Illinois vs Maryland

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

Illinois

Rank #42

Overall Winner

Overall Score

60.8

Category Wins

3/10

Maryland

Rank #45

Overall Score

54.6

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

2.07%

Property Tax

1.05%

93.4

Cost of Living

116.2

$9,600

Farm Land $/Acre

$9,200

210 days

Growing Season

230 days

48"

Annual Rainfall

48"

10/10

Soil Quality

6/10

7/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

3/10

Gun Friendly

2/10

4.2 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.3 hrs

90%

Broadband

93%

Illinois Edges Out Maryland Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 60.8 vs 54.6, Illinois comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 5 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Maryland offers cheaper farmland at $9,200/acre vs $9,600/acre. Maryland has a longer growing season (230 vs 210 days). Maryland has lower property taxes (1.05% 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	Maryland MD
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	4.95%	5.75%
	8.82%	6%
	2.07%	1.05%
	93.4	116.2
Land & Building
	$9,600	$9,200
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Varies	No Statewide Code
Climate & Growing
	5a-7a	6a-8a
	210	230
	48"	48"
	10	6
	3	2
	6	2
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.2	4.3
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Low	Medium
	3	2
	Strong	Moderate
	No	Yes (Farm Sales Only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	425	454
	35%	20%
Demographics & Community
	225.7	636
	12%	13%
	90%	93%
Business
	#36	#46
	$150/yr	$100/yr
	4.5%	3.5%

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