Virginia vs Wisconsin

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

Virginia

Rank #26

Overall Score

65.0

Category Wins

5/10

Wisconsin

Rank #21

Overall Winner

Overall Score

66.5

Category Wins

5/10

Quick Comparison

Winner highlighted per category

0.84%

Property Tax

1.85%

108

Cost of Living

$6,200

Farm Land $/Acre

$3,800

210 days

Growing Season

170 days

50"

Annual Rainfall

36"

7/10

Soil Quality

8/10

7/10

Safety (Rural)

8/10

6/10

Gun Friendly

7/10

4.1 hrs

Solar (PSH)

3.9 hrs

87%

Broadband

84%

Wisconsin Edges Out Virginia Overall

With an overall homesteading score of 66.5 vs 65.0, Wisconsin 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: Wisconsin offers cheaper farmland at $3,800/acre vs $6,200/acre. Virginia has a longer growing season (210 vs 170 days). Virginia 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	Virginia VA	Wisconsin WI
Taxes & Cost
	Yes	Yes
	5.75%	7.65%
	5.87%	5.43%
	0.84%	1.85%
	108	96
Land & Building
	$6,200	$3,800
	Yes (Statewide)	Yes (Statewide)
	Zoning-dependent; increasingly permitted in some areas	Permitted with local approval; increasingly allowed
Climate & Growing
	6a-8a	3a-5b
	210	170
	50"	36"
	7	8
	3	3
	3	4
Water & Energy
	Permitted	Permitted
	4.1	3.9
	Yes	Yes
Laws & Freedom
	Moderate	Moderate
	6	7
	Strong	Very strong
	Herd Share Only	Illegal (incidental on-farm sales only)
	Yes	Yes
Safety & Healthcare
	410	299
	43%	37%
Demographics & Community
	209	108
	23%	30%
	87%	84%
Business
	#27	#30
	$100/yr	$130/yr
	3.4%	3.5%

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