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State Land Guides
Where to build a stronghold in the Mountain West.
Water law, building codes, taxes, growing seasons and hazards for eight states, from the people who search for and build on this land. Every compound starts with the right ground.
Utah
Utah is home ground for Styrkholm.
Read the guideIdaho
Idaho offers agricultural valleys, a domestic well exemption and room to spread out, but its aquifers are under pressure, and recent curtailments mean water status has to be checked parcel by parcel..
Read the guideMontana
Montana offers the most private land of the northern Rockies, very low population density and large ranch parcels.
Read the guideWyoming
Wyoming is the least populated state in the country and has no individual income tax.
Read the guideColorado
Colorado has strong infrastructure, varied terrain and a wide range of growing seasons, but some of the tightest water rules in the West and no statewide building code..
Read the guideNevada
Nevada has no individual income tax, vast open country and most of its land under federal ownership.
Read the guideArizona
Arizona offers long growing seasons, a low flat income tax and exempt wells across much of the state.
Read the guideNew Mexico
New Mexico offers long growing seasons, low density and a statewide building code with an owner-builder path.
Read the guideAt a glance
Eight states
compared.
Effective property tax and income tax from the Tax Foundation; federal land share from Congressional Research Service data; population per square mile from the 2020 Census; USDA hardiness zones.
| State | Water law | Property tax | Income tax | Federal land | People / sq mi | Zones |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | Prior appropriation | 0.48% | 4.50% flat | 63% | 39.8 | 4a to 9a |
| Idaho | Prior appropriation | 0.50% | 5.30% flat | 62% | 22.2 | 3b to 7b |
| Montana | Prior appropriation | 0.61% | 4.70% to 5.65% | 29% | 7.4 | 3a to 6b |
| Wyoming | Prior appropriation | 0.53% | None | 47% | 5.9 | 3b to 6a |
| Colorado | Prior appropriation | 0.50% | 4.40% flat | 36% | 55.7 | 3b to 7b |
| Nevada | Prior appropriation | 0.50% | None | 80% | 28.3 | 4a to 10a |
| Arizona | Appropriation; AMAs for groundwater | 0.48% | 2.50% flat | 39% | 62.9 | 5b to 10a |
| New Mexico | Prior appropriation | 0.63% | 1.50% to 5.90% | 32% | 17.4 | 5a to 8b |
What we look for
Ground worth
holding.
The best compound sites share the same traits, whatever the state.
Secure water
Senior water rights or a permitted well in a basin that is not over-committed. Water decides more than anything else.
Defensible terrain
Elevation, sight lines and a single road in, away from floodplains, faults and heavy wildland fuel.
Year-round access
A road that stays open in January, and a reasonable drive to medical care.
Soil and season
Ground that drains and grows, with enough frost-free days to feed the household.
Distance
Far enough from population centers and major highways to avoid the crowds a crisis creates.
Permitting
A county whose rules allow what you intend to build, confirmed before you buy.
Let us find the land.
We search privately, on and off market, and verify water, access and permitting before you commit.