare, the regional hospital system, Missouri State University-West Plains, groceries, hardware stores and restaurants. Springfield is under two hours. Local paychecks come from the hospital system, the university, the schools and manufacturing. The honest trade-off: the cabin is small and off-grid, so the first project is water and a real house.

AHO Score: 87/100 — Strong AHO Pick

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	18	25
Land / Usability	20	20
Condition	15	20
Practical Location	14	15
Charm	10	10
Future Potential	10	10
Total	87	100

The math. $299,000 over 78.79 acres is $3,795 an acre, against a Howell County benchmark of $2,894 — 12th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $228,018, or 76.3% of the price, and the house works out to $519 a square foot. Property taxes last year were just $74, and they will rise once you build. This is the only home on the page where the land is worth most of the price: at the county’s census value, the acreage alone comes close to what the seller is asking. At $519 a square foot the cabin looks expensive, which is the wrong way to read it. The 78 acres, the national forest boundary, the water and the 15-minute drive to a real hospital carry the score; the size of the cabin and its tank water system hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The best Missouri homestead for sale on this page, and the clearest example of buying land with a place to sleep already on it. Financing is cash or conventional only, and a lender may want a drilled well before it treats the cabin as a home. It suits a buyer with a plan to build, not one who needs a finished house next month.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#7 — Drury, MO — $260,000 — 20 acres

Twenty acres on a hill with a 1940 farmhouse, a big red gambrel barn and views to the next ridge

Twenty acres on a hilltop in Douglas County, half hayfield and half woods with walking trails, reached by a tree-lined drive under old oaks and pecans. The farmhouse and the red barn were both built in 1940, and they are the reason most people will stop scrolling here.

Inside the Home

1,209 square feet on two floors, with two bedrooms upstairs and one bath on the main floor that also holds the laundry. Rough-sawn timber covers the walls, plank ceilings run overhead and the floors are wide, polished hardwood. The living room is built around a stone fireplace with a wood-burning insert, with French doors bringing in the afternoon light.

The space is open from the living room to the dining area and the kitchen, where oak cabinets wrap around a butcher-block island. A dark green open staircase climbs to the bedrooms. The enclosed front porch is a room of its own, lined with windows. Heat comes from a heat pump with propane, wall heat and wood as backup, and the home can be sold furnished.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 20 acres, roughly 50/50 open ground and woods, with partial perimeter fencing. The open ground is cut for hay and could be fenced for pasture. The red gambrel barn stands beside a fenced garden with a water hydrant. Near the house there is a pergola over a deck, an above-ground pool, a storm shelter with a small shop on top, a one-car attached garage with a workshop and a small storage room.

The yard is landscaped with stone walls, stone walkways, peonies and hydrangeas. The well was drilled in 2013 and the house is on septic, with a gravel road in. It is a ready hobby farm: hay ground, a barn, garden water and room to fence for animals.

About Drury, Missouri

Drury is a crossroads community in the hills of Douglas County. Mountain Grove is about 25 minutes north, with groceries, schools and Missouri State University’s Fruit Experiment Station, a research farm working on fruit and grapes for more than a century. Ava, the county seat, is about 35 minutes away. The nearest hospitals are small ones, in Mountain View and Houston, a bit under an hour, and Springfield’s two big medical systems are about an hour and fifteen minutes. The honest trade-off: this is a place for people who do not need to be in town every day.

