North Dakota vs Utah

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

North Dakota

Rank #12

Overall Winner

Overall Score

69.5

Category Wins

4/10

Utah

Rank #19

Overall Score

66.6

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.98%

Property Tax

0.6%

Cost of Living

104

$1,750

Farm Land $/Acre

$2,800

140 days

Growing Season

180 days

22"

Annual Rainfall

24"

9/10

Soil Quality

6/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

4 hrs

Solar (PSH)

5.5 hrs

83%

Broadband

88%

North Dakota Edges Out Utah Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 69.5 vs 66.6, North Dakota 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: North Dakota offers cheaper farmland at $1,750/acre vs $2,800/acre. Utah has a longer growing season (180 vs 140 days). Utah has lower property taxes (0.6% vs 0.98%).

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	North Dakota ND	Utah UT
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	2.5%	4.65%
	7.87%	7.25%
	0.98%	0.6%
	96	104
Land & Building
	$1,750	$2,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local approval; generally allowed	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	3a-4a	4a-9a
	140	180
	22"	24"
	9	6
	6	8
	5	2
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	4	5.5
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Minimal
	9	9
	Very strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	284	267
	38%	38%
Demographics & Community
	11	38
	40%	11%
	83%	88%
Business
	#9	#16
	$125/yr	$50/yr
	2.1%	2.9%

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