A Look At the Homesteaders of America Community in 2022 (Data & Statistics)
Since 2020, Homesteaders of America has seen a major increase in the homesteading community. From homesteaders in apartments and townhomes using what little bit of land they have or can find, to large farms and ranches with hundreds of acres. We’re seeing it all.
Homesteading used to be the norm. In fact, it wasn’t even called homesteading for the longest time. It was just the way Americans lived—a sustainable, agrarian lifestyle. America used to be a country full of small family farms and small businesses. Now, it’s full of corporations and industrial farming. Here at Homesteaders of America (HoA) we aim to make America agrarian once again.
In 2022 we hosted some incredible events with incredible speakers and sponsors. We couldn’t have done it without our sponsors, vendors, volunteers, and staff. We’re looking forward to a brand new year of events in 2023. But that’s not what this post is about.
Towards the end of 2022, we surveyed almost 4,000 homesteaders here in America and in our HoA community. This survey gave us an extremely targeted idea of where and how folks are homesteading. We thought it would be fun to share some homesteading statistics with you!
Homesteading Statistics
We first started with wondering what the homesteading family unit looks like…
(the combined annual income for the 14.7% was $100,000-$200,000)
From there, we wanted to learn more about the personal beliefs of our HoA community and homesteaders in America…
From there, we were curious why and how folks were homesteading…
Was it because of health and a better way of living? Or was it due to politics and food security? The results were pretty incredible.
When asked the question, “what prompted you to begin homestead”, over 59% of people stated that food security is what prompted them to begin their homesteading journey. About 58% of folks said that “healthier food” was their reasoning, while 56% said a longing to live a more simplistic lifestyle was their reason. Around 52% of responses stated that government unrest and policies caused them to begin their homesteading journey.
We asked aspiring homesteaders what their biggest drawback from homesteading was—51% stated finances were an issue, and 50% stated that finding land was their biggest issue.
Vegetable gardening (66%), herb gardening (51%), and canning and preserving (44%) were the top three things that most homesteaders are currently focusing on. Orchards, beekeeping, dairy animals, and broiler chickens are top contenders on the list of things to expand on the homestead in 2023.
What State Do Most Homesteaders Live In?
There are a lot of homesteaders in America, and we were surprised to see which states so many of them came from. California (8.8%), Virginia (6.5%), Alabama (6.4%), and Arkansas (4.1%) were the states with the most homesteaders.
But perhaps the most concerning was this…
While a large portion of our homesteading community is active in voting on farm and homesteading policies, almost 8% of them are not active in voting. This doesn’t seem like much, but in crucial elections, every bit counts. And 8% is a large bit. We encourage all of you to familiarize yourself with legislation that could affect all homesteaders in 2023! Now is the time to get involved and become aware of your local and state politics and legislature, before it’s too late!
Looking forward to 2023…
We are so blessed by the fact that we get to work within this community. Watching our community expand locally, nationally, and internationally is an experience we could’ve never imagined. To be a part of something that truly makes an impact on this world is worth every single minute.
As HoA plans for the new year, we have a few things in place already.
We hope you joined us for the January “Bring It All Back ‘Home’stead Online Summit”. If you are a Premier HoA Member, you get to watch the replays with your membership, anytime! Along with the very popular 2022 Business Event!
We also hope you’ll be able to join us for our annual Homesteaders of America Conference in Front Royal, VA this October 13 and 14. You can learn more about that here.