New York vs Pennsylvania

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

New York

Rank #43

Overall Score

58.6

Category Wins

4/10

Pennsylvania

Rank #36

Overall Winner

Overall Score

62.1

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.72%

Property Tax

1.58%

113

Cost of Living

100

$5,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$6,800

170 days

Growing Season

180 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

54"

7/10

Soil Quality

7/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

3/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

3.9 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

89%

Broadband

85%

Pennsylvania Edges Out New York Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 62.1 vs 58.6, Pennsylvania 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 York offers cheaper farmland at $5,200/acre vs $6,800/acre. Pennsylvania has a longer growing season (180 vs 170 days). Pennsylvania has lower property taxes (1.58% vs 1.72%).

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 York NY	Pennsylvania PA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	10.9%	3.07%
	8%	6.34%
	1.72%	1.58%
	113	100
Land & Building
	$5,200	$6,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Zoning dependent; some towns allow with approval	Zoning-dependent; increasingly allowed in some municipalities
Climate & Growing
	3a-7a	5a-7a
	170	180
	50"	54"
	7	7
	3	3
	3	3
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	3.9	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Moderate-High	High
	3	7
	Strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	389	421
	42%	43%
Demographics & Community
	423	297
	17%	18%
	89%	85%
Business
	#48	#33
	$25/yr	$125/yr
	4%	3.9%

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