New York vs Wisconsin

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

New York

Rank #43

Overall Score

58.6

Category Wins

3/10

Wisconsin

Rank #21

Overall Winner

Overall Score

66.5

Category Wins

4/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.72%

Property Tax

1.85%

113

Cost of Living

$5,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$3,800

170 days

Growing Season

170 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

36"

7/10

Soil Quality

8/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

3/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

3.9 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.9 hrs

89%

Broadband

84%

Wisconsin Edges Out New York Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 66.5 vs 58.6, Wisconsin comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 4 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Wisconsin offers cheaper farmland at $3,800/acre vs $5,200/acre. New York has lower property taxes (1.72% vs 1.85%). Wisconsin is more affordable with a cost of living index of 96 vs 113.

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	Wisconsin WI
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	10.9%	7.65%
	8%	5.43%
	1.72%	1.85%
	113	96
Land & Building
	$5,200	$3,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Zoning dependent; some towns allow with approval	Permitted with local approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	3a-7a	3a-5b
	170	170
	50"	36"
	7	8
	3	3
	3	4
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	3.9	3.9
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Moderate-High	Moderate
	3	7
	Strong	Very strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Illegal (incidental on-farm sales only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	389	299
	42%	37%
Demographics & Community
	423	108
	17%	30%
	89%	84%
Business
	#48	#30
	$25/yr	$130/yr
	4%	3.5%

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