Which Wisconsin counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 72 Wisconsin counties we have scored, Walworth County scores highest at 94 and Wood County lowest at 79. Wisconsin ranks 28th of 50 overall, at 85 out of 100 (Good with caveats). Buildability separates its counties most: 4 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 72 counties · 360 spots of private rural land scored

Good with caveatsWisconsin ranks 28th of 50, 85 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 #27 and #29. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Wisconsin, best score first

Find a county72 counties


Walworth → 191 people / sq mi	94	24	19	13	15	14	9
Green → 63 people / sq mi	92	23	19	13	15	12	10
Jefferson → 154 people / sq mi	92	23	19	12	15	14	9
Lafayette → 27 people / sq mi	91	21	19	13	15	14	9
Dane → 481 people / sq mi	90	22	19	13	15	12	9
Dodge → 101 people / sq mi	90	23	19	12	14	13	9
Marquette → 35 people / sq mi	90	23	19	12	14	12	10
Racine → 591 people / sq mi	90	23	19	13	14	12	9
Rock → 229 people / sq mi	90	24	19	12	15	13	7
Waupaca → 69 people / sq mi	90	22	19	12	14	13	10
Iowa → 31 people / sq mi	89	22	19	12	15	12	9
Kewaunee → 60 people / sq mi	89	22	19	11	15	13	9
Chippewa → 66 people / sq mi	88	22	19	11	14	13	9
Kenosha → 616 people / sq mi	88	24	18	12	15	12	7
Pepin → 32 people / sq mi	88	22	19	12	14	12	9
Pierce → 75 people / sq mi	88	22	19	11	14	13	9
Polk → 50 people / sq mi	88	21	19	11	14	13	10
Washington → 321 people / sq mi	88	21	19	12	15	12	9
Columbia → 76 people / sq mi	87	21	19	12	14	12	9
Florence → 10 people / sq mi	87	22	19	10	15	11	10
Fond du Lac → 145 people / sq mi	87	22	19	11	15	13	7
Grant → 45 people / sq mi	87	19	19	12	15	13	9
Juneau → 35 people / sq mi	87	22	19	12	14	11	9
Marinette → 30 people / sq mi	87	22	19	11	14	11	10
Ozaukee → 401 people / sq mi	87	23	19	11	14	13	7
Sawyer → 15 people / sq mi	87	22	19	10	14	12	10
Sheboygan → 230 people / sq mi	87	23	19	11	14	13	7
St. Croix → 134 people / sq mi	87	21	19	11	14	13	9
Vernon → 39 people / sq mi	87	21	19	12	14	12	9
Waukesha → 751 people / sq mi	87	23	18	13	14	12	7
Waushara → 40 people / sq mi	87	22	19	11	14	12	9
Brown → 512 people / sq mi	86	22	19	11	15	12	7
Calumet → 167 people / sq mi	86	22	19	11	15	12	7
Clark → 29 people / sq mi	86	22	19	11	14	13	7
Door → 63 people / sq mi	86	22	19	11	14	13	7
Dunn → 54 people / sq mi	86	22	18	11	14	11	10
Forest → 9 people / sq mi	86	21	19	10	14	12	10
Green Lake → 55 people / sq mi	86	22	19	12	14	12	7
Langlade → 22 people / sq mi	86	21	18	11	14	12	10
Sauk → 79 people / sq mi	86	23	19	12	14	11	7
Shawano → 46 people / sq mi	86	22	18	11	15	11	9
Winnebago → 395 people / sq mi	86	22	19	11	15	11	8
Bayfield → 11 people / sq mi	85	21	19	10	15	11	9
Eau Claire → 169 people / sq mi	85	22	19	11	14	11	8
Manitowoc → 138 people / sq mi	85	23	19	11	14	11	7
Marathon → 90 people / sq mi	85	22	19	11	14	12	7
Milwaukee → 3795 people / sq mi	85	21	19	12	14	13	6
Monroe → 51 people / sq mi	85	23	19	11	14	11	7
Washburn → 21 people / sq mi	85	21	18	11	13	12	10
Barron → 54 people / sq mi	84	21	19	11	14	12	7
Burnett → 21 people / sq mi	84	21	18	11	13	11	10
La Crosse → 267 people / sq mi	84	23	19	9	14	11	8
Lincoln → 32 people / sq mi	84	22	18	10	14	10	10
Menominee → 12 people / sq mi	84	20	18	12	14	11	9
Oneida → 34 people / sq mi	84	22	19	10	13	11	9
Outagamie → 303 people / sq mi	84	22	17	11	15	11	8
Trempealeau → 42 people / sq mi	84	22	19	12	14	10	7
Adams → 33 people / sq mi	83	21	19	11	12	11	9
Ashland → 15 people / sq mi	83	21	19	10	15	11	7
Douglas → 34 people / sq mi	83	20	19	10	14	11	9
Jackson → 21 people / sq mi	83	22	19	10	14	11	7
Oconto → 40 people / sq mi	83	20	19	11	15	11	7
Portage → 89 people / sq mi	83	19	19	11	14	11	9
Richland → 29 people / sq mi	83	23	19	12	15	10	4
Vilas → 28 people / sq mi	82	22	19	9	14	10	8
Buffalo → 20 people / sq mi	81	22	19	11	14	10	5
Price → 11 people / sq mi	81	22	18	10	14	10	7
Rusk → 16 people / sq mi	81	21	19	11	13	10	7
Taylor → 21 people / sq mi	81	22	18	10	14	10	7
Crawford → 28 people / sq mi	80	21	19	9	15	11	5
Iron → 8 people / sq mi	80	22	17	9	13	9	10
Wood → 93 people / sq mi	79	17	19	11	14	11	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

88% of Wisconsin's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Walworth, Green and Jefferson. The weakest are Wood, Crawford and Iron. Where the land falls short, it is most often on building (slope, septic and land price) and water (rain, wells and salty or weak wells).

What separates them

Buildability: Green County scores 10 of 10, Richland County 4. 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: Walworth County scores 14 of 15, Iron County 9. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Water: Walworth County scores 24 of 25, Wood County 17. 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: Walworth County scores 13 of 15, Iron County 9. 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.
Hazard: Walworth County scores 15 of 15, Adams County 12. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.

Legal 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 Wisconsin's weakest dimension, at 11 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 $32k to $109k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin? 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 caveatsWisconsin: 85 of 100, 28th 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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