Crawford County

Crawford County sits at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 6.37%, which puts it squarely in appreciation territory rather than cash-flow country. At a $220,684 median purchase price with median rent of $1,171, the cap rate comes in at 4.14%, and the model cash-on-cash return at 20% down is negative 9.36%, driven by a $1,157 monthly mortgage against estimated expenses of $410 and cash flow of negative $396 per month. None of those numbers are disasters for the right buyer, but they do tell you this is not a market where you buy a standard residential rental and clip positive coupons from day one at current interest rates. What offsets that is a 6% year-over-year home price gain and an appreciation score of 89 out of 100, the strongest signal in Crawford's profile. The market is essentially pricing in continued price growth, not immediate income.

That score distribution, 64 on cash flow and 89 on appreciation, tells you exactly who belongs here and who doesn't. An appreciation buyer or a patient long-hold investor building equity in an affordable Sunbelt-adjacent market will find Crawford interesting. A cash-flow buyer running a portfolio at 6.85% rates needs to look elsewhere or get creative. The affordability index of 83 and median price under $221,000 do leave room for value-add operators who can force equity through renovation and push rents meaningfully above the $1,171 median, since there is price room to work within before you outrun local comps. At 6% annual price appreciation, a $220,000 purchase gains roughly $13,200 in value per year on paper, which partially offsets the negative carry if you underwrite a multi-year hold rather than a year-one cash-flow test.

The stability score of 50 is the number that demands the most scrutiny here. Crawford County has a population of around 60,600, which is a relatively small base, and smaller single-employer or single-sector markets can see rental demand shift meaningfully if local conditions change. No economic anchor data was provided for this county, so no specific employers or industries can be cited, but the stability score warrants stress-testing your vacancy assumptions and not underwriting to full occupancy.

On carrying costs, Crawford is actually a tailwind story. The combined monthly tax and insurance burden is $202, based on a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.62% and an insurance rate of 0.48%. That $202 is already embedded in the $410 estimated monthly expenses figure, and it is worth noting because Arkansas's property tax rate is low enough to be a genuine structural advantage compared to high-tax states where taxes alone can add $400 to $600 per month on a similar-priced asset. The caveat that applies here is that 0.62% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and your actual county or township levy may differ, so verify the specific Crawford County millage rate before closing. The insurance figure at 0.48% also deserves a hard look given Arkansas's exposure to severe weather; get actual quotes rather than relying on the modeled rate.

Comparing Crawford to its neighbors sharpens the positioning. Jefferson County is the outlier in this peer group, with a median price of just $84,271, median rent of $886, and a rent-to-price ratio of 12.6%, which is nearly double Crawford's 6.37%. If pure cash flow is the objective, Jefferson County's numbers are far more favorable on paper, though its overall score of 71 versus Crawford's 70 barely separates them and investors should investigate what's behind the distressed price level before deploying capital there. White County is the most direct comparable: median price of $201,544, median rent of $1,308, and a rent-to-price ratio of 7.79%, all with the same overall score of 71. White County generates more rent per dollar of purchase price than Crawford and likely offers better current cash flow at similar prices, which makes it the stronger choice for an income-first investor in this Arkansas peer group. Independence County, at a 5.91% rent-to-price ratio, is a worse cash-flow profile than Crawford with a lower median price, which is an unusual combination. Perry County and Mississippi County lack rent data in this dataset, limiting direct comparison.

Crawford's case comes down to this: you are buying a $221,000 asset in a low-tax, affordable market that is appreciating at 6% annually, accepting negative near-term cash flow in exchange for that equity growth, in a county where the stability profile is uncertain enough to demand conservative underwriting. If you are building a long-hold appreciation position in affordable Arkansas and can tolerate the carry at today's rates, Crawford lands in the top 19% of counties nationally by overall score, which reflects real relative merit. If you need the rent check to cover the mortgage, White County or Jefferson County (after deeper due diligence on the latter) are the better options in this peer group.