AHO Score: 75/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	16	25
Land / Usability	18	20
Condition	15	20
Practical Location	8	15
Charm	10	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	75	100

The math. $260,000 over 20 acres is $13,000 an acre, against a Douglas County benchmark of $2,936 — 15th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $58,720, or 22.6% of the price, and the house works out to $215 a square foot. Property taxes run $392 a year, and Missouri assesses working farmland by what it produces, not by its market price. At $215 a square foot the house is not the cheap part; the 20 acres and the barn are. The land, the barn, the views and the character of the house carry the score; the one bathroom, the age of the buildings and the drive to a hospital hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The most charming homestead on this page, with a barn and hay ground ready to use. A barn from 1940 always needs something, so set aside a maintenance budget for it every year. It suits a couple who want a hobby farm with character and are happy to drive for the bigger errands.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#6 — Dora, MO — $224,900 — 5 acres

A 1934 native stone cottage on five fenced acres with a barn, an orchard and a koi pond

Five fenced acres on a corner lot in Ozark County, with a house built from native fieldstone under steep green metal gables and a tall stone chimney. It is the most distinctive house on this page, and one of the best set up for horses.

Inside the Home

1,956 square feet on two floors, built in 1934 and updated, with five bedrooms and one full bath. Knotty pine covers the walls and ceilings in most rooms, over dark hardwood floors. The kitchen has pine cabinets, a sage-green island and a hanging pot rack. The living room and the dining room open into each other, and the living room has a rock fireplace with a propane insert.

Rooms are generous: one bedroom measures 22 by 11 feet, and the upstairs loft is more than 26 feet long. There is a sunroom, and the full concrete basement holds the laundry with plumbing already stubbed for a second bathroom. Central air, forced-air propane heat and double-pane windows.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About five acres of fenced pasture with mature trees, set up for horses or livestock. There is a pole barn with RV storage, a run-in shed, a detached garage with shop space, a chicken coop and a fenced backyard, with parking for five vehicles under cover.

An established orchard holds peach, pear, apple and plum trees, and a koi pond with a small waterfall sits in a stone-edged garden near a screened gazebo. Water is private and the house is on a lagoon, with a gravel county road in. It is a small homestead that already has its orchard and its animal setup in place.

About Dora, Missouri

Dora sits in western Ozark County, a small community with its own K-12 school. The North Fork of the White River is minutes away, fed by Rainbow Spring and known across the Ozarks for floating and trout fishing, and the Mark Twain National Forest surrounds the area for trail riding. Gainesville, the county seat, is about half an hour away, and West Plains, with Ozarks Healthcare and the bigger stores, is about 40 minutes. Most paychecks here come from West Plains or from the land itself. The honest trade-off: it is a gravel road home, and every errand is a drive.

AHO Score: 76/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	18	25
Land / Usability	15	20
Condition	16	20
Practical Location	9	15
Charm	10	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	76	100

The math. $224,900 over 5 acres is $44,980 an acre, against a Ozark County benchmark of $2,762 — 8th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $13,810, or 6.1% of the price, and the house works out to $115 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $66,800 and the bill is $508 a year. At $115 a square foot it is one of the cheapest finished square feet on the list, for one of the most unusual houses. The stone house, the horse setup, the orchard and the price per square foot carry the score; one bathroom for five bedrooms and the 40-minute drive to a hospital hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A storybook house with a working small farm around it, priced below many plain ranches. Five bedrooms and one bathroom is the obvious project, and the plumbing for a second bath is already in the basement. It suits a horse family that wants character and is willing to finish one bathroom.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#5 — Ethel, MO — $195,000 — 5 acres

A move-in ready ranch on five manicured acres with a pond, a greenhouse and a chicken coop

Five manicured acres in north Missouri, open lawn rolling down to a pond, with mature shade trees scattered across the grass. The house has just been repainted inside and out and detail-cleaned, and it is the most move-in ready home on this page.

Inside the Home

1,176 square feet on one level, built in 1989, with three bedrooms, one full bath and a half bath. The kitchen has dark green cabinets, white tile floors and an electric range, with room for a dining table beside it. The living room is about 18 by 12 feet, with windows on two sides and a door to the deck.

The bedrooms run from about 9 by 10 to 14 by 9 feet; one is painted a deep emerald green. Both baths are freshly finished. Gas forced-air heat and central air, storm doors and vinyl windows. The garage is an oversized single bay that could be converted back to two cars.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About five acres of mowed lawn with scattered shade trees and a pond. A brand-new wood deck and patio face the water. There is a chicken coop with a run, a small greenhouse, a storage shed and a metal carport, and the road out front is paved.

