Iowa vs Kentucky

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

Iowa

Rank #23

Overall Score

65.8

Category Wins

4/10

Kentucky

Rank #5

Overall Winner

Overall Score

71.3

Category Wins

6/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.52%

Property Tax

0.83%

89.3

Cost of Living

86.3

$10,400

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,800

175 days

Growing Season

210 days

38"

Annual Rainfall

50"

10/10

Soil Quality

8/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4.3 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.25 hrs

87%

Broadband

82%

Kentucky Edges Out Iowa Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 71.3 vs 65.8, Kentucky comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 6 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Kentucky offers cheaper farmland at $4,800/acre vs $10,400/acre. Kentucky has a longer growing season (210 vs 175 days). Kentucky has lower property taxes (0.83% 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	Iowa IA	Kentucky KY
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	3.9%	4%
	6.94%	6%
	1.52%	0.83%
	89.3	86.3
Land & Building
	$10,400	$4,800
	Partial	Partial
	Varies	Varies
Climate & Growing
	4b-5b	6a-7b
	175	210
	38"	50"
	10	8
	4	2
	6	4
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.3	4.25
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Medium	Low
	8	9
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Yes (Farm Sales Only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	300	250
	28%	38%
Demographics & Community
	57.2	114.1
	36%	42%
	87%	82%
Business
	#28	#23
	$50/yr	$40/yr
	2.8%	4%

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