Press
The Off-Grid Viability Index
The GoOffGrid Off-Grid Viability Index ranks all 50 states, and scores 3,117 counties, by how well their private rural land supports off-grid living and homesteading. GoOffGrid is a property screening site built by Tyler Robinson. It scored 17,783 spots on private rural land with the same engine that grades a buyer's parcel, from public data: FEMA flood maps, USGS groundwater and elevation, USDA soil surveys, NOAA storm tracks, PRISM climate normals, Census roads and housing, and NLR PVWatts solar.
Every number on this page is read from the current data. Counties last scored November 4, 2026.
What the data shows
Finding 1
No state in the Census Bureau's West region ranks above #36 (Hawaii). Nine of the 10 lowest-scoring states are Western.
Water is the heaviest of the six readings. The 10 highest-ranked states average 23.9 of 25 on water; the 10 lowest average 11.4. Arizona scores 6 of 25.
See the map and the full ranking →Finding 2
LawnStarter's 2023 ranking puts Maryland 47th of 50 and Texas 2nd. On the land itself, Maryland ranks #1 and Texas #34.
LawnStarter scores whole states, partly on cost of living, property taxes, and statewide wind and solar growth, which the Index does not measure. The Index reads the water, ground, sun, and hazards on private rural land. Maryland's rank range is #1 to #7; Texas's is #33 to #34.
LawnStarter's ranking →Finding 3
98% of Indiana's private rural land scores 80 or better. In 14 states, less than a fifth of it does, and in Nevada and Alaska none of it does.
80 is the line for "Good with caveats", the second-best of the five verdicts. A state's score is its typical parcel; the share of good land says how much of the state clears the line.
Every state's share, in the table below →Finding 4
Four states could rank first: Maryland, Virginia, Alabama and North Carolina, within 1 point of each other.
Each state carries a rank range: where it lands when the counties behind it are drawn again. States a few points apart are close to ties, so the ranges say more than the single rank.
Rank ranges for all 50 states →How it was measured
We spread spots evenly across the private rural land of every county, leaving out towns, water, and public land. Each spot gets the same six readings a buyer's parcel gets:
- Water: rainfall from PRISM 30-year normals, groundwater and typical well depths from USGS and state well records, and streams and ponds from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset. Water is the heaviest reading, a quarter of the score.
- Legal and access: road access from the Census Bureau's TIGER roads, distance to emergency care from CMS hospital data, internet from FCC broadband maps, how built up the area is from Census housing counts, and a few state rules such as composting toilets.
- Energy: solar output on tilted panels from NLR PVWatts, and how much it takes to heat and cool a house there from PRISM temperature normals.
- Hazards: FEMA flood zones at and near the spot, US Forest Service wildfire hazard, USGS earthquake data, and NOAA hurricane and tornado tracks.
- Food: the growing season from NOAA climate normals and weather records, soil from the USDA soil survey, and rain for crops.
- Buildability: slope from USGS elevation data, whether the ground suits a septic system from the USDA soil survey, and the county's land value from USDA.
The six readings add up to a score out of 100. Each spot stands for its share of the state's private rural land. A state's score is its typical spot, and its share of good land is the part scoring 80 or better. The verdict words (Strong, Good with caveats, Significant challenges, Major concerns, Not recommended) are the same ones a single parcel gets. The full source list is on How It Works.
Climate normals: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed September 2026. Roads and water from OpenStreetMap where federal maps are missing: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
What it does not measure
- Land price or what is for sale. The county's USDA land value is one small part of the buildability reading. Asking prices, listings, and how much land is on the market are not counted.
- Local zoning and permits. Counties and towns set those, and the Index does not score them. The state rules are in Off-Grid Laws by State.
- A site visit. A state or county score describes a typical parcel there. Two lots a mile apart can score far apart, and nothing here replaces a well log, a soil test, and a walk of the land.
- Cost of living, crime, jobs, or community. Lifestyle rankings weigh those. The Index reads the land.
