Which Florida counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 67 Florida counties we have scored, Holmes County scores highest at 95 and Monroe County lowest at 57. Florida ranks 33rd of 50 overall, at 81 out of 100 (Good with caveats). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 67 counties · 343 spots of private rural land scored

Good with caveatsFlorida ranks 33rd of 50, 81 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #31 and #35. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Florida, best score first

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Holmes → 42 people / sq mi	95	24	19	15	13	14	10
Jackson → 53 people / sq mi	95	25	19	14	13	14	10
Gadsden → 85 people / sq mi	94	24	19	15	14	13	9
Jefferson → 26 people / sq mi	91	25	19	15	12	13	7
Suwannee → 67 people / sq mi	91	25	18	14	13	12	9
Washington → 44 people / sq mi	91	24	19	15	12	13	8
Alachua → 327 people / sq mi	90	25	18	14	14	12	7
Citrus → 287 people / sq mi	90	25	17	13	13	14	8
Hernando → 450 people / sq mi	89	25	19	13	13	12	7
Lake → 446 people / sq mi	89	25	18	13	13	12	8
Santa Rosa → 201 people / sq mi	89	25	19	15	10	13	7
Sumter → 272 people / sq mi	89	25	19	13	13	12	7
Calhoun → 24 people / sq mi	88	24	16	14	13	12	9
Leon → 444 people / sq mi	88	25	18	14	13	11	7
Levy → 42 people / sq mi	88	25	17	14	12	12	8
Okaloosa → 235 people / sq mi	88	22	19	15	12	13	7
Walton → 83 people / sq mi	88	22	15	15	13	14	9
Escambia → 498 people / sq mi	87	25	19	15	9	13	6
Hamilton → 26 people / sq mi	87	24	17	14	14	11	7
Marion → 258 people / sq mi	87	25	18	14	11	12	7
Clay → 385 people / sq mi	86	23	19	14	11	11	8
Columbia → 92 people / sq mi	86	24	18	14	13	10	7
Gilchrist → 56 people / sq mi	86	25	17	14	11	11	8
Madison → 27 people / sq mi	86	24	19	14	11	12	6
Pasco → 848 people / sq mi	86	24	18	13	13	11	7
Seminole → 1565 people / sq mi	86	25	19	12	11	12	7
Union → 64 people / sq mi	86	25	19	14	11	11	6
Bay → 252 people / sq mi	85	24	19	14	12	11	5
Bradford → 95 people / sq mi	85	24	19	14	11	11	6
Hillsborough → 1502 people / sq mi	84	24	19	12	13	11	5
Lafayette → 15 people / sq mi	84	25	15	14	12	11	7
St. Johns → 533 people / sq mi	84	23	19	14	11	11	6
Putnam → 104 people / sq mi	82	24	18	14	11	10	5
Nassau → 157 people / sq mi	81	19	18	14	13	10	7
Wakulla → 60 people / sq mi	81	25	17	14	10	11	4
Hendry → 38 people / sq mi	80	22	18	11	13	11	5
Liberty → 9 people / sq mi	80	23	15	14	12	10	6
Martin → 300 people / sq mi	80	24	19	11	10	11	5
Baker → 49 people / sq mi	79	19	19	14	11	10	6
Flagler → 270 people / sq mi	79	23	15	14	11	10	6
Polk → 455 people / sq mi	79	24	17	12	10	11	5
St. Lucie → 653 people / sq mi	79	24	16	12	11	11	5
Gulf → 28 people / sq mi	78	23	15	14	10	11	5
Sarasota → 844 people / sq mi	78	22	18	12	10	11	5
Charlotte → 303 people / sq mi	77	20	19	12	11	10	5
Volusia → 536 people / sq mi	76	24	17	13	9	10	3
Dixie → 25 people / sq mi	75	24	14	14	10	10	3
Franklin → 23 people / sq mi	75	25	16	15	7	9	3
Orange → 1630 people / sq mi	75	19	16	12	12	10	6
Osceola → 330 people / sq mi	75	20	16	13	10	11	5
Hardee → 40 people / sq mi	74	18	17	12	11	11	5
DeSoto → 57 people / sq mi	73	18	17	12	10	11	5
Highlands → 106 people / sq mi	73	21	15	12	10	11	4
Lee → 1069 people / sq mi	73	23	16	10	9	11	4
Manatee → 594 people / sq mi	73	19	15	12	12	10	5
Okeechobee → 54 people / sq mi	73	17	18	12	10	11	5
Glades → 16 people / sq mi	72	21	16	12	9	11	3
Brevard → 635 people / sq mi	71	21	18	13	5	11	3
Duval → 1352 people / sq mi	71	19	17	14	10	9	2
Pinellas → 3512 people / sq mi	71	22	16	11	7	12	3
Collier → 203 people / sq mi	69	23	18	11	7	9	1
Palm Beach → 781 people / sq mi	69	21	15	11	8	12	2
Indian River → 338 people / sq mi	68	20	19	12	6	10	1
Taylor → 21 people / sq mi	68	23	15	15	6	9	0
Broward → 1632 people / sq mi	67	21	17	10	7	11	1
Miami-Dade → 1414 people / sq mi	61	20	18	10	3	10	0
Monroe → 82 people / sq mi	57	11	17	10	5	12	2

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

56% of Florida's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Holmes, Jackson and Gadsden. The weakest are Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward. Where the land falls short, it is most often on building (slope, septic and land price) and hazards (flood, fire, storms and earthquakes).

What separates them

Buildability: Holmes County scores 10 of 10, Miami-Dade County 0. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Hazard: Gadsden County scores 14 of 15, Miami-Dade County 3. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Water: Jackson County scores 25 of 25, Monroe County 11. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.
Solar: Holmes County scores 15 of 15, Monroe County 10. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.
Food: Holmes County scores 14 of 15, Taylor County 9. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Legal: Holmes County scores 19 of 20, Dixie County 14. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.

The state's soft spot

Buildability is Florida's weakest dimension, at 6 of 10 for the state as a whole. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $29k to $138k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Florida row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Florida

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Florida? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Good with caveatsFlorida: 81 of 100, 33rd of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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