Fayette County

Fayette County sits at a median home price of $148,559, down 2.3% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 98, placing it among the most accessible entry points in Illinois. The county ranks 375th out of 1,000 nationally, landing at the 52nd percentile, which puts it squarely in the middle of the pack. The cash flow score is zero and the cap rate field returns zero, meaning the model cannot confirm a positive spread between rents and carrying costs at current financing. With a 6.85% rate on a $148,559 purchase and a $29,712 down payment, the mortgage alone will consume a significant portion of any gross rent before taxes, insurance, maintenance, or vacancy are layered in. The appreciation score of 38 is below average, and with prices already sliding slightly, this market does not offer a convincing case on either end of the cash-flow-versus-appreciation spectrum at this moment. The affordability index of 98 is the standout number here.

The investor profile this market fits most narrowly is a value-add operator or a buyer hunting deeply discounted distressed assets who can manufacture equity through renovation rather than waiting on market appreciation. A pure cash-flow buyer faces a difficult math problem: the model returns zeros on cash flow and cap rate, which signals that at the median price and current rates, rent income does not clear expenses with conventional financing. An appreciation buyer should note the 38 appreciation score and the 2.3% price decline, neither of which suggests a market that will do the work for you. The only reasonable entry for a buy-and-hold investor is well below the median, targeting assets priced in the $80,000 to $110,000 range where gross yields might open up enough to absorb Illinois carry costs. At the median, the numbers do not close.

No economic anchor data was provided for Fayette County, so no employer or demand-driver analysis can be made responsibly here. What the population figure of 21,464 does tell you is that this is a small, rural county. Thin rental demand pools in markets this size mean that vacancy in a single property can swing your annual return materially, and finding qualified tenants at rent levels that justify the carry may require longer hold periods between tenants.

The tax and insurance burden in Fayette deserves serious attention at the underwriting stage. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27%, Illinois ranks among the highest in the country, and on a $148,559 purchase that translates to $3,372 annually in property taxes and $401 in insurance, for a combined monthly tax-and-insurance figure of $314. That $314 comes off the top of gross rent before debt service, maintenance, management, or vacancy. To be clear, 2.27% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and the actual county and township rate in Fayette may differ, but the direction of risk here is well established: Illinois property taxes are a genuine underwriting line item, not a rounding error. At this rate, an investor buying at the median and financing at 6.85% needs gross rents well above what a $148,559 house in a county of 21,000 people is likely to command to show any meaningful return.

The concentration risk here is demographic and scale. A 21,464-person county with declining home prices and no visible economic anchor data means the rental market is small and potentially contracting. If the local employment base softens or population continues to drift, occupancy rates and achievable rents move in one direction. There is no data here to suggest either a stabilizing anchor employer or in-migration to counteract that drift, so an investor needs to underwrite conservatively on vacancy and rent growth.

Comparing Fayette to its neighbors sharpens the picture. Greene County at $106,001 carries a higher overall score of 65 versus Fayette's 60, and the lower price point may allow cash flow math to work at rents that would be unreachable in Fayette. Bond County at $154,738 and an overall score of 67 outscores Fayette on a slightly higher price, suggesting better risk-adjusted characteristics nearby. DuPage County at $416,478 and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.059 with a score of 66 is a different product entirely, an appreciation and stability play for a well-capitalized buyer, not a comparison point for Fayette. Monroe County at $327,942 and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.047 scores 59, slightly below Fayette but at more than twice the price. For an investor specifically targeting low-price-point Illinois rural markets, Greene County's combination of lower entry cost and better overall score makes it the stronger default choice over Fayette unless a specific distressed acquisition below $100,000 presents itself here.