Maine vs Tennessee

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

Maine

Rank #9

Overall Score

69.9

Category Wins

2/10

Tennessee

Rank #1

Overall Winner

Overall Score

73.6

Category Wins

8/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.24%

Property Tax

0.56%

108.4

Cost of Living

89.7

$3,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,500

160 days

Growing Season

230 days

48"

Annual Rainfall

60"

5/10

Soil Quality

7/10

10/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.45 hrs

80%

Broadband

85%

Tennessee Edges Out Maine Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 73.6 vs 69.9, Tennessee comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 8 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Maine offers cheaper farmland at $3,200/acre vs $4,500/acre. Tennessee has a longer growing season (230 vs 160 days). Tennessee has lower property taxes (0.56% vs 1.24%).

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	Maine ME	Tennessee TN
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	7.15%	—
	5.5%	9.55%
	1.24%	0.56%
	108.4	89.7
Land & Building
	$3,200	$4,500
	Partial	Partial
	Varies	Varies
Climate & Growing
	3b-6a	6a-8a
	160	230
	48"	60"
	5	7
	2	3
	1	5
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	4	4.45
	Yes	No
Laws & Freedom
	Medium	Low
	8	9
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Retail Sales)	Herd Share Only
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	112	600
	25%	44%
Demographics & Community
	44.2	167.4
	61%	34%
	80%	85%
Business
	#38	#8
	$175/yr	$300/yr
	3%	3.5%

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