Bureau County

Bureau County prices its entry point at $155,491 with 6.26% year-over-year appreciation, putting it squarely in appreciation-dominant territory rather than cash-flow territory. The data does not supply a cap rate or cash-on-cash figure, which itself tells you something: at this price-to-rent profile, the numbers likely do not pencil for a leveraged cash-flow play at a 6.85% rate without significant value-add or a larger down payment. What the market does offer is an affordability index of 97 out of 100 and a national rank of 7th out of 1,000 counties tracked, landing it in the 99th percentile overall. That ranking is driven by the appreciation score of 90 and the affordability score of 97, not by cash generation. Stability sits at 50, a middle-of-the-road reading that warrants attention before committing capital.

The investor this market suits is one chasing long-term price appreciation in a deeply affordable entry market, not a landlord who needs rent checks to service debt from day one. At $155,491, the acquisition cost is low enough that a patient buyer with meaningful equity or an all-cash position could hold through appreciation cycles with limited downside exposure on the purchase price itself. A value-add operator who can force equity through renovation also has room to work here, because $155K median leaves a ceiling well above acquisition cost if comparable sales in improved condition support it. The cash-flow score of 0 is a hard signal: do not underwrite this county expecting net positive monthly returns on a standard 20%-down, 6.85% mortgage without running current rent comparables that justify a different conclusion.

The carry costs in Bureau County deserve a dedicated line on every underwrite. Illinois carries a state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27%, flagged here as very high, and that translates to roughly $3,530 per year, or $294 per month, on a $155,491 purchase. Add the estimated insurance cost of $420 annually ($35 per month) and the combined monthly tax-and-insurance load is approximately $329 before you touch principal, interest, maintenance, or management. On a property at this price point, $329 per month in fixed overhead is proportionally punishing. To be precise, the 2.27% figure is a state-average estimate sourced from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Bureau County or township-level rates may differ, so confirm the specific parcel's assessed value and mill rate before closing. Illinois's property tax structure is one of the highest in the nation, and in a county where cash flow is already compressed, that $329 carry is not a rounding error.

The stability score of 50 is the most important risk signal in this dataset. A score at the midpoint suggests meaningful exposure to demographic or economic volatility, and Bureau County's population of 33,203 is a small base. Small-population rural Illinois counties can face outmigration pressure that softens rental demand and limits the pool of creditworthy tenants over time. No economic anchor data is provided, so no employer-specific context can be offered here, but the absence of that data in a county this size is itself a due-diligence prompt: identify the county's largest employers independently before committing, because concentrated or declining local industry would compound the stability concern.

Compared to the five neighboring counties provided, Bureau sits at a higher median price than four of the five, with only Menard County at $198,736 exceeding it. Richland ($132,577), Edwards ($124,765), Massac ($112,844), and Marshall ($131,595) all come in cheaper, and Massac and Marshall both score 81 overall versus Bureau's 80. The spread is narrow enough that the choice between Bureau and a neighbor comes down to what you are optimizing for. Bureau's 6.26% annual appreciation rate and 99th-percentile national ranking suggest its price trajectory may be stronger than neighbors priced lower, but if cash flow is the primary objective, Edwards at $124,765 or Massac at $112,844 might produce better rent-to-price ratios simply because the mortgage is smaller. Choose Bureau over a neighbor when your thesis is appreciation and affordable entry into a market with demonstrated price momentum; choose a cheaper neighbor when monthly cash flow is the constraint and you need a lower debt service to make the numbers work.