A sprawling stretch of the Sonoran Desert that has remained in the same family for nearly 80 years is now on the market for $43 million. According to Mansion Global, Marley Ranch, located between Tucson and Nogales in southern Arizona, spans more than 114,000 acres within its ranch boundary and is being offered for the first time in more than 75 years. The ranch has been in the Marley family’s ownership since Kemper and Ethel Marley established it in the 1940s and later expanded it. It includes rolling grasslands surrounded by high mountains and sits on the west side of the Santa Cruz River, an area associated with the routes of Spanish conquistadors and the missionary Father Kino. The property can accommodate up to 1,600 cattle, although the cattle and ranch equipment are not included in the asking price.
A 114,000-acre ranch with 1,600-cattle capacity
Marley Ranch spans 114,279.48 acres, equivalent to 178.56 sections, according to the current property listing. However, the entire acreage is not privately owned land. The ranch consists of 17,265.07 acres of deeded land alongside land held through several grazing arrangements, including a large Arizona State Land Department grazing lease, a Bureau of Land Management allotment, private grazing licenses and leases, and Pima County land.The listing says the ranch has a carrying capacity of 1,600 animal units during normal rainfall years, although actual use varies depending on rainfall. Mansion Global similarly reports that the ranch can accommodate up to 1,600 head of cattle. The animals and equipment are separate from the $43 million sale price. The property is built around an extensive cattle operation. It has 28 major pastures, several large working corrals, smaller branding corrals and traps, as well as 60 dirt stock ponds. Its water infrastructure includes 19 stock wells, of which 15 are operating, along with 4 domestic wells and 2 grandfathered irrigation wells. Ten of the ranch’s wells are solar-powered. More than 52 miles of pipeline, with storage and troughs, help distribute water across the property.
The ranch stretches across 2 Arizona counties
The Marley Cattle Company is located in southern Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, about 20 miles south of Tucson and near Amado. The ranch lies west of Interstate 19, with the headquarters located along Arivaca Road in Santa Cruz County and another homestead area in Pima County. The property is roughly 20 miles wide from east to west and about 15 miles from north to south on its western side, according to the listing. The ranch’s elevation ranges from about 3,109 feet above sea level at the homestead to 4,700 feet in the Colorado Mountains, with most of the property between 3,200 and 3,800 feet. The listing describes the ranch as being on the west side of the Santa Cruz River, which it identifies as a historic route associated with Spanish conquistadors and Father Kino.Despite its size, the ranch is equipped for a working cattle operation rather than being simply undeveloped desert acreage. Its headquarters includes a ranch manager’s double-wide mobile home, 3 small ranch-hand houses, another mobile home, a shop, hay shed, tack room, covered horse pens, shipping corrals with a scale and a feed yard. At the separate homestead, the listing includes an owner’s residence and bunkhouses that are currently non-habitable, along with a guest house and a residence occupied by ranch hands. There is also a dirt airstrip at the homestead that, when maintained, can accommodate twin-engine aircraft. The ranch is fenced around its perimeter, while roads across the property are maintained by the ranch.
A Marley family property since the 1940s
The ranch’s history stretches back to Kemper and Ethel Marley, who acquired land in the 1940s and expanded the property. According to Mansion Global, the couple made their primary home in Phoenix but were closely involved in ranch life, including riding with crews during cattle roundups. Kemper Marley, who built a business empire that included cattle farms and other companies, died in 1990 at age 83. Ethel Marley died in 1997 at age 90.The ranch remained with the Marley family after their deaths. Mansion Global reports that it was eventually turned over to their 3 nephews, while the current generation did not want to continue owning the property. The current listing describes the ranch as being offered for sale for the first time in more than 75 years, making the $43 million listing a significant change for a property that has remained associated with the Marley family for decades. Mansion Global reported that Marley Ranch is one of the most expensive listings in Arizona and described it as the state’s most expensive ranch listing at the time of its March 2026 report. The current listing price remains $43 million, with the cattle and equipment excluded from the sale.
