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Ranked from the same 50-state research
Ranked by the report's 1–10 feasibility score — how easily a backyard cage clears the path from private use to public, fee-based bookings. Even the states at the bottom of this list have a real path to private and friends-and-family use.
| # | State | Score | Difficulty | Where the wall hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 8/10 | Green | Phase 4-5 |
| 2 | North Dakota | 8/10 | Green | Phase 4-5 (rarely at all in unzoned majority) |
| 3 | West Virginia | 7/10 | Green | Phase 4-5 in unzoned majority; Phase 3 in zoned counties (e.g. Jefferson) |
| 4 | Texas | 7/10 | Yellow | None (unincorporated/ETJ) vs. Phase 3 (incorporated cities) |
| 5 | Iowa | 7/10 | Yellow | Phase 3-4 |
| 6 | Kansas | 7/10 | Yellow | Phase 4-5 |
| 7 | Montana | 7/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 8 | Wyoming | 7/10 | Yellow | Phase 1 (structure-size cap) |
| 9 | Kentucky | 6/10 (varies ~8 unzoned county to ~4 inside Fayette Co.'s A-R zone) | Yellow | Phase 3 in cities with a named CUP path; Phase 1 inside Fayette County's Urban Services Boundary |
| 10 | Florida | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 (favorable relative to most states, undercut by HOA prevalence) |
| 11 | South Carolina | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 (external effects only — parking/noise/lighting, not the core right) |
| 12 | North Carolina | 6/10 (varies 2 in Cary to 7 in Charlotte on customer access) | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 14 | Colorado | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 15 | Idaho | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 16 | Maine | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3-4 |
| 17 | Vermont | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3+ (noise-enforcement risk more than upfront denial) |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 19 | Nebraska | 6/10 | Yellow | Possibly as early as Phase 3 |
| 20 | South Dakota | 6/10 | Yellow | Presumed Phase 4-5, unconfirmed |
| 21 | New Mexico | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 22 | Alaska | 6/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 (legal wall); real constraint is a ~5-month outdoor season, not law |
| 23 | Alabama | 5/10 (varies ~7 unzoned county to ~3 inside a zoned city) | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 24 | Arizona | 5/10 | Yellow | Phase 3, confirmed only for unincorporated county land |
| 25 | Minnesota | 5/10 | Yellow | Phase 3, flatly blocked in some suburbs, no wall in unzoned rural townships |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 5/10 | Yellow | Inferred Phase 3, not independently confirmed |
| 27 | Delaware | 5/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 |
| 28 | Georgia | 5/10 | Yellow | Phase 3 (hard ceiling in some cities) |
| 29 | Utah | 5/10 | Yellow | Phase 4 (lessons specifically, not just rentals) |
| 30 | Louisiana | 5/10 (varies ~7 unzoned parish to effectively unavailable on an ordinary subdivision lot) | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 5/10 (varies ~8 unpermitted rural county to ~3 in a city with no fallback use category) | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 32 | Maryland | 5/10 | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 33 | New Hampshire | 5/10 | Orange | Phase 3, earlier in the funnel than ME/VT/RI |
| 34 | Hawaii | 5/10 | Orange | Phase 1-2 (state land-use-district classification, before county zoning is even reached) |
| 35 | Virginia | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 1 (Fairfax: oversized-structure BZA approval) and Phase 3 (customer-visit ban) |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 4/10 (varies ~8 unzoned county to ~2 in a city/county that names batting cages as a prohibited use) | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 37 | Missouri | 4/10 (varies ~6 unzoned rural county to effectively unavailable in Chesterfield-type suburbs) | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 38 | California | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 1 in several cities (structure/use ban), Phase 3 elsewhere |
| 39 | Nevada | 4/10 | Orange | Unverified; inferred at Phase 3 by analogy to California |
| 40 | Oregon | 4/10 | Orange | Can appear before Phase 1 (land-use designation) |
| 41 | New York | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 42 | New Jersey | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 43 | Pennsylvania | 4/10 (varies ~4 Main Line to ~8 rural on HOA-adjacent factors) | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 44 | Ohio | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 45 | Illinois | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 46 | Indiana | 4/10 | Orange | Presumed Phase 3, extrapolated only |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 3 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 4/10 | Orange | Phase 3, worsened by HOA/covenant stacking in target towns |
These states couldn't be confidently rated in this research pass — reported as an open item, not smoothed into a guess.
This is our best synthesis of public statutes and codes, not legal advice — confirm anything that matters with your local zoning office, your HOA, and your insurer before you build or list.