New Mexico vs Pennsylvania

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

New Mexico

Rank #41

Overall Score

61.1

Category Wins

6/10

Pennsylvania

Rank #36

Overall Winner

Overall Score

62.1

Category Wins

4/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.8%

Property Tax

1.58%

Cost of Living

100

$1,250

Farm Land $/Acre

$6,800

200 days

Growing Season

180 days

24"

Annual Rainfall

54"

5/10

Soil Quality

7/10

5/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

8/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

5.9 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

75%

Broadband

85%

Pennsylvania Edges Out New Mexico Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 62.1 vs 61.1, Pennsylvania 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: New Mexico offers cheaper farmland at $1,250/acre vs $6,800/acre. New Mexico has a longer growing season (200 vs 180 days). New Mexico has lower property taxes (0.8% 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	New Mexico NM	Pennsylvania PA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.9%	3.07%
	8.09%	6.34%
	0.8%	1.58%
	97	100
Land & Building
	$1,250	$6,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local approval; zoning permissive in many areas	Zoning-dependent; increasingly allowed in some municipalities
Climate & Growing
	4b-10a	5a-7a
	200	180
	24"	54"
	5	7
	8	3
	3	3
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	5.9	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	High
	8	7
	Strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	742	421
	52%	43%
Demographics & Community
	17	297
	28%	18%
	75%	85%
Business
	#34	#33
	$0/yr	$125/yr
	4.3%	3.9%

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