New York vs Washington

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

New York

Rank #43

Overall Score

58.6

Category Wins

2/10

Washington

Rank #31

Overall Winner

Overall Score

64.6

Category Wins

6/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.72%

Property Tax

0.94%

113

Cost of Living

112

$5,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,700

170 days

Growing Season

210 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

100"

7/10

Soil Quality

7/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

3/10

Gun Friendly

6/10

3.9 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

89%

Broadband

89%

Washington Edges Out New York Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 64.6 vs 58.6, Washington 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: Washington offers cheaper farmland at $4,700/acre vs $5,200/acre. Washington has a longer growing season (210 vs 170 days). Washington has lower property taxes (0.94% 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	Washington WA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	10.9%	—
	8%	9.22%
	1.72%	0.94%
	113	112
Land & Building
	$5,200	$4,700
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Zoning dependent; some towns allow with approval	Permitted with zoning approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	3a-7a	8a-10a
	170	210
	50"	100"
	7	7
	3	5
	3	1
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	3.9	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Moderate-High	Minimal
	3	6
	Strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	389	388
	42%	44%
Demographics & Community
	423	106
	17%	17%
	89%	89%
Business
	#48	#22
	$25/yr	$180/yr
	4%	3.9%

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