Montana vs Pennsylvania

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

Montana

Rank #32

Overall Winner

Overall Score

63.6

Category Wins

6/10

Pennsylvania

Rank #36

Overall Score

62.1

Category Wins

4/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.74%

Property Tax

1.58%

Cost of Living

100

$1,230

Farm Land $/Acre

$6,800

130 days

Growing Season

180 days

20"

Annual Rainfall

54"

5/10

Soil Quality

7/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

10/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

4.93 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

70%

Broadband

85%

Montana Edges Out Pennsylvania Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 63.6 vs 62.1, Montana 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 $6,800/acre. Pennsylvania has a longer growing season (180 vs 130 days). Montana has lower property taxes (0.74% vs 1.58%).

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	Pennsylvania PA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.9%	3.07%
	0%	6.34%
	0.74%	1.58%
	95	100
Land & Building
	$1,230	$6,800
	No Statewide Code	Yes (Statewide)
	Yes (Statewide)	Zoning-dependent; increasingly allowed in some municipalities
Climate & Growing
	3a-6b	5a-7a
	130	180
	20"	54"
	5	7
	6	3
	1	3
Water & Energy
	Allowed with Limits	Permitted
	4.93	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Low	High
	10	7
	Strong	Strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	420	421
	35%	43%
Demographics & Community
	7.6	297
	45%	18%
	70%	85%
Business
	#5	#33
	$35/yr	$125/yr
	2.8%	3.9%

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