Crawford County

Crawford County sits at a median home price of $208,354, up 4.09% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 85 out of 100. The data does not include a median rent figure or cap rate for this county, which is a meaningful gap. Without a rent estimate, a cap rate cannot be calculated, and the cash flow score registers at zero, meaning the tool cannot confirm this market generates positive carry at current prices and a 6.85% rate. What the data does support is an appreciation thesis: the appreciation score of 83 out of 100, a national percentile rank of 91st out of 1,000 counties, and a 5th-place finish among 159 Georgia counties all point to a market that has been moving. The price-to-rent ratio cannot be confirmed from available data, so any assumption about cash flow would be speculation.

That profile places Crawford squarely in the appreciation buyer's column, not the cash-flow operator's. An investor underwriting a buy-and-hold here should assume that at $208,354 and a 6.85% rate, the mortgage alone will likely outrun rents until those rents are confirmed at a level that supports the debt service. The affordability score of 85 suggests the median buyer or renter in this market is not severely price-pressured, which is a constructive sign for rental demand, but it does not substitute for an actual rent figure. Value-add operators looking to manufacture equity through rehab could find the price point workable given the sub-$210K entry, but they would need to independently verify achievable rents before committing. A pure cash-flow buyer should request rent comps before running any numbers from this data set alone.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Crawford County, so no claim can be made about specific job drivers or the stability of rental demand from that angle. The stability score of 50 out of 100 is squarely middling, which in the context of a 12,156-person county suggests neither a thriving diversified economy nor an obvious single-employer concentration risk, but without underlying detail that remains an open question an investor needs to answer through independent diligence. Population at that level means the tenant pool is thin, and any vacancy in a small portfolio will swing occupancy rates sharply.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance estimate comes to $222, using a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.92% and an insurance rate of 0.36%. That $222 monthly figure is material relative to a sub-$210K purchase and needs its own line on every underwrite. The 0.92% tax rate carries a "normal" flag, meaning it is neither a tailwind nor a headwind relative to Georgia norms, but as the data itself notes, this is a state-average estimate and actual Crawford County or township rates may differ. Pull the county tax assessor's current millage rate before finalizing any proforma.

The most tangible risk here is the small population base. At 12,156 residents, Crawford County has a narrow tenant universe. Any negative economic shock, a plant closure, a highway bypass, an out-migration trend, hits a small market faster and harder than it hits a metro. Regulatory and vacancy data are not included in this data set, so no conclusions can be drawn on those dimensions, but an investor should treat the thinness of the tenant pool as a concentration risk in its own right.

Among the five neighboring counties provided, Crawford's overall score of 74 is the second highest, behind only Decatur County at 77. Decatur has a median home price of $171,230, nearly $37,000 cheaper than Crawford, which raises the question of whether the appreciation premium Crawford commands is justified by comparable rent potential. Lanier County, the closest in price at $210,779, carries a rent-to-price ratio of 0.098, or roughly $1,722 in median rent, which is the only rent data point available across any of these markets. That 9.8 gross yield ratio in Lanier is a useful benchmark: if Crawford cannot achieve similar rents on similar prices, the appreciation score alone does not make it the better buy. Cook County at $157,160 and an overall score of 68 is the cheapest entry in the peer set, but the lower score suggests the tradeoff is not favorable. Choose Crawford over its neighbors when you are confident in the local rent market and are underwriting for price appreciation over a multi-year hold. Choose Decatur at a lower price point if cash flow is the priority and further diligence confirms rents there support the carry.