Montana vs Oregon

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

Montana

Rank #32

Overall Score

63.6

Category Wins

6/10

Oregon

Rank #18

Overall Winner

Overall Score

67.3

Category Wins

4/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.74%

Property Tax

0.98%

Cost of Living

108

$1,230

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,200

130 days

Growing Season

210 days

20"

Annual Rainfall

70"

5/10

Soil Quality

8/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

10/10

Gun Friendly

6/10

4.93 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.4 hrs

70%

Broadband

88%

Oregon Edges Out Montana Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 67.3 vs 63.6, Oregon 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: Montana offers cheaper farmland at $1,230/acre vs $4,200/acre. Oregon has a longer growing season (210 vs 130 days). Montana has lower property taxes (0.74% vs 0.98%).

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	Montana MT	Oregon OR
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.9%	9.9%
	0%	0%
	0.74%	0.98%
	95	108
Land & Building
	$1,230	$4,200
	No Statewide Code	Yes (Statewide)
	Yes (Statewide)	Increasingly permitted with zoning approval; ADU-friendly policies
Climate & Growing
	3a-6b	8a-9b
	130	210
	20"	70"
	5	8
	6	5
	1	2
Water & Energy
	Allowed with Limits	Permitted
	4.93	4.4
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Low	Minimal
	10	6
	Strong	Very strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	420	407
	35%	46%
Demographics & Community
	7.6	42
	45%	21%
	70%	88%
Business
	#5	#39
	$35/yr	$50/yr
	2.8%	3.8%

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