The house is on public water and a lagoon, so there is no well to maintain. Five acres is room for a large garden, laying hens and a few small animals, but it is lawn now, not pasture. It is a small homestead in a quiet town, ready the day you move in.

About Ethel, Missouri

Ethel is a tiny railroad town in western Macon County, with 41 residents at the 2020 census. Macon, the county seat, is about 30 minutes southeast, with Samaritan Hospital, a critical access hospital, groceries and Long Branch Lake State Park for fishing and boating. Kirksville, with Truman State University and Northeast Regional Medical Center, is about 45 minutes north, and Columbia is around an hour and a half. Jobs mostly mean Macon or Kirksville. The honest trade-off: nearly every errand starts with a drive to Macon.

AHO Score: 72/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	16	25
Land / Usability	14	20
Condition	19	20
Practical Location	9	15
Charm	7	10
Future Potential	7	10
Total	72	100

The math. $195,000 over 5 acres is $39,000 an acre, against a Macon County benchmark of $4,026 — 43rd cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $20,130, or 10.3% of the price, and the house works out to $166 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $61,620 and taxes run $861 a year. At $166 a square foot you are paying for condition: there is nothing to fix. The condition, the pond and the paved road carry the score; the small-town resale market and the distance to services hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The easiest move on this page: unpack and start the garden. In a town of 41 people the resale market is thin, so buy it to live in, not to flip. It suits a retiree or a couple who want a small homestead with no repairs.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#4 — Perryville, MO — $150,000 — 2.96 acres

Three bedrooms, a walk-out basement and a still pond on almost three acres, ten minutes from an interstate town

Almost three acres just outside Perryville, a gentle green slope with the house near the top and a pond at the bottom. It is the closest home on this page to a working town with steady factory jobs, and it is sold as-is.

Inside the Home

1,225 square feet on one level, built in 1920, with three bedrooms and one bath. Tongue-and-groove pine covers the ceilings in the main rooms. The living room has angled corners, almost an octagon, with windows on several sides and a front door opening onto the deck. The kitchen has oak cabinets, a stainless refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave and electric range, a breakfast bar with four stools and a floor painted in a gray hexagon pattern.

The main bedroom is roughly 13 by 15 feet. Below the main floor is an unfinished walk-out basement with a sump pump, ready to become a family room or a workshop. Central air and electric forced-air heat. Some areas are still in progress, such as a hallway that has been drywalled but not painted.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 2.96 acres, cleared, with a pond on the lot. The back of the house is a large two-level wood deck with stairs down to the yard, and there is a concrete patio, a fire pit and an oversized gravel parking area with room for a trailer.

The house is on a private well and a septic tank, with a gravel road. There are no outbuildings and no fencing. Three acres is enough for a big garden and a few chickens, so this is a small homestead or a family home on acreage rather than a farm.

About Perryville, Missouri

Perryville is the Perry County seat, right on Interstate 55, and a working town. Gilster-Mary Lee runs food plants here, and TG Missouri, part of Toyoda Gosei, makes auto parts. Mercy Hospital Perry, a critical access hospital, is in town, about 10 minutes away. Cape Girardeau, with two full hospitals and Southeast Missouri State University, is about half an hour south, and St. Louis is about an hour and a quarter north. The honest trade-off: being this close to town costs you some of the deep-country quiet.

