History of Tenancy in USA
- October 19th, 2011
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To what extent acres can be bought, without paying higher than ordinary prices, in such small numbers as poor men would be limited to, is somewhat doubtful, outside of suburban places. The average area of a farm seems to have reached the point at which it is economically adapted to our agricultural products and the methods of producing them. In 1870 the average area of a farm was 153 acres; in 1880, 184 acres; in 1890, 137 acres. Without more intensive agriculture and a change in the character of crops, it is doubtful whether there will be any considerable subdivision of farms. And, if this is so, farm and home tenants cannot practically become farm-owners without buying whole farms as they now exist.
They would thus have to encounter an average value of $2,909, which they would have to meet with an equal amount of cash, or cash and mortgage encumbrance.With regard to home-ownership, tenants can find areas in any limited size that is wanted, whether in the town or in the suburbs or in the rural regions. The average value of a home occupied by an owner in the United States is 3,250; in cities of 8,000 to 100,000 population, 3,447; in cities of more than 100,000 population, $5,555; and, in the country outside of cities and towns of 8,000 people and over, $2,244. But the poor tenant referencing need not approach values as high as the average one, either for farms or for homes.