New Mexico vs Wisconsin

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

New Mexico

Rank #41

Overall Score

61.1

Category Wins

5/10

Wisconsin

Rank #21

Overall Winner

Overall Score

66.5

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.8%

Property Tax

1.85%

Cost of Living

$1,250

Farm Land $/Acre

$3,800

200 days

Growing Season

170 days

24"

Annual Rainfall

36"

5/10

Soil Quality

8/10

5/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

5.9 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.9 hrs

75%

Broadband

84%

Wisconsin Edges Out New Mexico Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 66.5 vs 61.1, Wisconsin 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 $3,800/acre. New Mexico has a longer growing season (200 vs 170 days). New Mexico has lower property taxes (0.8% vs 1.85%).

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	Wisconsin WI
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.9%	7.65%
	8.09%	5.43%
	0.8%	1.85%
	97	96
Land & Building
	$1,250	$3,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local approval; zoning permissive in many areas	Permitted with local approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	4b-10a	3a-5b
	200	170
	24"	36"
	5	8
	8	3
	3	4
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	5.9	3.9
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Moderate
	8	7
	Strong	Very strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Illegal (incidental on-farm sales only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	742	299
	52%	37%
Demographics & Community
	17	108
	28%	30%
	75%	84%
Business
	#34	#30
	$0/yr	$130/yr
	4.3%	3.5%

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