Utah vs Virginia

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

Utah

Rank #19

Overall Winner

Overall Score

66.6

Category Wins

7/10

Virginia

Rank #26

Overall Score

65.0

Category Wins

3/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.6%

Property Tax

0.84%

104

Cost of Living

108

$2,800

Farm Land $/Acre

$6,200

180 days

Growing Season

210 days

24"

Annual Rainfall

50"

6/10

Soil Quality

7/10

8/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

9/10

Gun Friendly

6/10

5.5 hrs

Solar (PSH)

4.1 hrs

88%

Broadband

87%

Utah Edges Out Virginia Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 66.6 vs 65.0, Utah comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 7 out of 10 key categories. But the best state for you depends on what matters most.

Key differences: Utah offers cheaper farmland at $2,800/acre vs $6,200/acre. Virginia has a longer growing season (210 vs 180 days). Utah has lower property taxes (0.6% 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	Utah UT	Virginia VA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	4.65%	5.75%
	7.25%	5.87%
	0.6%	0.84%
	104	108
Land & Building
	$2,800	$6,200
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Permitted with local zoning approval; increasingly allowed	Zoning-dependent; increasingly permitted in some areas
Climate & Growing
	4a-9a	6a-8a
	180	210
	24"	50"
	6	7
	8	3
	2	3
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	5.5	4.1
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Minimal	Moderate
	9	6
	Strong	Strong
	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing	Herd Share Only
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	267	410
	38%	43%
Demographics & Community
	38	209
	11%	23%
	88%	87%
Business
	#16	#27
	$50/yr	$100/yr
	2.9%	3.4%

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