New Mexico vs Utah

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

New Mexico

Rank #41

Overall Score

61.1

Category Wins

4/10

Utah

Rank #19

Overall Winner

Overall Score

66.6

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.8%

Property Tax

0.6%

Cost of Living

104

$1,250

Farm Land $/Acre

$2,800

200 days

Growing Season

180 days

24"

Annual Rainfall

24"

5/10

Soil Quality

6/10

5/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

5.9 hrs

Solar (PSH)

5.5 hrs

75%

Broadband

88%

Utah Edges Out New Mexico Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 66.6 vs 61.1, Utah comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 5 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 $2,800/acre. New Mexico has a longer growing season (200 vs 180 days). Utah has lower property taxes (0.6% vs 0.8%).

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	Utah UT
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.9%	4.65%
	8.09%	7.25%
	0.8%	0.6%
	97	104
Land & Building
	$1,250	$2,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local approval; zoning permissive in many areas	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	4b-10a	4a-9a
	200	180
	24"	24"
	5	6
	8	8
	3	2
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	5.9	5.5
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Minimal
	8	9
	Strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	742	267
	52%	38%
Demographics & Community
	17	38
	28%	11%
	75%	88%
Business
	#34	#16
	$0/yr	$50/yr
	4.3%	2.9%

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