State Rankings
States Ranked by Growing Season Length
Ranked by frost-free days — longer seasons mean more food production capacity.
| # | State | Score | Frost-free days | USDA Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 100 | 365 | 11 |
| 2 | Florida | 84 | 310 | 9 |
| 3 | California | 73 | 270 | 9 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 71 | 260 | 9 |
| 5 | Arizona | 68 | 250 | 9 |
| 6 | Texas | 68 | 250 | 8 |
| 7 | Georgia | 63 | 230 | 8 |
| 8 | Mississippi | 63 | 230 | 8 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 63 | 230 | 8 |
| 10 | Alabama | 60 | 220 | 8 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 57 | 210 | 7 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 57 | 210 | 7 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 57 | 210 | 7 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 54 | 200 | 7 |
| 15 | Virginia | 54 | 200 | 7 |
| 16 | Delaware | 53 | 195 | 7 |
| 17 | Maryland | 53 | 195 | 7 |
| 18 | District of Columbia | 53 | 195 | 7 |
| 19 | Kentucky | 52 | 190 | 7 |
| 20 | Missouri | 52 | 190 | 6 |
| 21 | New Jersey | 52 | 190 | 7 |
| 22 | Oregon | 50 | 185 | 8 |
| 23 | Kansas | 49 | 180 | 6 |
| 24 | New Mexico | 49 | 180 | 7 |
| 25 | Illinois | 47 | 175 | 6 |
| 26 | Washington | 47 | 175 | 8 |
| 27 | Indiana | 46 | 170 | 6 |
| 28 | Ohio | 46 | 170 | 6 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | 46 | 170 | 6 |
| 30 | West Virginia | 46 | 170 | 6 |
| 31 | Connecticut | 45 | 165 | 6 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | 45 | 165 | 6 |
| 33 | Massachusetts | 43 | 160 | 6 |
| 34 | Nevada | 43 | 160 | 7 |
| 35 | New York | 43 | 160 | 6 |
| 36 | Iowa | 42 | 155 | 5 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 42 | 155 | 5 |
| 38 | Utah | 42 | 155 | 6 |
| 39 | Colorado | 41 | 150 | 5 |
| 40 | Idaho | 39 | 145 | 6 |
| 41 | Michigan | 39 | 145 | 5 |
| 42 | Wisconsin | 39 | 145 | 4 |
| 43 | Maine | 38 | 140 | 5 |
| 44 | Minnesota | 38 | 140 | 4 |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 38 | 140 | 5 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 36 | 135 | 4 |
| 47 | Vermont | 35 | 130 | 4 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 34 | 125 | 4 |
| 49 | Montana | 32 | 120 | 4 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 31 | 115 | 4 |
| 51 | Alaska | 30 | 110 | 4 |
Rankings based on public data from USDA, FEMA, state regulatory databases, and our species databases. How we calculate these scores →
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.
Most Self-Sufficient States
Composite ranking of food production, foraging, off-grid friendliness, and disaster resilience.
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