Ohio Land Values and Cash Rents Analysis

By: PhD student Xiaoyi Fang and Professor Ani Katchova, Farm Income Enhancement Chair, in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE), and Barry Ward, Leader, Production Business Management, Director, OSU Income Tax Schools, OSU Extension, Agriculture & Natural Resources, The Ohio State University

Ohio and the US experienced increases in real land values and cash rents in 2022 that surpassed levels last seen in 1998. Ohio’s cropland value reached its highest level at $7,550 in 2022, which is $2,500 above the national average, and ranks Ohio as No. 11 among all states in terms of highest cropland values. Ohio cropland cash rent increased from $160 in 2021 to $170 in 2022, after adjusting for inflation.  Despite increasing land values and cash rents, the rate of return on both Ohio cropland have fluctuated between 2.25% and 3.4% since 1998, reaching their lowest point in 2022.  Interest rates have generally trended downwards, reaching a low point in 2020 before rebounding in 2022. Using the 10-year Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT) rate for the calculation, the capitalized land values in Ohio were lower than market land values in 2022.

Link to the report: https://aede.osu.edu/sites/aede/files/publication_files/OhioLandValues2023.pdf