Iowa named "best state to live off-grid" according to study

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With our lives more tied to technology every day and the cost of living increasing exponentially, the idea of living off the grid is sounding more and more appealing. Fortunately for those in Iowa, a recent study named the state the best place to live off-grid in America.

What makes Iowa the best place to live in a self-reliant way? The study assessed all 50 states on 23 different factors, and the Hawkeye state did well in multiple areas.

The factors included the following:

• Feasibility - suitability of laws for providing own utilities, population density in rural areas
• Infrastructure - phone coverage, growth of solar installations, state of roads, etc.
• Affordability - tax rate, cost of living, property costs, etc.
• Climate - amount of snow, rain, number of sunny days
• Safety - access to hospitals, crime rate, natural hazards index, etc.

Areas where Iowa excels

There are several places where Iowa is a perennial leader in this study, including affordability (8th place) and critical-access hospitals, where it tied for second with Kansas.

In addition to this, Iowa is a front-runner in terms of utilities:

The Hawkeye State remains tied for the top spot for generating your own utilities and a leader in renewable energy production (No. 7), especially wind power (No. 3 in projected 10-year growth).

Recent areas of improvement

And then there are a number of areas in which Iowa's standings have improved since the study was conducted previously. Notably, the state jumped from 29th place to first in terms of phone coverage - an incredible jump.

Iowa's also made strides in the Infrastructure and Safety category to move up four places to number 2, behind only Texas.

As the study concludes: "All things considered, there’s little downside to isolating in the Land Where the Tall Corn Grows."

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