State Rankings

Most Self-Sufficient States

Composite ranking of food production, foraging, off-grid friendliness, and disaster resilience.

#	State	Score	Food species	Crops	Safety
1	Maine	74	122	42	75/100
2	Montana	74	98	38	70/100
3	Wyoming	74	98	38	72/100
4	New Hampshire	73	122	42	75/100
5	West Virginia	73	104	42	65/100
6	Arizona	71	71	43	52/100
7	New Mexico	71	71	43	62/100
8	Vermont	71	122	38	78/100
9	Idaho	70	76	42	65/100
10	Nevada	70	71	43	68/100
11	Kentucky	69	104	43	48/100
12	Missouri	69	118	42	38/100
13	Tennessee	69	104	43	35/100
14	Arkansas	68	104	43	32/100
15	Georgia	68	104	43	38/100
16	Alabama	67	104	43	28/100
17	Oregon	67	76	43	55/100
18	Virginia	67	104	43	50/100
19	South Carolina	66	104	43	32/100
20	Utah	66	71	42	65/100
21	Alaska	65	76	38	55/100
22	Florida	65	104	43	20/100
23	Michigan	65	118	42	58/100
24	Mississippi	65	104	43	22/100
25	North Carolina	65	104	43	35/100
26	Oklahoma	65	118	43	25/100
27	South Dakota	65	118	38	48/100
28	Texas	65	71	43	22/100
29	Colorado	64	98	42	48/100
30	Delaware	64	122	43	62/100
31	Kansas	64	118	42	35/100
32	Maryland	64	122	43	60/100
33	Pennsylvania	64	122	42	58/100
34	Iowa	63	118	42	45/100
35	Louisiana	63	104	43	18/100
36	Nebraska	63	118	42	42/100
37	North Dakota	63	118	38	50/100
38	Ohio	63	118	42	52/100
39	Washington	63	76	43	52/100
40	Connecticut	62	122	42	65/100
41	Indiana	62	118	42	45/100
42	Minnesota	62	118	38	55/100
43	Rhode Island	62	122	42	68/100
44	Wisconsin	62	118	38	58/100
45	Massachusetts	61	122	42	65/100
46	New Jersey	61	122	43	58/100
47	New York	61	122	42	60/100
48	District of Columbia	60	122	43	70/100
49	Hawaii	59	71	16	45/100
50	Illinois	59	118	42	42/100
51	California	57	71	43	25/100

#1Maine

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 75/100

Short growing season. permissive regulations. very low natural disaster risk.

#2Montana

Food species: 98Crops: 38Safety: 70/100

Short growing season. permissive regulations. very low natural disaster risk.

#3Wyoming

Food species: 98Crops: 38Safety: 72/100

Short growing season. permissive regulations. very low natural disaster risk.

#4New Hampshire

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 75/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. very low natural disaster risk.

#5West Virginia

Food species: 104Crops: 42Safety: 65/100

Moderate growing season. permissive regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#6Arizona

Food species: 71Crops: 43Safety: 52/100

Year-round growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#7New Mexico

Food species: 71Crops: 43Safety: 62/100

Moderate growing season. permissive regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#8Vermont

Food species: 122Crops: 38Safety: 78/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. very low natural disaster risk.

#9Idaho

Food species: 76Crops: 42Safety: 65/100

Short growing season. permissive regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#10Nevada

Food species: 71Crops: 43Safety: 68/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#11Kentucky

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 48/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#12Missouri

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 38/100

Moderate growing season. permissive regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#13Tennessee

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 35/100

Long growing season. permissive regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#14Arkansas

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 32/100

Long growing season. permissive regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#15Georgia

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 38/100

Long growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#16Alabama

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 28/100

Long growing season. permissive regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#17Oregon

Food species: 76Crops: 43Safety: 55/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#18Virginia

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 50/100

Long growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#19South Carolina

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 32/100

Long growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#20Utah

Food species: 71Crops: 42Safety: 65/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#21Alaska

Food species: 76Crops: 38Safety: 55/100

Short growing season. permissive regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#22Florida

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 20/100

Year-round growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#23Michigan

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 58/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#24Mississippi

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 22/100

Long growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#25North Carolina

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 35/100

Long growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#26Oklahoma

Food species: 118Crops: 43Safety: 25/100

Long growing season. permissive regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#27South Dakota

Food species: 118Crops: 38Safety: 48/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#28Texas

Food species: 71Crops: 43Safety: 22/100

Year-round growing season. permissive regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#29Colorado

Food species: 98Crops: 42Safety: 48/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#30Delaware

Food species: 122Crops: 43Safety: 62/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#31Kansas

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 35/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#32Maryland

Food species: 122Crops: 43Safety: 60/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#33Pennsylvania

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 58/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#34Iowa

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 45/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#35Louisiana

Food species: 104Crops: 43Safety: 18/100

Year-round growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#36Nebraska

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 42/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#37North Dakota

Food species: 118Crops: 38Safety: 50/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#38Ohio

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 52/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#39Washington

Food species: 76Crops: 43Safety: 52/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#40Connecticut

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 65/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#41Indiana

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 45/100

Moderate growing season. moderate regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#42Minnesota

Food species: 118Crops: 38Safety: 55/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#43Rhode Island

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 68/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#44Wisconsin

Food species: 118Crops: 38Safety: 58/100

Short growing season. moderate regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#45Massachusetts

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 65/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#46New Jersey

Food species: 122Crops: 43Safety: 58/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#47New York

Food species: 122Crops: 42Safety: 60/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. moderate disaster risk.

#48District of Columbia

Food species: 122Crops: 43Safety: 70/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. very low natural disaster risk.

#49Hawaii

Food species: 71Crops: 16Safety: 45/100

Year-round growing season. strict regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#50Illinois

Food species: 118Crops: 42Safety: 42/100

Moderate growing season. strict regulations. elevated disaster risk.

#51California

Food species: 71Crops: 43Safety: 25/100

Year-round growing season. strict regulations. elevated disaster risk.

Rankings based on public data from USDA, FEMA, state regulatory databases, and our species databases. How we calculate these scores →

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More Rankings

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Ranked by edible and medicinal plant diversity plus game animal availability.

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Ranked by inverse FEMA National Risk Index scores — lower hazard exposure means higher ranking.

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