Best Counties for Land Flipping in Tennessee (2026)
The best counties for land flipping in Tennessee are Sevier County, Campbell County and Hardin County. We ranked 85 Tennessee counties on how much vacant land they have and how many owners live away from their property, using Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury parcel records (2026-06 monthly export).
The top 5 and why
1. Sevier County
Score 95/100
21,658 vacant parcels, 29% of owners live out of state and 74% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 1.4 acres.
2. Campbell County
Score 88/100
9,279 vacant parcels, 21% of owners live out of state and 73% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 1.4 acres.
3. Hardin County
Score 88/100
11,479 vacant parcels and 78% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 4.9 acres.
4. Cumberland County
Score 87/100
34,927 vacant parcels and 20% of owners live out of state. The typical vacant parcel is 3.2 acres.
5. Marion County
Score 84/100
8,329 vacant parcels, 15% of owners live out of state and 72% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 3.1 acres.
Tennessee county ranking
The top 25 of 85 ranked counties. Every county's numbers are on the Tennessee land statistics page, with a CSV download. To compare Tennessee with other states, see the national ranking.
| # | County | Score | Vacant parcels | Out-of-state | Absentee | Median vacant acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sevier County | 95 | 21,658 | 29% | 74% | 1.4 |
| 2 | Campbell County | 88 | 9,279 | 21% | 73% | 1.4 |
| 3 | Hardin County | 88 | 11,479 | 11% | 78% | 4.9 |
| 4 | Cumberland County | 87 | 34,927 | 20% | 70% | 3.2 |
| 5 | Marion County | 84 | 8,329 | 15% | 72% | 3.1 |
| 6 | Hardeman County | 82 | 8,991 | 10% | 77% | 11.7 |
| 7 | Scott County | 79 | 6,279 | 12% | 76% | 4.4 |
| 8 | Bledsoe County | 78 | 5,498 | 21% | 75% | 5 |
| 9 | Benton County | 78 | 7,048 | 12% | 74% | 6.2 |
| 10 | Cocke County | 76 | 8,279 | 15% | 67% | 4.4 |
| 11 | Claiborne County | 75 | 7,099 | 14% | 70% | 1.3 |
| 12 | Morgan County | 73 | 6,000 | 11% | 74% | 5 |
| 13 | Fentress County | 73 | 6,252 | 12% | 72% | 5 |
| 14 | Perry County | 73 | 4,347 | 15% | 79% | 7.6 |
| 15 | Sequatchie County | 71 | 5,242 | 15% | 73% | 3.7 |
| 16 | Jefferson County | 71 | 9,028 | 11% | 66% | 2.5 |
| 17 | Grundy County | 69 | 4,364 | 11% | 80% | 4.7 |
| 18 | Johnson County | 68 | 4,735 | 21% | 71% | 2.5 |
| 19 | Van Buren County | 68 | 3,141 | 22% | 76% | 3.5 |
| 20 | Henry County | 68 | 8,160 | 9% | 69% | 9.9 |
| 21 | Pickett County | 68 | 2,038 | 27% | 79% | 2.5 |
| 22 | Greene County | 67 | 9,308 | 10% | 62% | 2.2 |
| 23 | Stewart County | 65 | 5,119 | 12% | 72% | 5.5 |
| 24 | Hawkins County | 64 | 10,677 | 10% | 59% | 3 |
| 25 | Wayne County | 64 | 4,708 | 10% | 75% | 14.3 |
How the ranking works
- Vacant land supply: the number of parcels the county itself codes as vacant land. More vacant parcels means more owners to make offers to.
- Out-of-state owners: the share of owners whose mailing address is in another state. Distant owners rarely use their land and are the core of most land mail campaigns.
- Absentee owners: the share whose mailing address is not the parcel's address, a wider version of the same signal.
- Each county is ranked against the rest of Tennessee on all three, and the score is the average, from 0 to 100. Counties with fewer than 500 vacant parcels or 1,000 mailable owners are left out, as are counties whose address records can't support the owner-location comparison.
- What it doesn't measure: sale prices, how fast land sells, or buyer demand. Parcel records don't carry those, so check sold comps and access for any parcel before you buy.
Ready to mail? Build a list of vacant-land owners in any of these counties, filtered by acreage and owner location.
Land flipping in Tennessee: FAQ
What is the best county for land flipping in Tennessee?
On our parcel-record ranking, Sevier County comes first in Tennessee, followed by Campbell County and Hardin County. 21,658 vacant parcels, 29% of owners live out of state and 74% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 1.4 acres. The ranking covers 85 Tennessee counties and measures how much vacant land a county has and how many of its owners live away from their property.
How is the land flipping score calculated?
Each county is ranked against the other counties in its state on three figures from its own parcel roll: the number of vacant land parcels, the share of owners whose mailing address is in another state, and the share whose mailing address is not the parcel's address. The score is the average of those three rankings, from 0 to 100, so a county scores high only when it does well on more than one. Counties with fewer than 500 vacant parcels or fewer than 1,000 owners with a mailing address are left out.
Why do out-of-state and absentee owners matter for land flipping?
An owner who lives far from a vacant parcel rarely visits it, still pays taxes on it, and often has no plan for it. Those owners are the ones land investors usually mail with cash offers, and a county with many of them gives a mail campaign more owners to reach.
Does a high score mean land is cheap or sells fast there?
No. The score uses parcel records only, and parcel records carry no sale prices, days on market or buyer demand. Before you buy, check recent sold comps, road access, zoning and back taxes for the specific parcel.
Other states
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