Missouri vs South Dakota

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

Missouri

Rank #10

Overall Score

69.6

Category Wins

4/10

South Dakota

Rank #11

Overall Score

69.6

Category Wins

4/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.88%

Property Tax

0.84%

87.1

Cost of Living

$4,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$1,950

200 days

Growing Season

160 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

28"

6/10

Soil Quality

9/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4.5 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.1 hrs

80%

Broadband

81%

Missouri and South Dakota Are Closely Matched

Both states scored 69.6 in our balanced analysis, making them equally viable for homesteading. Your personal priorities will be the deciding factor.

Key differences: South Dakota offers cheaper farmland at $1,950/acre vs $4,200/acre. Missouri has a longer growing season (200 vs 160 days). South Dakota has lower property taxes (0.84% vs 0.88%).

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	Missouri MO	South Dakota SD
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	4.7%	—
	8.33%	7.33%
	0.88%	0.84%
	87.1	94
Land & Building
	$4,200	$1,950
	No Statewide Code	No (Local Adoption)
	Yes (Statewide)	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly common
Climate & Growing
	5b-7a	3a-5a
	200	160
	50"	28"
	6	9
	3	6
	6	6
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Permitted
	4.5	4.1
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	None	Minimal
	9	9
	Strong	Very strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	540	348
	40%	42%
Demographics & Community
	89.5	11
	30%	44%
	80%	81%
Business
	#13	#12
	$50/yr	$150/yr
	3.2%	2.7%

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