Where can you be a city dweller in a house with a nice big yard?
With mortgage interest rates decreasing — aka more financial bandwidth to buy a bigger property — LawnStarter ranked 2024’s Cities With the Biggest and Smallest Yards.
We compared the 2,000 biggest U.S. cities based on the average yard sizes of single-family homes from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Plan your next move with our ranking below. To learn how we ranked the cities, see our methodology.
Is having a big yard a blessing or a burden? We also conducted a survey of U.S. homeowners to find out. After perusing our ranking, explore the results of our Yard Size Survey.
Contents
City Rankings
See how each city fared in our ranking:
Note: Population was added as a reference only and was not factored into the ranking. “Average Yard Acreage” values were rounded to 3 decimal places for presentation purposes.
Key Insights
Only the top 150 cities in our ranking enjoy lawns larger than the national average of half an acre.
Small-city living offers the most yard space: Each of our top 10 cities has a population below 50,000. Unsurprisingly, congested cities like New York (No. 1,993) and San Francisco (No. 1,998) tumbled to the bottom of our ranking with some of the smallest plots.
North Carolina and Texas tied with the most cities — 15 each — in the top 150. Most cities in other Southern states like Arkansas, Georgia, and Tennessee finished in the top half of our ranking.
Highlights
- The average yard size among the bottom 97 cities is less than 0.1 acres (or less than 1/10th of an acre), while only the top 2 cities — Carney, Maryland (No. 1) and Linton Hall, Virginia (No. 2) — boast averages over 1 acre.
- Every city representing Mississippi, New Hampshire, and South Dakota scored in the top half of our ranking.
- Those looking for a big-city lifestyle and big backyards should house-hunt in places like Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 722), Jacksonville, Florida (No. 761), and Oklahoma City (No. 784) — each with over 680,000 residents.
- Many Western urbanites go without spacious yards. One California city — Fallbrook (No. 5) — landed in the top 10, while 255 Golden State cities shrank into the bottom half of our ranking.
Ask The Experts
Despite having many benefits, it’s not easy to maintain (or afford) a property with a large backyard.
We sought expert tips on caring for an expansive yard space. Explore their insights below.
- What are 3 of the biggest challenges that come with owning a home with a lot of yard space?
- How important are yard sizes in today’s housing market?
- What are your top 3 tips for managing a large lawn?
- What is 1 way to make a small backyard seem bigger?
- What are 3 pieces of lawn care equipment necessary for maintaining a big property?
- Some homeowners associations (HOAs) pay for front yard maintenance. Is this worth the HOA fee?
What are three of the biggest challenges that come with owning a home with a lot of yard space?
Knowing what you want to use it for: recreational, habitat, or mix of both. Or, simply a beautiful garden (possibly a cut garden).
What are your top three tips for managing a large lawn?
1. Remove the lawn.
2. If you must have a lawn, know the type of lawn that will do best on your site.
3. Water and aerate your lawn every year.
What is one way to make a small backyard seem bigger?
Play with the edges of your backyard. For small yards, creating an overflow of plants coming into the pathways is one way.
What are three pieces of lawn care equipment necessary for maintaining a big property?
1. Plug aerators.
2. Invest in a GOOD rake (helps to pick up leaves).
3. An electric lawnmower.
4. (Bonus) An edge trimmer.
What are three of the biggest challenges that come with owning a home with a lot of yard space?
1. Keeping up with the yard.
2. Cost of maintaining the yard.
3. Additional cost in property tax.
How important are yard sizes in today’s housing market?
It depends on the city. In the North, it is quite important. In the Southern newer cities like Tampa, it’s not as important. We have tons of master-planned communities with tiny yards. People are used to lot sizes 40 by 100 in starter homes. 50 by 100 is a decent bigger lot in those newer neighborhoods.
What are your top three tips for managing a large lawn?
1. Get a good lawn person with big equipment.
2. If you try to do it yourself, make sure you have plenty of free time and energy.
3. If in Florida, summertime is brutal, and the grass grows very fast with the rain.
What is one way to make a small backyard seem bigger?
Do not clutter. Keep it open. Fences actually help small yards out a lot and make it very private.
What are three pieces of lawn care equipment necessary for maintaining a big property?
1. Lawn mower.
2. Weed eater.
3. Edger.
4. Leafblower.
You need all four. A hedge trimmer is helpful too.
Some homeowners associations (HOAs) pay for front yard maintenance. Is this worth the HOA fee?
Townhome HOAs usually cover lawn care. Single-family home (SFH) HOAs rarely cover the lawn.
It depends on your yard size and how busy your schedule is. Usually, the ones that cover yard maintenance have smaller lots. Compare the HOA fee with your own cost of lawn maintenance to decide.
A lot of times the communities with HOA covering lawns also charge for cable and other community expenses, and HOA fees tend to be pretty high.
Methodology
First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the Cities With the Biggest Yards.
We then gathered the average yard acreage for each of the 2,000 biggest U.S. cities from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each city to determine its rank. The highest Overall Score ranked “Biggest” (No. 1) and the lowest “Smallest” (No. 2,000).
Note: Population data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau for reference purposes only.
Final Thoughts: Find the Perfect Plot
With mortgage loan limits increasing this year and lower interest rates on the horizon, homeowners may be able to put more money toward a home with their dream backyard in 2024.
Whether it’s for gardening, playing with Fido, or cornhole competitions with the kids, having green space to escape to is beneficial for the body and mind.
Make the most of your large lawn with our tips and tricks below.
- Keep an eye out for lawn diseases.
- Get the best lawn mower for a big yard.
- Decrease your chore list (and water bill) with xeriscaping.
- Add some glamour with a small backyard pond or cozy outdoor fireplace.
- Install a fence for even more privacy.
- Set out some fun backyard games like pickleball.
If your yard is on the smaller side, you can still take steps to improve your space.
- Use landscaping to enhance front yard curb appeal.
- Get the right mower for a small property.
- Buy a robotic lawn mower to keep the grass in check.
- Add balance to the backyard with creative landscape design.
Having a big yard can make lawn mowing a big chore. Hire a local LawnStarter crew to keep your property looking fresh and healthy so you can relax and enjoy your green slice of heaven.
Media Resources
Main Photo Credit: JohnnyGreig / Canva Pro / Canva License
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