Best Counties for Land Flipping in Texas (2025)
The best counties for land flipping in Texas are Polk County, Liberty County and Newton County. We ranked 225 Texas counties on how much vacant land they have and how many owners live away from their property, using TxGIO StratMap Land Parcels parcel records (2025 tax roll).
The top 5 and why
1. Polk County
Score 89/100
31,069 vacant parcels, 7% of owners live out of state and 84% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 0.3 acres.
2. Liberty County
Score 87/100
81,324 vacant parcels and 86% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 0.3 acres.
3. Newton County
Score 85/100
13% of owners live out of state and 94% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 3.7 acres.
4. San Jacinto County
Score 85/100
18,468 vacant parcels, 6% of owners live out of state and 84% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 0.3 acres.
5. Leon County
Score 84/100
17,466 vacant parcels, 7% of owners live out of state and 80% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 2.6 acres.
Texas county ranking
The top 25 of 225 ranked counties. Every county's numbers are on the Texas land statistics page, with a CSV download. To compare Texas with other states, see the national ranking.
| # | County | Score | Vacant parcels | Out-of-state | Absentee | Median vacant acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polk County | 89 | 31,069 | 7% | 84% | 0.3 |
| 2 | Liberty County | 87 | 81,324 | 5% | 86% | 0.3 |
| 3 | Newton County | 85 | 9,388 | 13% | 94% | 3.7 |
| 4 | San Jacinto County | 85 | 18,468 | 6% | 84% | 0.3 |
| 5 | Leon County | 84 | 17,466 | 7% | 80% | 2.6 |
| 6 | Tyler County | 82 | 13,094 | 10% | 77% | 0.9 |
| 7 | Bandera County | 82 | 17,828 | 6% | 77% | 0.6 |
| 8 | Jasper County | 81 | 18,248 | 7% | 74% | 0.9 |
| 9 | Trinity County | 81 | 16,244 | 8% | 74% | 0.2 |
| 10 | Llano County | 81 | 17,230 | 5% | 86% | 0.3 |
| 11 | Jackson County | 79 | 9,046 | 10% | 79% | 1 |
| 12 | Galveston County | 78 | 40,220 | 4% | 85% | 0.2 |
| 13 | Burnet County | 78 | 21,251 | 5% | 76% | 0.3 |
| 14 | Rusk County | 77 | 15,623 | 5% | 89% | 13.5 |
| 15 | Matagorda County | 77 | 16,360 | 4% | 89% | 0.3 |
| 16 | Freestone County | 76 | 12,618 | 5% | 86% | 13.6 |
| 17 | Panola County | 74 | 7,863 | 9% | 75% | 20.7 |
| 18 | Atascosa County | 73 | 15,259 | 5% | 71% | 2 |
| 19 | Hill County | 72 | 18,583 | 4% | 76% | 0.9 |
| 20 | Cameron County | 72 | 33,471 | 5% | 65% | 0.3 |
| 21 | Aransas County | 71 | 8,388 | 5% | 83% | 0.2 |
| 22 | Grayson County | 71 | 24,696 | 5% | 67% | 0.6 |
| 23 | Bell County | 71 | 33,123 | 6% | 54% | 0.3 |
| 24 | Hays County | 70 | 24,872 | 6% | 50% | 0.3 |
| 25 | Mitchell County | 69 | 4,078 | 7% | 87% | 80.8 |
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 Texas 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 Texas: FAQ
What is the best county for land flipping in Texas?
On our parcel-record ranking, Polk County comes first in Texas, followed by Liberty County and Newton County. 31,069 vacant parcels, 7% of owners live out of state and 84% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 0.3 acres. The ranking covers 225 Texas 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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