Illinois vs Louisiana

Head-to-head homesteading comparison across taxes, land, climate, laws, safety & more

Illinois

Rank #42

Overall Score

60.8

Category Wins

3/10

Louisiana

Rank #16

Overall Winner

Overall Score

67.8

Category Wins

7/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

2.07%

Property Tax

0.55%

93.4

Cost of Living

91.1

$9,600

Farm Land $/Acre

$3,700

210 days

Growing Season

300 days

48"

Annual Rainfall

65"

10/10

Soil Quality

7/10

Safety (Rural)

5/10

3/10

Gun Friendly

8/10

4.2 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.7 hrs

90%

Broadband

78%

Louisiana Edges Out Illinois Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 67.8 vs 60.8, Louisiana comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 7 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Louisiana offers cheaper farmland at $3,700/acre vs $9,600/acre. Louisiana has a longer growing season (300 vs 210 days). Louisiana has lower property taxes (0.55% vs 2.07%).

Scroll down to the full comparison table for a deep dive into every metric, or use our ranking tool to weight these factors by what matters most to you.

Full Data Comparison

Side-by-side comparison of selected states across homesteading metrics
Data Point	Illinois IL	Louisiana LA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	4.95%	3%
	8.82%	9.56%
	2.07%	0.55%
	93.4	91.1
Land & Building
	$9,600	$3,700
	Yes (Statewide)	Partial
	Varies	Varies
Climate & Growing
	5a-7a	8a-9b
	210	300
	48"	65"
	10	7
	3	2
	6	4
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.2	4.7
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Low	Medium
	3	8
	Strong	Strong
	No	No
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	425	520
	35%	50%
Demographics & Community
	225.7	107.3
	12%	27%
	90%	78%
Business
	#36	#42
	$150/yr	$100/yr
	4.5%	4.2%

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