Illinois vs Missouri

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

Illinois

Rank #42

Overall Score

60.8

Category Wins

3/10

Missouri

Rank #10

Overall Winner

Overall Score

69.6

Category Wins

7/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

2.07%

Property Tax

0.88%

93.4

Cost of Living

87.1

$9,600

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,200

210 days

Growing Season

200 days

48"

Annual Rainfall

50"

10/10

Soil Quality

6/10

7/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

3/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4.2 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.5 hrs

90%

Broadband

80%

Missouri Edges Out Illinois Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 69.6 vs 60.8, Missouri 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: Missouri offers cheaper farmland at $4,200/acre vs $9,600/acre. Illinois has a longer growing season (210 vs 200 days). Missouri has lower property taxes (0.88% 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	Missouri MO
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	4.95%	4.7%
	8.82%	8.33%
	2.07%	0.88%
	93.4	87.1
Land & Building
	$9,600	$4,200
	Yes (Statewide)	No Statewide Code
	Varies	Yes (Statewide)
Climate & Growing
	5a-7a	5b-7a
	210	200
	48"	50"
	10	6
	3	3
	6	6
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.2	4.5
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Low	None
	3	9
	Strong	Strong
	No	Yes (Farm Sales Only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	425	540
	35%	40%
Demographics & Community
	225.7	89.5
	12%	30%
	90%	80%
Business
	#36	#13
	$150/yr	$50/yr
	4.5%	3.2%

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