Mississippi vs Montana
Head-to-head homesteading comparison across taxes, land, climate, laws, safety & more
Overall Score
Category Wins
5/10
MT
Overall Score
Category Wins
5/10
Quick Comparison
Winner highlighted per category
Mississippi Edges Out Montana Overall
With an overall homesteading score of 66.2 vs 63.6, Mississippi 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: Montana offers cheaper farmland at $1,230/acre vs $2,400/acre. Mississippi has a longer growing season (220 vs 130 days). Montana has lower property taxes (0.74% vs 0.79%).
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
| Data Point | Mississippi MS | Montana MT |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & Cost | ||
| Yes | Yes | |
| 4% | 5.9% | |
| 7.07% | 0% | |
| 0.79% | 0.74% | |
| 88 | 95 | |
| Land & Building | ||
| $2,400 | $1,230 | |
| Partial | No Statewide Code | |
| Permitted in some areas with local approval; not uniformly legal statewide | Yes (Statewide) | |
| Climate & Growing | ||
| 8a-8b | 3a-6b | |
| 220 | 130 | |
| 56" | 20" | |
| 7 | 5 | |
| 4 | 6 | |
| 6 | 1 | |
| Water & Energy | ||
| Permitted | Allowed with Limits | |
| 4.5 | 4.93 | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Laws & Freedom | ||
| Moderate | Low | |
| 8 | 10 | |
| Strong | Strong | |
| Incidental on-farm sales only (goat milk) | Yes (Farm Sales Only) | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Safety & Healthcare | ||
| 481 | 420 | |
| 48% | 35% | |
| Demographics & Community | ||
| 63 | 7.6 | |
| 44% | 45% | |
| 72% | 70% | |
| Business | ||
| #38 | #5 | |
| $50/yr | $35/yr | |
| 3.8% | 2.8% | |
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