North Dakota vs Washington

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

North Dakota

Rank #12

Overall Winner

Overall Score

69.5

Category Wins

6/10

Washington

Rank #31

Overall Score

64.6

Category Wins

4/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.98%

Property Tax

0.94%

Cost of Living

112

$1,750

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,700

140 days

Growing Season

210 days

22"

Annual Rainfall

100"

9/10

Soil Quality

7/10

9/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

6/10

4 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

83%

Broadband

89%

North Dakota Edges Out Washington Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 69.5 vs 64.6, North Dakota 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: North Dakota offers cheaper farmland at $1,750/acre vs $4,700/acre. Washington has a longer growing season (210 vs 140 days). Washington has lower property taxes (0.94% 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	Washington WA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	2.5%	—
	7.87%	9.22%
	0.98%	0.94%
	96	112
Land & Building
	$1,750	$4,700
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local approval; generally allowed	Permitted with zoning approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	3a-4a	8a-10a
	140	210
	22"	100"
	9	7
	6	5
	5	1
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	4	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Minimal
	9	6
	Very strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	284	388
	38%	44%
Demographics & Community
	11	106
	40%	17%
	83%	89%
Business
	#9	#22
	$125/yr	$180/yr
	2.1%	3.9%

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