Virginia vs Washington

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

Virginia

Rank #26

Overall Winner

Overall Score

65.0

Category Wins

3/10

Washington

Rank #31

Overall Score

64.6

Category Wins

3/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.84%

Property Tax

0.94%

108

Cost of Living

112

$6,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$4,700

210 days

Growing Season

210 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

100"

7/10

Soil Quality

7/10

Safety (Rural)

7/10

6/10

Gun Friendly

6/10

4.1 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.8 hrs

87%

Broadband

89%

Virginia Edges Out Washington Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 65.0 vs 64.6, Virginia comes out ahead in our balanced analysis — winning 3 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 $6,200/acre. Virginia has lower property taxes (0.84% vs 0.94%). Virginia is more affordable with a cost of living index of 108 vs 112.

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	Virginia VA	Washington WA
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	No
	5.75%	—
	5.87%	9.22%
	0.84%	0.94%
	108	112
Land & Building
	$6,200	$4,700
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Zoning-dependent; increasingly permitted in some areas	Permitted with zoning approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	6a-8a	8a-10a
	210	210
	50"	100"
	7	7
	3	5
	3	1
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	4.1	3.8
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Moderate	Minimal
	6	6
	Strong	Strong
	Herd Share Only	Permitted for raw milk operations with licensing
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	410	388
	43%	44%
Demographics & Community
	209	106
	23%	17%
	87%	89%
Business
	#27	#22
	$100/yr	$180/yr
	3.4%	3.9%

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