Oklahoma vs South Dakota

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

Oklahoma

Rank #28

Overall Score

64.9

Category Wins

4/10

South Dakota

Rank #11

Overall Winner

Overall Score

69.6

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.87%

Property Tax

0.84%

86.2

Cost of Living

$2,880

Farm Land $/Acre

$1,950

230 days

Growing Season

160 days

56"

Annual Rainfall

28"

6/10

Soil Quality

9/10

7/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

9/10

5 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.1 hrs

78%

Broadband

81%

South Dakota Edges Out Oklahoma Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 69.6 vs 64.9, South 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: South Dakota offers cheaper farmland at $1,950/acre vs $2,880/acre. Oklahoma has a longer growing season (230 vs 160 days). South Dakota has lower property taxes (0.84% vs 0.87%).

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	Oklahoma OK	South Dakota SD
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	4.5%	—
	8.98%	7.33%
	0.87%	0.84%
	86.2	94
Land & Building
	$2,880	$1,950
	Partial	No (Local Adoption)
	Varies	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly common
Climate & Growing
	6b-8a	3a-5a
	230	160
	56"	28"
	6	9
	6	6
	8	6
Water & Energy
	Unrestricted	Permitted
	5	4.1
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	None	Minimal
	9	9
	Strong	Very strong
	Yes (Farm Sales Only)	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	480	348
	70%	42%
Demographics & Community
	58.3	11
	34%	44%
	78%	81%
Business
	#21	#12
	$100/yr	$150/yr
	3.5%	2.7%

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