Maryland vs New York

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

Maryland

Rank #45

Overall Score

54.6

Category Wins

4/10

New York

Rank #43

Overall Winner

Overall Score

58.6

Category Wins

6/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.05%

Property Tax

1.72%

116.2

Cost of Living

113

$9,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$5,200

230 days

Growing Season

170 days

48"

Annual Rainfall

50"

6/10

Soil Quality

7/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

2/10

Gun Friendly

3/10

4.3 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.9 hrs

93%

Broadband

89%

New York Edges Out Maryland Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 58.6 vs 54.6, New York 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: New York offers cheaper farmland at $5,200/acre vs $9,200/acre. Maryland has a longer growing season (230 vs 170 days). Maryland has lower property taxes (1.05% vs 1.72%).

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	Maryland MD	New York NY
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.75%	10.9%
	6%	8%
	1.05%	1.72%
	116.2	113
Land & Building
	$9,200	$5,200
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	No Statewide Code	Zoning dependent; some towns allow with approval
Climate & Growing
	6a-8a	3a-7a
	230	170
	48"	50"
	6	7
	2	3
	2	3
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Permitted
	4.3	3.9
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Medium	Moderate-High
	2	3
	Moderate	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	454	389
	20%	42%
Demographics & Community
	636	423
	13%	17%
	93%	89%
Business
	#46	#48
	$100/yr	$25/yr
	3.5%	4%

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