Sumter County

Sumter County's gross rent-to-price ratio of 8.19% is the headline number, and it's a good one. At a median home price of $137,334 and median rent of $937.50, the raw yield math is attractive, but the modeled cash flow tells a more complicated story. At 6.85% financing with 20% down, the tool estimates a monthly cash flow of negative $110 and a cash-on-cash return of negative 4.18%. The cap rate of 5.33% sits in a workable range for a market at this price point, but it falls short of the cost of leveraged debt, which means the deal pencils better as a cash purchase or in a rising-rate environment where you negotiate price, not rate. The 7.47% year-over-year home price appreciation is genuinely strong for a county with a $137,000 median, and that appreciation score of 93 out of 100 is what pushes the overall ranking to 7th nationally out of 1,000 counties. Sumter scores a perfect 100 on affordability and 82 on cash flow, which confirms the yield is real even if leverage is currently the drag.

The investor profile that wins here is one who either buys with cash, uses low-leverage financing, or is sourcing deals below that $137,000 median. A cash buyer earns a 5.33% unlevered yield plus the appreciation tailwind, which at 7.47% annually compiles into a meaningful total return. A value-add operator who can acquire distressed assets at a discount to median and force appreciation through rehab has perhaps the best setup: the affordability floor is extremely low, so downside price risk is limited, and rents at $937.50 give room to push after improvements. A pure appreciation buyer will find the 93 appreciation score compelling, but should be clear-eyed that in a county of 29,378 people, appreciation driven by low-base math can stall if population dynamics shift.

The economic base deserves attention as a stability question. The stability score of 50 is the weakest number in Sumter's profile and it matters, because a 5.33% cap rate in a single-industry or thin-employer market carries different risk than the same cap rate in a diversified metro. No economic anchor data was provided for this county, so underwriting rental demand conservatively, building vacancy reserves larger than you might in a metro, and stress-testing for population trends are all reasonable responses to that 50 stability score.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance estimate of $146 is already embedded in the $328 estimated expense figure, and at a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.92%, Georgia's tax burden is neither a tailwind nor a material headwind here. That 0.92% lands in the normal range, so it does not require special treatment on your underwrite, though the honest caveat is that this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data and the actual Sumter County millage rate may differ. At a $137,000 purchase price the annual tax estimate is $1,263 and annual insurance is $494, so combined they run $1,757 per year, which is manageable relative to a gross rent of roughly $11,250 annually.

The concentration and stability risks are real given the county's population of under 30,000. Thin markets mean lower liquidity at exit, fewer comparable sales to defend an appraisal, and higher sensitivity to any single employer reducing headcount. Regulatory risk data was not provided, but small Georgia counties generally operate under landlord-favorable state law with no local rent control, which is a structural positive. Demographic risk is the one to watch: a county at this price point with this yield profile typically reflects population that is not growing quickly, and any sustained outmigration compresses rent and slows appreciation.

Against its neighbors, Sumter's case is straightforward on price: its $137,334 median is the lowest of the group, and it scores higher than all five neighboring counties, which range from 68 (Cook County) to 77 (Decatur County) overall. Lanier County is the only neighbor with a published rent-to-price ratio, and its 9.81% gross yield on a $210,779 median with $1,722.50 median rent actually exceeds Sumter's ratio and suggests a different rental market dynamic worth investigating, though Lanier's 73 overall score implies other factors weigh against it. If your priority is lowest entry price with the best combination of yield and appreciation potential in this corner of Georgia, Sumter is the county the data points to. If you can service the higher purchase price and want a denser, potentially more liquid market, Decatur County at $171,230 median and a 77 score is the next closest option, but you are giving up 3 points of overall score and paying roughly $34,000 more per door.