Iowa vs Texas

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

Iowa

Rank #23

Overall Score

65.8

Category Wins

4/10

Texas

Rank #2

Overall Winner

Overall Score

72.1

Category Wins

6/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.52%

Property Tax

1.6%

89.3

Cost of Living

92.1

$10,400

Farm Land $/Acre

$2,970

175 days

Growing Season

300 days

38"

Annual Rainfall

55"

10/10

Soil Quality

6/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

Gun Friendly

10/10

4.3 hrs

Solar (PSH)

5.25 hrs

87%

Broadband

88%

Texas Edges Out Iowa Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 72.1 vs 65.8, Texas 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: Texas offers cheaper farmland at $2,970/acre vs $10,400/acre. Texas has a longer growing season (300 vs 175 days). Iowa has lower property taxes (1.52% vs 1.6%).

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	Texas TX
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	3.9%	—
	6.94%	8.2%
	1.52%	1.6%
	89.3	92.1
Land & Building
	$10,400	$2,970
	Partial	No Statewide Code
	Varies	Varies
Climate & Growing
	4b-5b	6b-10a
	175	300
	38"	55"
	10	6
	4	7
	6	6
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4.3	5.25
	Yes	No
Laws & Freedom
	Medium	None
	8	10
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Yes (Farm Sales Only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	300	450
	28%	50%
Demographics & Community
	57.2	113
	36%	15%
	87%	88%
Business
	#28	#7
	$50/yr	$300/yr
	2.8%	4%

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