These 20 entities own the most U.S. land in 2018

Every year the Land Report 100 is published revealing America's 100 largest individual landowners, but have you ever wondered what entities own the most land in the United States? We did our own research to find out which companies and bodies have acquired more U.S. acreage than anyone else. If you have aspirations of becoming a landowner or are looking to expand your current landholdings, head over to our land for sale and see if anything catches your eye.

To make our list, certain criteria had to be met. If you see a business or body that you think should be on the list that didn’t make it, it’s probably because it didn’t meet our requirements and was tossed out as a possibility. From massive timberland operations and religious bodies to colossal ranches and cattle barons, these 20 entities own the most United States land as of July 2018.

In case you’re interested, here’s a list of the top 10 land management entities in acres thanks to Forisk Consulting. Many are either forestry consulting and management companies or TIMOs (Timberland Investment Management Organization).

As you can clearly see, governments didn’t make our list. The largest landowner is the federal government owning around 679 million acres or 27.9% of the U.S. landmass. State and federal governments together own over 826 million acres or over 34% of the total landmass in the United States. The Catholic Church owns a large amount of property in the U.S. and throughout the world but it’s challenging to nail down all the property they actually own.

In total, these 20 entities account for over 34.7 million acres or 1.4% of U.S. land. If you're in the market for a ranch or timberland, check out our ranches for sale and timberland for sale. These organizations have made good use of the freedom to own property in the United States and many people have become wealthy as a result. They remind us of the value of land ownership and why land was the original American dream.