AHO Score: 68/100 — Niche Opportunity

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	17	25
Land / Usability	11	20
Condition	12	20
Practical Location	14	15
Charm	6	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	68	100

The math. $150,000 over 2.96 acres is $50,676 an acre, against a Perry County benchmark of $4,388 — 53rd cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $12,988, or 8.7% of the price, and the house works out to $122 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $93,251 and the bill is $766 a year. At $122 a square foot it is fairly priced for its size, with the walk-out basement as extra space waiting to be finished. The location, the pond and the walk-out basement carry the score; the as-is sale, the unfinished areas and the small parcel hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The practical choice on this page: a real job market ten minutes away and room for a garden. Sold as-is means the seller will not fix what the inspector finds, so inspect and price your offer with the report in hand. It suits a working family that wants acreage without a long commute.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#3 — Noel, MO — $124,900 — 4.07 acres

A custom 2023 off-grid cabin on a four-acre hilltop near the Elk River

About four acres on a hilltop outside Noel, an open meadow with views across rolling Ozark forest. The cabin was custom-built in 2023 for off-grid living, and it is one of the most carefully finished small houses on this page.

Inside the Home

899 square feet on two levels, with one bedroom and one bath. Heavy wood beams cross a tongue-and-groove pine ceiling, and the floors mix patterned tile with wide hardwood planks. The kitchen centers on an island wrapped in turquoise beadboard under a butcher-block top.

There are two wood-burning stoves: one in the living area on a dark tile hearth, and a cast-iron wood cookstove in the kitchen that heats and cooks at once. The bathroom has a vessel sink on a wood vanity and a dry compost toilet. Upstairs, a large open loft with wide plank floors and two storage areas. Cooling is by window and wall units, and the electricity is already in.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 4.07 acres of open meadow and pasture on a hilltop, partly fenced, secluded, with a gravel drive. There is a chicken coop and storage shed and a pole shed for tools and firewood. The parcel has views in several directions.

There is no well and no septic system on the property. That makes it an off-grid homestead in the literal sense: water has to be solved first, with a drilled well, a cistern or hauling. Four open acres are enough for a garden, chickens and a few goats once water is in place.

About Noel, Missouri

Noel sits on the Elk River in McDonald County, in the far southwest corner of Missouri, and it is float-trip country, with canoe and kayak outfitters along the river every summer. Pineville, the county seat, is about 10 minutes away. Freeman Neosho Hospital is about half an hour north, and the larger hospitals in Joplin are about 50 minutes. Bentonville, Arkansas, is about 45 minutes south. Noel’s largest employer, a Tyson poultry plant, closed in 2023, so most jobs now mean commuting to Northwest Arkansas or Joplin. The honest trade-off: the work is a drive away.

AHO Score: 72/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	17	25
Land / Usability	13	20
Condition	14	20
Practical Location	11	15
Charm	9	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	72	100

The math. $124,900 over 4.07 acres is $30,688 an acre, against a McDonald County benchmark of $3,910 — 36th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $15,914, or 12.7% of the price, and the house works out to $139 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $41,590 and taxes are $314 a year. At $139 a square foot you are paying for custom work, and water is the one big cost the price does not include. The custom build, the hilltop setting and the low taxes carry the score; the missing well and septic and the local job market hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

A beautifully made cabin for someone who wants to live off-grid on purpose. Price a well or a cistern before you offer, and expect most banks to pass on a home without running water, so think cash or a land loan. It suits a self-reliant buyer with a remote job or a short commute to Arkansas.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#2 — Qulin, MO — $75,000 — 10 acres

Ten acres of former cropland with a brick ranch and every utility already connected

Ten flat acres on the edge of Missouri’s Bootheel lowlands, some of the most productive farm soil in the state, with a brick-and-vinyl ranch under a green metal roof. It is a fixer, and it is the one place on this page where the land alone is worth most of the asking price.

Inside the Home

1,008 square feet on one level, built in 1986, with two bedrooms and one bath. The kitchen is the largest room, with oak cabinets around the walls, a long counter and a red brick-pattern floor. The living room has windows on two sides, a ceiling fan and a brick corner hearth.

Central air and window units, natural gas heat and 220-volt electric service. The house is lived in and needs paint, flooring, a bathroom refresh and a thorough clean-out. The structure and the metal roof are the solid part.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 10 acres that were farmed as cropland and are now grown up in grass and brush, with large shade trees around the house, a back porch and a fire pit. The road is gravel, and the property is on public water and a septic tank with electric connected.

