New Hampshire vs Pennsylvania

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

New Hampshire

Rank #38

Overall Score

62.0

Category Wins

2/10

Pennsylvania

Rank #36

Overall Winner

Overall Score

62.1

Category Wins

7/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

2.18%

Property Tax

1.58%

118

Cost of Living

100

$8,500

Farm Land $/Acre

$6,800

140 days

Growing Season

180 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

54"

6/10

Soil Quality

7/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

3.8 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

81%

Broadband

85%

Pennsylvania Edges Out New Hampshire Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 62.1 vs 62.0, Pennsylvania comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 7 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Pennsylvania offers cheaper farmland at $6,800/acre vs $8,500/acre. Pennsylvania has a longer growing season (180 vs 140 days). Pennsylvania has lower property taxes (1.58% vs 2.18%).

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	New Hampshire NH	Pennsylvania PA
Taxes & Cost
	No	Yes
	—	3.07%
	0%	6.34%
	2.18%	1.58%
	118	100
Land & Building
	$8,500	$6,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly common	Zoning-dependent; increasingly allowed in some municipalities
Climate & Growing
	3b-5a	5a-7a
	140	180
	50"	54"
	6	7
	3	3
	2	3
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	3.8	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	High
	9	7
	Very strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	130	421
	30%	43%
Demographics & Community
	147	297
	34%	18%
	81%	85%
Business
	#22	#33
	$100/yr	$125/yr
	2.8%	3.9%

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