Which Michigan counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 83 Michigan counties we have scored, Branch County scores highest at 95 and Keweenaw County lowest at 78. Michigan ranks 20th of 50 overall, at 88 out of 100 (Good with caveats). Buildability separates its counties most: 6 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 83 counties · 415 spots of private rural land scored

Good with caveatsMichigan ranks 20th of 50, 88 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 #18 and #25. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Michigan, best score first

Find a county83 counties


Branch → 89 people / sq mi	95	25	20	12	15	13	10
Calhoun → 189 people / sq mi	95	25	20	11	15	14	10
Hillsdale → 76 people / sq mi	95	25	20	12	15	13	10
Washtenaw → 518 people / sq mi	95	24	20	12	15	14	10
Cass → 105 people / sq mi	94	25	19	11	15	14	10
Jackson → 227 people / sq mi	94	24	20	11	15	14	10
St. Joseph → 122 people / sq mi	94	25	20	11	15	13	10
Kalamazoo → 467 people / sq mi	93	25	19	11	15	13	10
Kent → 779 people / sq mi	93	25	20	11	15	13	9
Lenawee → 130 people / sq mi	93	25	20	12	15	12	9
Montcalm → 97 people / sq mi	93	24	20	11	15	13	10
Barry → 115 people / sq mi	92	25	20	11	15	12	9
Berrien → 268 people / sq mi	92	25	20	11	15	12	9
Clinton → 141 people / sq mi	92	24	20	11	15	12	10
Ingham → 512 people / sq mi	92	24	20	11	15	12	10
Lake → 22 people / sq mi	92	24	20	11	15	12	10
Shiawassee → 128 people / sq mi	92	24	20	11	15	12	10
Van Buren → 125 people / sq mi	92	23	20	11	15	13	10
Genesee → 630 people / sq mi	91	24	20	11	14	12	10
Ionia → 116 people / sq mi	91	23	20	11	15	12	10
Lapeer → 138 people / sq mi	91	24	19	11	15	12	10
Oakland → 1465 people / sq mi	91	24	20	11	15	12	9
Ottawa → 538 people / sq mi	91	25	20	10	14	13	9
Wexford → 60 people / sq mi	91	24	20	10	15	12	10
Clare → 56 people / sq mi	90	24	20	11	15	11	9
Eaton → 189 people / sq mi	90	25	20	11	15	12	7
Midland → 162 people / sq mi	90	23	20	12	15	11	9
Monroe → 282 people / sq mi	90	24	20	12	15	12	7
Newaygo → 61 people / sq mi	90	24	20	11	15	11	9
Osceola → 41 people / sq mi	90	24	20	10	15	11	10
Allegan → 148 people / sq mi	89	25	20	10	15	12	7
Leelanau → 66 people / sq mi	89	23	20	9	15	13	9
Livingston → 348 people / sq mi	89	24	18	11	14	13	9
Macomb → 1826 people / sq mi	89	24	19	11	14	12	9
Mason → 59 people / sq mi	89	24	20	10	15	11	9
Mecosta → 74 people / sq mi	89	24	19	10	15	12	9
Muskegon → 350 people / sq mi	89	24	19	11	15	11	9
Oceana → 50 people / sq mi	89	24	20	10	15	11	9
Tuscola → 66 people / sq mi	89	22	19	11	15	12	10
Alcona → 16 people / sq mi	88	23	20	11	15	10	9
Dickinson → 34 people / sq mi	88	22	20	10	15	11	10
Emmet → 73 people / sq mi	88	22	20	9	15	12	10
Gladwin → 52 people / sq mi	88	23	20	11	15	10	9
Gratiot → 73 people / sq mi	88	24	20	11	15	11	7
Iosco → 46 people / sq mi	88	23	20	11	15	10	9
Isabella → 112 people / sq mi	88	24	20	10	14	11	9
Manistee → 47 people / sq mi	88	23	20	10	15	11	9
Otsego → 50 people / sq mi	88	24	20	9	15	11	9
Sanilac → 42 people / sq mi	88	24	20	10	15	12	7
St. Clair → 222 people / sq mi	88	24	20	11	15	11	7
Antrim → 51 people / sq mi	87	23	20	9	15	11	9
Benzie → 58 people / sq mi	87	23	20	9	15	11	9
Charlevoix → 63 people / sq mi	87	23	20	9	15	11	9
Cheboygan → 36 people / sq mi	87	23	20	9	15	11	9
Menominee → 22 people / sq mi	87	22	20	11	15	12	7
Missaukee → 27 people / sq mi	87	23	20	10	15	10	9
Montmorency → 18 people / sq mi	87	23	19	10	15	11	9
Ogemaw → 37 people / sq mi	87	23	20	11	15	9	9
Oscoda → 15 people / sq mi	87	23	20	10	15	10	9
Presque Isle → 20 people / sq mi	87	23	19	9	15	12	9
Crawford → 24 people / sq mi	86	23	20	10	14	10	9
Delta → 31 people / sq mi	86	22	20	11	15	11	7
Grand Traverse → 208 people / sq mi	86	23	19	9	15	11	9
Huron → 37 people / sq mi	86	23	20	10	15	11	7
Mackinac → 11 people / sq mi	86	22	19	10	15	11	9
Marquette → 37 people / sq mi	86	22	19	10	15	11	9
Roscommon → 46 people / sq mi	86	23	19	10	15	10	9
Wayne → 2862 people / sq mi	86	24	18	12	14	12	6
Kalkaska → 33 people / sq mi	85	23	19	9	15	10	9
Alpena → 51 people / sq mi	84	23	19	10	15	10	7
Arenac → 42 people / sq mi	84	21	20	11	14	11	7
Bay → 232 people / sq mi	84	19	20	11	15	12	7
Iron → 10 people / sq mi	84	22	20	9	14	10	9
Saginaw → 235 people / sq mi	84	22	19	11	14	11	7
Alger → 10 people / sq mi	83	22	19	8	15	10	9
Houghton → 37 people / sq mi	83	22	19	9	15	11	7
Schoolcraft → 7 people / sq mi	83	23	18	10	15	10	7
Chippewa → 23 people / sq mi	82	19	19	9	15	11	9
Gogebic → 13 people / sq mi	82	22	20	9	14	10	7
Luce → 7 people / sq mi	82	23	19	9	15	9	7
Baraga → 9 people / sq mi	80	22	17	8	15	11	7
Ontonagon → 5 people / sq mi	79	22	16	9	15	10	7
Keweenaw → 4 people / sq mi	78	19	19	8	15	10	7

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

94% of Michigan's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Branch, Calhoun and Hillsdale. The weakest are Keweenaw, Ontonagon and Baraga. Where the land falls short, it is most often on energy (sun, and heating and cooling needs) and growing food (season, soil and water for crops).

What separates them

Buildability: Branch County scores 10 of 10, Wayne County 6. 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.
Food: Calhoun County scores 14 of 15, Luce County 9. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Solar: Branch County scores 12 of 15, Keweenaw County 8. 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.
Water: Branch County scores 25 of 25, Keweenaw County 19. 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.
Legal: Branch County scores 20 of 20, Ontonagon County 16. 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.

Hazard barely moves across the sample: the counties score within two points of each other there, so those are state-level facts, not county choices.

The state's soft spot

Solar is Michigan's weakest dimension, at 10 of 15 for the state as a whole. 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. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $30k to $92k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Michigan 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 Michigan

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 Michigan? 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 caveatsMichigan: 88 of 100, 20th 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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