Iowa vs Wyoming

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

Iowa

Rank #23

Overall Winner

Overall Score

65.8

Category Wins

5/10

Wyoming

Rank #27

Overall Score

65.0

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.52%

Property Tax

0.55%

89.3

Cost of Living

93.6

$10,400

Farm Land $/Acre

$975

175 days

Growing Season

115 days

38"

Annual Rainfall

15"

10/10

Soil Quality

3/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

10/10

8/10

Gun Friendly

10/10

4.3 hrs

Solar (PSH)

6.06 hrs

87%

Broadband

65%

Iowa Edges Out Wyoming Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 65.8 vs 65.0, Iowa 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: Wyoming offers cheaper farmland at $975/acre vs $10,400/acre. Iowa has a longer growing season (175 vs 115 days). Wyoming has lower property taxes (0.55% 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	Wyoming WY
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	3.9%	—
	6.94%	5.36%
	1.52%	0.55%
	89.3	93.6
Land & Building
	$10,400	$975
	Partial	No Statewide Code
	Varies	Yes (Statewide)
Climate & Growing
	4b-5b	3a-5b
	175	115
	38"	15"
	10	3
	4	7
	6	2
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Allowed with Limits
	4.3	6.06
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Medium	Low
	8	10
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Yes (Retail Sales)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	300	215
	28%	64%
Demographics & Community
	57.2	5.8
	36%	35%
	87%	65%
Business
	#28	#1
	$50/yr	$100/yr
	2.8%	3.8%

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