All 50 states
| Rankrange | State | Score | Verdict | Good land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #11 to 7 | Maryland | 94 | Good with caveats | 93% |
| #21 to 5 | Virginia | 94 | Good with caveats | 87% |
| #31 to 6 | Alabama | 93 | Good with caveats | 95% |
| #41 to 8 | North Carolina | 93 | Good with caveats | 89% |
| #52 to 7 | Georgia | 92 | Good with caveats | 96% |
| #62 to 14 | Delaware | 92 | Good with caveats | 92% |
| #76 to 12 | Tennessee | 92 | Good with caveats | 89% |
| #83 to 17 | South Carolina | 92 | Good with caveats | 86% |
| #94 to 9 | Indiana | 91 | Good with caveats | 98% |
| #106 to 10 | Illinois | 91 | Good with caveats | 97% |
| #118 to 15 | Arkansas | 91 | Good with caveats | 92% |
| #128 to 14 | Missouri | 90 | Good with caveats | 96% |
| #1311 to 15 | Ohio | 90 | Good with caveats | 96% |
| #1410 to 18 | Oklahoma | 90 | Good with caveats | 94% |
| #1514 to 18 | Mississippi | 90 | Good with caveats | 90% |
| #1611 to 20 | Kentucky | 90 | Good with caveats | 81% |
| #1712 to 19 | Rhode Island | 89 | Good with caveats | 96% |
| #1817 to 24 | Pennsylvania | 89 | Good with caveats | 90% |
| #1918 to 26 | Michigan | 88 | Good with caveats | 95% |
| #2017 to 25 | Connecticut | 88 | Good with caveats | 92% |
| #2118 to 27 | New York | 88 | Good with caveats | 92% |
| #2217 to 25 | Massachusetts | 88 | Good with caveats | 91% |
| #2317 to 25 | New Jersey | 88 | Good with caveats | 89% |
| #2416 to 32 | Louisiana | 88 | Good with caveats | 68% |
| #2520 to 27 | Kansas | 87 | Good with caveats | 97% |
| #2620 to 27 | Iowa | 87 | Good with caveats | 94% |
| #2720 to 30 | New Hampshire | 87 | Good with caveats | 84% |
| #2826 to 29 | Wisconsin | 86 | Good with caveats | 93% |
| #2928 to 31 | Nebraska | 85 | Good with caveats | 84% |
| #3026 to 32 | Maine | 85 | Good with caveats | 77% |
| #3128 to 32 | Vermont | 85 | Good with caveats | 75% |
| #3230 to 34 | Florida | 83 | Good with caveats | 63% |
| #3331 to 33 | Minnesota | 82 | Good with caveats | 69% |
| #3433 to 34 | Texas | 81 | Good with caveats | 58% |
| #3535 to 36 | West Virginia | 79 | Significant challenges | 48% |
| #3635 to 36 | Hawaii | 78 | Significant challenges | 43% |
| #3737 to 38 | Colorado | 76 | Significant challenges | 16% |
| #3837 to 38 | North Dakota | 76 | Significant challenges | 11% |
| #3939 to 44 | Idaho | 73 | Significant challenges | 8% |
| #4039 to 44 | Wyoming | 73 | Significant challenges | 7% |
| #4139 to 43 | South Dakota | 72 | Significant challenges | 10% |
| #4239 to 44 | Montana | 72 | Significant challenges | 9% |
| #4339 to 44 | New Mexico | 72 | Significant challenges | 9% |
| #4442 to 46 | Washington | 71 | Significant challenges | 2% |
| #4540 to 46 | California | 70 | Significant challenges | 12% |
| #4645 to 48 | Oregon | 68 | Major concerns | 6% |
| #4745 to 48 | Utah | 67 | Major concerns | 2% |
| #4846 to 49 | Arizona | 64 | Major concerns | 4% |
| #4948 to 49 | Nevada | 61 | Major concerns | 0% |
| #5050 to 50 | Alaska | 46 | Not recommended | 0% |
Score: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, out of 100. The small range under each rank: where the rank lands when the counties behind it are drawn again. Good land: the share of private rural land scoring 80 or better. Each state name opens its page, with every county ranked and a page for each county.
Downloads
- States (CSV): the table above plus the six readings, each state's strongest and weakest county, and the state page address.
- County scores: every state page ranks its counties, and each county has its own page. Open a state from the table, or go straight to one, such as Kent County, Maryland.
How to credit it
GoOffGrid Off-Grid Viability Index, gooffgrid.tools. A link to the state or county page you cite lets readers check the number.
Contact
For a figure for your state or county, a data cut, or questions about the method, email tyler@gooffgrid.tools. Tyler Robinson, founder, answers it himself.