South Dakota vs Wyoming

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

South Dakota

Rank #11

Overall Winner

Overall Score

69.6

Category Wins

4/10

Wyoming

Rank #27

Overall Score

65.0

Category Wins

6/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.84%

Property Tax

0.55%

Cost of Living

93.6

$1,950

Farm Land $/Acre

$975

160 days

Growing Season

115 days

28"

Annual Rainfall

15"

9/10

Soil Quality

3/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

10/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

10/10

4.1 hrs

Solar (PSH)

6.06 hrs

81%

Broadband

65%

South Dakota Edges Out Wyoming Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 69.6 vs 65.0, 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: Wyoming offers cheaper farmland at $975/acre vs $1,950/acre. South Dakota has a longer growing season (160 vs 115 days). Wyoming has lower property taxes (0.55% vs 0.84%).

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	Wyoming WY
Taxes & Cost
	No	No
	—	—
	7.33%	5.36%
	0.84%	0.55%
	94	93.6
Land & Building
	$1,950	$975
	No (Local Adoption)	No Statewide Code
	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly common	Yes (Statewide)
Climate & Growing
	3a-5a	3a-5b
	160	115
	28"	15"
	9	3
	6	7
	6	2
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Allowed with Limits
	4.1	6.06
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Low
	9	10
	Very strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Yes (Retail Sales)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	348	215
	42%	64%
Demographics & Community
	11	5.8
	44%	35%
	81%	65%
Business
	#12	#1
	$150/yr	$100/yr
	2.7%	3.8%

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