The land can go back to crops, be rented to a neighboring farmer, or become pasture and a large garden. Flat, open, workable ground with water and power already on site is exactly what a homestead needs, and it is rare at this price.

About Qulin, Missouri

Qulin is a small farm town in Butler County. Poplar Bluff, the county seat, is about 25 minutes away and the region’s hub, with Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center (250 beds), the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Three Rivers College and the big-box stores. The hospitals and the VA are among the area’s largest employers. St. Louis is about two and a half hours north, and Memphis about the same distance south. The honest trade-off: flat farm country trades the Ozark hills for wide-open sky.

AHO Score: 76/100 — Solid Rural Deal

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	22	25
Land / Usability	18	20
Condition	10	20
Practical Location	13	15
Charm	4	10
Future Potential	9	10
Total	76	100

The math. $75,000 over 10 acres is $7,500 an acre, against a Butler County benchmark of $5,085 — 80th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $50,850, or 67.8% of the price, and the house works out to $74 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $59,830 and taxes are $430 a year. Butler County farmland is the most expensive in this batch, ranked 80th of 114 at $5,085 an acre, which is why the land carries so much of the price here. At $74 a square foot it is also one of the cheapest houses per foot on the list. The land value, the utilities and the price carry the score; the condition of the house and its lack of charm hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The best value on this page if you look at the dirt, not the house. Budget seriously for the renovation and get every system inspected. It suits a buyer who wants farmable ground and does not mind fixing a plain house to live on it.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

#1 — Kirksville, MO — $39,500 — 0.3 acres

A refreshed 1910 bungalow on an oversized town lot with a proven rental history

A third of an acre in Kirksville, an oversized town lot under big shade trees, with a white 1910 bungalow and a covered front porch. It is the cheapest home on this page and the one that is not a homestead parcel: it is here because of what it earns.

Inside the Home

826 square feet on one level, with two bedrooms and one bath. New vinyl plank flooring runs through every room, the walls are freshly painted, and an arched doorway leads toward the kitchen, which has new white cabinets, dark counters and a white electric range.

The main bedroom is about 13 by 13 feet and the second about 13 by 8.5. The laundry room has the washer and dryer included. A new furnace was installed in 2025, along with two new window air units. There is no central air and the house sits on a crawl space.

Land and Outdoor Potential

About 0.3 acres, a lot of roughly 111 by 117 feet, with a large lawn, mature shade trees, a covered front porch with lattice trim and a gravel parking pad. There is no garage.

The home is on public water and sewer with natural gas, inside the city. There is room for a vegetable garden and a few raised beds, but this is a town lot zoned single-family, not a homestead.

About Kirksville, Missouri

Kirksville is a college town in northeast Missouri. Truman State University and A.T. Still University, the founding school of osteopathic medicine, employ more than a thousand people between them, and Kraft Heinz runs a plant with over 600 workers. Northeast Regional Medical Center is in town, a few minutes away. Columbia is about an hour and a half south. The honest trade-off: there is no acreage, just a big yard with city neighbors.

AHO Score: 67/100 — Niche Opportunity

Category	Score	Max
Price / Value	20	25
Land / Usability	6	20
Condition	14	20
Practical Location	15	15
Charm	4	10
Future Potential	8	10
Total	67	100

The math. $39,500 over 0.3 acres is $131,667 an acre, against a Adair County benchmark of $4,098 — 45th cheapest of 114 counties. The land is worth about $1,229, or 3.1% of the price, and the house works out to $48 a square foot. The county’s tax record values the property at $30,600, taxes are $352 a year, and the house has a rental history of $550 a month, or $6,600 a year in gross rent before insurance, repairs and vacancy. At $48 a square foot it is the cheapest square foot on the page. The price, the rental history and the location carry the score; the lack of land and the age of the house hold it down.

