Cleburne County

Cleburne County sits at a median home price of $264,958 with year-over-year appreciation of 3.69%, an affordability index of 70, and an appreciation score of 82 out of 100. The data does not include a median rent figure or cap rate for the county itself, which means cash-flow math cannot be completed from the available inputs alone. What the scores do tell you plainly is that this market ranks in the 81st percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties, sits 9th in Arkansas out of 74 counties, and earns a cash-flow score of 0, indicating the model found no positive cash-flow signal at current price levels and a 6.85% rate. The appreciation score of 82, by contrast, is one of the higher figures in its peer group, and the affordability index of 73 suggests entry prices remain accessible relative to incomes. This is a market sitting squarely on the appreciation end of the spectrum, not a yield play.

That profile suits a specific type of buyer. If you are underwriting for immediate cash-on-cash return, the numbers as presented do not support a buy here, and the cash-flow score of 0 is unambiguous about that. The appreciation buyer, particularly one with a 5-to-10-year hold horizon, has a more defensible thesis: 3.69% annualized price growth on a $264,958 asset, combined with an 81st-percentile national ranking, positions Cleburne as a market where equity accumulation is the primary return mechanism. A value-add operator who can force appreciation through renovation may find the affordability index of 73 useful, since there is presumably room in the price stack to buy below median, improve, and refinance or sell into a market where buyers can still qualify. Anyone expecting month-one cash flow should look elsewhere.

The carry costs deserve attention even when rent data is thin. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.62%, Arkansas is a low-tax state, and the model flags Cleburne's tax burden accordingly. On a $264,958 purchase, annual property tax comes to an estimated $1,643 and annual insurance to $1,272, producing a combined monthly tax-and-insurance load of $243. That is a meaningful tailwind relative to higher-tax states where the same price point might generate $500 or more per month in T&I alone. The honest caveat here, as the data source notes, is that 0.62% is a state-average estimate from the Tax Foundation; actual county and township rates in Cleburne will differ, so pull the assessor's current millage before finalizing any underwrite. Even so, the directional read is favorable: low property taxes reduce your minimum-rent threshold to break even, which matters most in a market where the rent-to-price ratio is already under pressure.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Cleburne County, so no conclusions can be drawn here about job base concentration or demand drivers from specific industries or employers. Stability scores at 50 out of 100, the lowest of the four scored categories, and with a population of just under 25,000 the county is small enough that any single-employer disruption or demographic shift would move the needle materially. That concentration risk is worth pricing into your exit assumptions, particularly if you are relying on appreciation to drive returns over a multi-year hold.

The neighbor comparison sharpens the picture considerably. Jefferson County offers a rent-to-price ratio of 0.126, nearly double what you would need to make cash flow work, at a median price of $84,271, and it carries the same overall score of 71 as several peers. If cash flow is your primary objective, Jefferson is the obvious redirect. Independence County, at $178,977 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.059, is cheaper than Cleburne but still does not clear a typical cash-flow threshold, and its overall score also sits at 71. White County at $201,544 median posts a rent-to-price ratio of 0.078 and an overall score of 71, making it a middle-ground option with better yield characteristics than Cleburne at a lower entry price. Perry County and Mississippi County lack rent data in the provided inputs, so direct yield comparisons cannot be made.

The case for choosing Cleburne over its neighbors is narrow but real: you want the highest appreciation score in the group (82), you are comfortable with an equity-first return structure, and the low tax burden at $243 per month combined in T&I helps you manage carry while you wait for price gains to compound. If any version of your underwrite requires rent to cover the mortgage from day one, Cleburne as presented does not deliver that, and Jefferson County's 0.126 rent-to-price ratio at a $84,271 entry point is a fundamentally different investment proposition.