Understanding the “$100 Trillion” in U.S. Land and Resource Wealth

Overview

The idea that the United States possesses $100 trillion in land and natural resource wealth is rooted in recent statements by government officials and commentators. This figure aims to capture not just the monetary value of developable and agriculturally-productive land, but also the vast untapped value of energy resources, minerals, offshore assets, forest lands, and ecosystem services held within U.S. borders and territorial waters1 2 3.

Breaking Down the Estimate

Land Value

Traditional land valuation in the U.S. covers both developed and undeveloped parcels.
Historical estimates put the value of all U.S. land between $23 trillion and $32 trillion depending on the methodology and year, with most recent government-led studies for the contiguous 48 states coming in around $23–$25 trillion (2009 dollars)456.
- Developed land is by far the most valuable per acre.
- Farmland (which makes up nearly half the land area) is much lower in value but still significant, with total U.S. farm real estate exceeding $3 trillion as of 20237 8.

Natural Resources

Officials like the current Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, claim that if the U.S. included the value of “critical minerals, oil and gas, metallurgical and thermal coal, and untapped offshore and onshore federal resources,” the total asset base of American land and resources could reach or even exceed $100 trillion1 2 3.

This estimate incorporates:
- Federal onshore holdings (~700 million acres of land, including mineral rights).
- Offshore rights (estimated up to 2.5 billion acres of the U.S. extended continental shelf).
- Significant deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, rare earth elements, and other minerals, much of which remains unexploited or poorly valued on national balance sheets.
- Timber, grazing, and recreational rights on federal lands.
The $100 trillion estimate far exceeds more conventional monetary assessments, which generally omit potential and non-marketed resources (like much of the mineral/energy wealth and ecosystem services)1 9.

Natural Capital and “Missing Wealth”

Academic and international organizations have noted that “natural capital” (including renewable resources, minerals, water, forests, and ecosystem services) is routinely undervalued in national economic accounts.
The World Bank and leading economists put the global total of “missing” natural capital at $100 trillion or more, with the U.S. comprising a significant but undefined slice of that amount9 10.

Official and Policy Context

The $100 trillion figure is primarily intended as a rhetorical device to highlight the scale of untapped or non-monetized wealth available to the country.
There is not yet a single, comprehensive, peer-reviewed analysis that fully consolidates U.S. land, subsoil assets, and ecosystem services up to such a valuation2 3.
Still, senior government officials are urging that these resources be more clearly accounted for and sustainably developed as part of future economic and fiscal policy, especially regarding how public lands and federal assets could contribute to balancing national debt1 2.

Summary Table: U.S. Land & Resource Wealth Estimates

Asset Type	Estimated Value (Trillion $)	Notes	Source(s)
Total U.S. land (developed, 2009)	$23–25	Market-derived	4 5 6
Farm real estate (2023)	$3+	USDA estimate	7 8
Privatized land in 48 states (2023)	$32	White House report	6
“Natural capital” (U.S., est.)	Unspecified, part of 100T+	Global est.: 100T+	9
All land & untapped resources (federal + offshore)	Up to $100	Policy estimate	1 2 3

Key Takeaways

Conventional market valuations of U.S. land are in the $25–$32 trillion range.
Including natural resources, minerals, and offshore assets—materials not fully reflected on government balance sheets—recent U.S. officials argue the true “resource wealth” could reach $100 trillion or more, though this is not a universally accepted or methodically grounded figure1 2 3.
The $100 trillion number is best viewed as a strategic or policy-oriented estimate, aiming to draw attention to America’s enormous, yet only partially monetized, national endowment in land and natural resources.

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$100 trillion in U.S. land and resource wealth