Boone County

Boone County sits at a median home price of $231,057 with year-over-year appreciation of 3.51%, and its scoring profile tells the story clearly: appreciation at 82, affordability at 80, and a cash flow score of 0. That last number is the one to anchor on. The data does not include a median rent or gross rent-to-price ratio for Boone itself, which makes it impossible to model a cap rate here, but the appreciation score and the 3.51% price growth suggest this market is pricing for future value rather than current yield. The affordability index of 80 means purchase prices remain accessible relative to incomes, which supports demand from owner-occupants and keeps a floor under values, but it does not automatically translate into cash flow at a 6.85% rate on a $231,057 asset.

The investor profile this county fits is the appreciation buyer or the patient buy-and-hold operator who is comfortable running thin or breakeven on monthly cash flow in exchange for price compounding over time. The stability score of 50 cuts the other way: this is not a market you buy for defensive income in a downturn. A value-add operator could find opportunity here if purchase prices can be negotiated below the $231,057 median, since the affordability index of 80 suggests some room exists between what people can pay and what assets are currently priced at, but without rent data for Boone itself, you would need to run your own rent comps before underwriting any specific deal. Cash flow buyers should look elsewhere in this dataset.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Boone County, so no conclusions about job concentration or employer-driven rental demand can be drawn from this data. The stability score of 50 is worth flagging independently: it lands exactly at the midpoint, which in a population-37,662 county points toward the sensitivity that smaller, single-industry or tourism-adjacent markets can have to economic cycles. That is a risk worth investigating at the deal level.

On carry costs, Boone County is a genuine tailwind. Using the state-average effective property tax rate of 0.62% (a Tax Foundation 2024 estimate, with the honest caveat that your specific county or township rate may differ), annual property tax on a $231,057 purchase comes to approximately $1,433. Combined with estimated annual insurance of $1,109, the monthly tax-and-insurance burden is $212. For a market at this price point and interest rate environment, that is a material advantage. Many comparable markets in the Southeast and Midwest carry combined tax-and-insurance figures of $350 to $500 per month on similar purchase prices. Arkansas's low effective rate is a real underwriting tailwind, and it meaningfully reduces the monthly cash-out required to hold a property through a lease-up or renovation period.

The primary risks to flag here are scale and data gaps. A county of 37,662 people has a thin rental pool, and a single large employer exit or a demographic shift, such as population aging or outmigration of working-age residents, can move vacancy rates quickly. The stability score of 50 reinforces this. No vacancy or crime data is present in this dataset, so no claims can be made there, but a small-market investor should underwrite conservatively on vacancy, probably 8 to 10 percent, until local property management contacts can give you actual absorption data. Regulatory risk is not flagged in the data, and no specific concentration risks are named, so those remain unknowns to investigate locally.

Against its neighbors, Boone County's overall score of 72 is the highest in this comparison set. Scott County scores 73 overall at a median of $152,008, which is the one county that edges Boone on score while offering a meaningfully lower entry price. If your strategy is appreciation and you are price-sensitive, Scott County deserves a close look, though neither county provides rent data for a direct yield comparison. Jefferson County at $84,271 and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.126 is the outlier: that gross yield ratio is aggressive on paper, but the score of 71 and the very low price point suggest you would be buying into a distressed or declining market rather than a growth one. Independence County at 0.059 and White County at 0.078 gross rent-to-price ratios bracket what a realistic yield environment looks like at these Arkansas price points. Choose Boone over its neighbors when the thesis is price appreciation, low carry costs from favorable tax rates, and a county that ranks 86th percentile nationally at a still-accessible median price. Choose a neighbor when current yield matters more than future price growth.