Mark’s Verdict

The investment house on this page, not a homestead. The numbers work on paper, but window air units, a 1910 crawl space and a landlord’s job come with them. It suits a first-time investor, or a buyer who wants a cheap base in town while saving for land.

👉 View listing on Zillow →

Planning a move or a purchase in Missouri? Our guide to how to buy land in Missouri has the USDA value of an acre in all 114 counties and the six checks to run before you buy, from sinkholes and septic to wells and access. If you are relocating, read moving to Missouri; if you want to grow your own food, start with homesteading in Missouri.

Final Thoughts on Missouri Homestead for Sale

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. Five of the ten homes sit in Missouri’s 15 cheapest counties for farmland, all in the southern Ozarks and the St. Francois Mountains, and six homes scored 75 or better, five of them in those hills: West Plains (87), Alton (77), Dora (76), and Des Arc and Drury (75 each). The sixth is the Qulin fixer (76), carried by its farm ground. North Missouri had the most move-in ready house; the Ozarks had the most land.

The second is that price per acre and price per square foot tell opposite stories. The West Plains parcel has the cheapest acre on the list at $3,795 and the most expensive square foot at $519, because the cabin is 576 square feet. Kirksville has the cheapest square foot at $48 and by far the priciest acre, about $131,667, for a town 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 $39,500 bungalow is an investment with a rent check. The $75,000 ranch near Qulin is a fixer, but its ten acres of former cropland are worth about $50,850 at Butler County’s census rate, and the 78 acres near West Plains are worth about $228,000 against a $299,000 price. When you shop for a Missouri homestead for sale, the question is never only what it costs. It is what the ground lets you do. Go stand on it before you decide.

A Checklist for a Missouri Homestead for Sale

Before you make an offer on any Missouri homestead for sale, on this page or anywhere else, work through this list with the county and the state, not with the listing.

1. Ask the assessor how the land is classified. Agricultural land is assessed at 12% of its productive value; residential property at 19% of market value. Land that stops being farmed moves to market value, so ask what happens to the bill if you change how the ground is used.
2. Know the reassessment year. Missouri reassesses real estate in odd-numbered years. Ask what the parcel will be valued at in the next cycle, and remember that a new house or barn is added to the rolls as soon as it is built.
3. Check the senior relief in that county. If you qualify, ask whether the county adopted the Senate Bill 190 property tax freeze, and look up the state Property Tax Credit, worth up to $1,100 a year.
4. Confirm the septic or lagoon permit. On residential lots under three acres, installing or repairing a system needs a state construction permit, and some counties require one on larger parcels too. Ask whether the existing system was permitted and for how many bedrooms.
5. Test the water yourself. Missouri samples household wells only at installation. Order a bacteria and nitrate test, and if there is no well, get a quote from a driller licensed under the Water Well Drillers Act before you offer.
6. Ask the county about building rules. There is no statewide residential code. Before you plan a new house, a cabin or an addition, ask the county and any nearby city what permits, setbacks and inspections apply to that parcel.
7. Check flood maps, storm shelter and insurance. River bottoms and Bootheel ground can sit in a flood zone, and tornadoes are a real risk statewide. Get an insurance quote before you write the offer.
8. Order a survey and a title search. Confirm legal access, easements and boundaries, especially where a parcel borders national forest or another owner’s farm road. A title company handles most Missouri closings.

Common Questions About a Missouri Homestead for Sale

You Might Also Like

• Best States to Homestead in 2026 — our index of land prices, property taxes and growing conditions, state by state.
• The Cheapest States to Buy Land — farmland values for every state, from the USDA census.
• How Much Does It Cost to Build a Barndominium? — what it costs to put a real house on raw acreage.
• 11 Dirt Cheap Farmhouses in Missouri With Land — our first Missouri batch, from $249,900 down to $28,520.
• The Rural Property Buyer’s Field Guide — the free nine-page checklist for every walkthrough.