Iowa vs Tennessee

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

Iowa

Rank #23

Overall Score

65.8

Category Wins

4/10

Tennessee

Rank #1

Overall Winner

Overall Score

73.6

Category Wins

6/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.52%

Property Tax

0.56%

89.3

Cost of Living

89.7

$10,400

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,500

175 days

Growing Season

230 days

38"

Annual Rainfall

60"

10/10

Soil Quality

7/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4.3 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.45 hrs

87%

Broadband

85%

Tennessee Edges Out Iowa Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 73.6 vs 65.8, Tennessee 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: Tennessee offers cheaper farmland at $4,500/acre vs $10,400/acre. Tennessee has a longer growing season (230 vs 175 days). Tennessee has lower property taxes (0.56% 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	Tennessee TN
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	3.9%	—
	6.94%	9.55%
	1.52%	0.56%
	89.3	89.7
Land & Building
	$10,400	$4,500
	Partial	Partial
	Varies	Varies
Climate & Growing
	4b-5b	6a-8a
	175	230
	38"	60"
	10	7
	4	3
	6	5
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.3	4.45
	Yes	No
Laws & Freedom
	Medium	Low
	8	9
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Herd Share Only
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	300	600
	28%	44%
Demographics & Community
	57.2	167.4
	36%	34%
	87%	85%
Business
	#28	#8
	$50/yr	$300/yr
	2.8%	3.5%

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