What kind of land can you buy in Hunt County, Texas?

Hunt County is working agricultural country — roughly 882 square miles northeast of Dallas, most of it Blackland Prairie, with the Piney Woods beginning along the eastern edge. Greenville, the county seat, sits fifty-one miles from Dallas on I-30. This is one of the last North Texas counties inside an hour of the city where land is still bought to farm and graze rather than to hold for rooftops.

Hunt County at a glance

What does the prairie mean for how the land is used?

The USDA agricultural census has consistently put Hunt County land close to half pasture and roughly two-fifths cropland, and that split is what you still see driving SH 34 or US 69. Hay is the backbone. Cow-calf runs on improved bermuda and native range. Wheat, corn, and milo work the flatter ground.

Blackland soil is fertile and difficult in equal measure, and in a county that still farms for a living, the fertile half is the half that pays. It carries improved bermuda and native range, grows a hay crop worth real money, and holds a stock tank without a liner. The difficulty shows up under a foundation, which moves every time the season turns, and in a septic field that will not perc on tight clay. Read a tract here for what it produces first and what it builds second. That is the order this market values it in.

The soil is not uniform across the county either. Work east from Greenville toward Lone Oak and the county line and the prairie gives way to sandier, more wooded East Texas ground. That transition moves carrying capacity, changes what will perc, and changes who shows up to buy — the western half sells to people who intend to run cattle or cut hay, the eastern half increasingly to people who want trees and cover.

Something most listings will not tell you: Hunt County holds some of the last intact native Blackland tallgrass prairie in Texas, including the Nature Conservancy's Clymer Meadow Preserve. Remnant native prairie on a tract is worth managing deliberately rather than plowing.

Where is the water?

Lake Tawakoni sits at the southern end of the county, shared with Rains and Van Zandt, impounded by Iron Bridge Dam and managed by the Sabine River Authority of Texas. The original headwaters of the Sabine River — the Cowleech, South, and Caddo forks — lie beneath the lake surface, making the reservoir the head of the Sabine system. Lake-adjacent acreage is a distinct market from the farm ground north of I-30.

Off the lake, water means a well, a rural water supply corporation meter, or both. And here is the fact worth writing down: Hunt County is not within a groundwater conservation district. When TCEQ examined the Northern Trinity and Woodbine aquifers, Hunt was not among the counties recommended for coverage. No permit, no production fee — and also no district file to consult and no spacing rule protecting your well from the next one drilled nearby.

Verification is your job. Pull the driller's log, flow-test the well, test the water, and confirm in writing whether a supply corporation will set a meter and what the tap costs. Our water rights guide explains the rule of capture and what Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day settled in 2012.

Under Texas Water Code §11.142 you may impound up to 200 acre-feet for domestic and livestock use without a permit. Commercial use is excluded.

How does ag valuation work in Hunt County?

Through the Hunt County Appraisal District, which publishes its own degree-of-intensity and minimum acreage standards. Texas sets no statewide minimum, and what qualifies in Hunt County will not match Collin County next door. Three things that do not change county to county:

1. File with the appraisal district January 1 through April 30, on Comptroller form 50-129.
2. Late applications may be accepted with a penalty of 10% of the tax difference between ag and market value.
3. A change in ownership requires the new owner to file a new application. Ag history runs with the land, does not carry over at closing, and this is the most commonly missed item at a rural closing.

Rollback under Tax Code §23.55 is triggered by change of use, not sale. HB 1743 cut the lookback to three years, and HB 3833 (effective June 15, 2021) removed the interest entirely. See rollback taxes and the ag exemption guide.

Is Hunt County growing?

At the western end, yes. Royse City, Caddo Mills, and Quinlan sit close enough to the Rockwall and Collin county lines that I-30 corridor pressure has reached them. East of Greenville and north toward Fannin and Delta it is farm country and behaves like it. Buyers wanting larger contiguous acreage within a reasonable drive of Dallas end up here.

Frequently asked questions

Can I hunt Hunt County land?

Deer, hog, dove, and waterfowl are all worked here, along creek bottoms and the wooded eastern edge. Wildlife management valuation under Tax Code §23.51(7) is available, but only on land already qualified as 1-d-1 open space the prior year, and it requires three of seven approved practices annually.

Does Lake Tawakoni frontage change the deal?

Substantially. Shoreline tracts carry Sabine River Authority considerations, easements, and flowage rights that upland farm tracts do not, and the buyer pool is recreational rather than agricultural. Read the survey and title commitment for the exact lake boundary.

Will a Hunt County tract perc for a septic system?

Tight black clay percolates poorly, so conventional drain fields frequently fail on the prairie side and an aerobic system may be required. The sandier eastern portion behaves better. On-site sewage facilities fall under Health & Safety Code Ch. 366 through the county. See building on rural land.

What are per-acre prices in Hunt County?

We publish no county-wide number, because western Hunt County near Royse City and eastern Hunt County near Lone Oak are not the same market. Ask us for current figures on the corridor you are shopping.

Sources and method

Sources and method

Texas Tax Code §23.51 et seq., §23.51(7), and §23.55 (as amended by HB 1743, 86th Legislature, effective September 1, 2019, and HB 3833, 87th Legislature, effective June 15, 2021) · Texas Comptroller form 50-129 · Texas Water Code §11.142 · Texas Health & Safety Code Ch. 366 · Hunt County Appraisal District · TCEQ Northern Trinity and Woodbine Aquifers Priority Groundwater Management Area study · Sabine River Authority of Texas · USDA Census of Agriculture, Hunt County · Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas · Figures verified August 2026.

County appraisal districts set their own degree-of-intensity and acreage standards. Confirm current requirements with the appraisal district for the county your land sits in before you rely on anything here. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.

If you want acreage that still earns its keep within an hour of Dallas, Hunt County deserves a look. We will drive it with you.

More: North Texas land · Texas Land & Ranch · Ag exemption in Texas

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Dallas, Dallas County, Texas 75205. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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