Pennsylvania vs Washington

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

Pennsylvania

Rank #36

Overall Score

62.1

Category Wins

2/10

Washington

Rank #31

Overall Winner

Overall Score

64.6

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

1.58%

Property Tax

0.94%

100

Cost of Living

112

$6,800

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,700

180 days

Growing Season

210 days

54"

Annual Rainfall

100"

7/10

Soil Quality

7/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

Gun Friendly

6/10

3.8 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

85%

Broadband

89%

Washington Edges Out Pennsylvania Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 64.6 vs 62.1, Washington 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: Washington offers cheaper farmland at $4,700/acre vs $6,800/acre. Washington has a longer growing season (210 vs 180 days). Washington has lower property taxes (0.94% vs 1.58%).

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	Pennsylvania PA	Washington WA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	3.07%	—
	6.34%	9.22%
	1.58%	0.94%
	100	112
Land & Building
	$6,800	$4,700
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Zoning-dependent; increasingly allowed in some municipalities	Permitted with zoning approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	5a-7a	8a-10a
	180	210
	54"	100"
	7	7
	3	5
	3	1
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	3.8	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	High	Minimal
	7	6
	Strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	421	388
	43%	44%
Demographics & Community
	297	106
	18%	17%
	85%	89%
Business
	#33	#22
	$125/yr	$180/yr
	3.9%	3.9%

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