Indiana vs Iowa

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

Indiana

Rank #17

Overall Winner

Overall Score

67.4

Category Wins

5/10

Iowa

Rank #23

Overall Score

65.8

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.81%

Property Tax

1.52%

Cost of Living

89.3

$8,800

Farm Land $/Acre

$10,400

200 days

Growing Season

175 days

47"

Annual Rainfall

38"

8/10

Soil Quality

10/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

9/10

Gun Friendly

8/10

4.15 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.3 hrs

85%

Broadband

87%

Indiana Edges Out Iowa Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 67.4 vs 65.8, Indiana 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: Indiana offers cheaper farmland at $8,800/acre vs $10,400/acre. Indiana has a longer growing season (200 vs 175 days). Indiana has lower property taxes (0.81% vs 1.52%).

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	Indiana IN	Iowa IA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	2.95%	3.9%
	7%	6.94%
	0.81%	1.52%
	90	89.3
Land & Building
	$8,800	$10,400
	Partial	Partial
	Varies	Varies
Climate & Growing
	5b-6b	4b-5b
	200	175
	47"	38"
	8	10
	3	4
	5	6
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.15	4.3
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	None	Medium
	9	8
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Yes (Farm Sales Only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	390	300
	30%	28%
Demographics & Community
	189.4	57.2
	27%	36%
	85%	87%
Business
	#10	#28
	$95/yr	$50/yr
	3.3%	2.8%

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