Best States for Off-Grid Living / Washington

Washington · off-grid scores, county by county · 2026

Which Washington counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 39 Washington counties we have scored, Pend Oreille County scores highest at 80 and Chelan County lowest at 61. Washington ranks 44th of 50 overall, at 70 out of 100 (Significant challenges). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 39 counties · 249 spots of private rural land scored

Every scored county in Washington, best score first

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

2% of Washington's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Pend Oreille, Clark and Mason. The weakest are Chelan, Ferry and Okanogan. Where the land falls short, it is most often on growing food (season, soil and water for crops) and energy (sun, and heating and cooling needs).

What separates them

• Buildability: Spokane County scores 10 of 10, Chelan 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.
• Food: Clark County scores 13 of 15, Adams County 4. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
• Solar: Yakima County scores 12 of 15, King County 5. 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: Jefferson County scores 21 of 25, Adams 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.
• Hazard: Pend Oreille County scores 15 of 15, Skagit County 9. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
• Legal: Pend Oreille County scores 20 of 20, Adams County 17. 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

Food is Washington's weakest dimension, at 8 of 15 for the state as a whole. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $32k to $101k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Washington row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

Before you buy in Washington

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 Washington? 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.