South Dakota vs Wisconsin

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

South Dakota

Rank #11

Overall Winner

Overall Score

69.6

Category Wins

6/10

Wisconsin

Rank #21

Overall Score

66.5

Category Wins

3/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.84%

Property Tax

1.85%

Cost of Living

$1,950

Farm Land $/Acre

$3,800

160 days

Growing Season

170 days

28"

Annual Rainfall

36"

9/10

Soil Quality

8/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

4.1 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.9 hrs

81%

Broadband

84%

South Dakota Edges Out Wisconsin Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 69.6 vs 66.5, South 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: South Dakota offers cheaper farmland at $1,950/acre vs $3,800/acre. Wisconsin has a longer growing season (170 vs 160 days). South Dakota has lower property taxes (0.84% vs 1.85%).

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	South Dakota SD	Wisconsin WI
Taxes & Cost
	No	Yes
	—	7.65%
	7.33%	5.43%
	0.84%	1.85%
	94	96
Land & Building
	$1,950	$3,800
	No (Local Adoption)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly common	Permitted with local approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	3a-5a	3a-5b
	160	170
	28"	36"
	9	8
	6	3
	6	4
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	4.1	3.9
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Moderate
	9	7
	Very strong	Very strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Illegal (incidental on-farm sales only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	348	299
	42%	37%
Demographics & Community
	11	108
	44%	30%
	81%	84%
Business
	#12	#30
	$150/yr	$130/yr
	2.7%	3.5%

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