Hancock County

Hancock County's median home price of $114,414 is the headline number that drives everything else here. At that price point, affordability is near absolute, scoring 100 out of 100 and ranking 4th nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked. Year-over-year appreciation came in at 6.57%, which is meaningful for a market this cheap, and the appreciation score of 91 reflects that momentum. What the data does not give you is a cap rate, cash-on-cash return, or estimated cash flow, all of which are zeroed out, so this analysis cannot tell you what a stabilized rental yields on a monthly basis. What it can tell you is that a $114,414 asset with a 20% down payment of roughly $22,883 financed at 6.85% is a low-dollar entry point, and whether that generates cash flow depends entirely on rents you will need to source locally. The absence of rent data here is itself a signal: underwrite conservatively until you have a firm rent comp.

The score structure tells you exactly what kind of investor fits this market. The appreciation score of 91 is the standout, the cash flow score is 0 (not zero as in "bad" but zero as in "unscored"), and stability sits at 50. That profile suits a patient appreciation buyer who can acquire at a sub-$115K basis and hold, not a cash-flow operator running spreadsheets on net operating income from day one. The affordability score of 100 means barrier to entry is minimal, which matters if your strategy involves accumulating multiple units without tying up large amounts of equity per door. A value-add operator willing to do light rehab could also find the low purchase price leaves room to manufacture equity, but the stability score of 50 deserves attention: it suggests this is not a market with a deep, diversified demand floor, so vacancy risk between tenants or during a downturn is a real consideration.

No economic anchor data was provided for Hancock County, so a specific assessment of employer concentration or job-driven rental demand is not possible from the available inputs. The population of 17,582 is small, and that alone signals a thin tenant pool. A county this size in rural western Illinois will have limited labor market depth, and the stability score of 50 appears to reflect that directly. Before committing capital, you want to understand what is driving the 6.57% appreciation, whether that is genuine demand growth or a thin-volume market where a handful of transactions moves the median.

The carry cost picture in Hancock deserves serious attention. Illinois's state-average effective property tax rate is 2.27%, flagged in the data as very high, and at a $114,414 purchase price that works out to $2,597 in annual property taxes, or roughly $217 per month. Add $309 in estimated annual insurance ($26 per month) and the combined tax and insurance load is $242 per month before a single dollar of mortgage, maintenance, or management. At this price tier, $242 per month in fixed carry is not trivial: it represents a floor that rents must clear before you are anywhere near break-even. The 2.27% rate is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Hancock County and township rates may differ, but Illinois's property tax environment is well-documented as one of the highest in the country. This is not a footnote, it is a first-order line on your underwrite, and investors accustomed to Sunbelt tax rates will feel it immediately.

The primary risk here is concentration in a small, rural market. A population of 17,582 means the rental universe is narrow, and any softening in local employment or continued rural out-migration compresses both occupancy and rent growth simultaneously. The stability score of 50 quantifies that risk at roughly average, but in practical terms a market this small has less cushion than a mid-sized metro when conditions turn. There is no vacancy or regulatory data in the provided inputs, so specific comments on those dimensions are not supportable.

Against its neighbors, Hancock at $114,414 is priced between Vermilion ($93,310) and Marshall ($131,595), with an overall score of 81 that matches Massac, Marshall, and Vermilion identically. The differentiating factor is that Vermilion is the only neighboring county with rent and rent-to-price data provided: its 10.49% gross rent-to-price ratio on a $93,310 median price is a materially better cash-flow entry point than anything Hancock's incomplete rent data can confirm. If monthly income is the priority, Vermilion's numbers are visible and the gross yield is high enough to model; Hancock's appeal is the appreciation momentum and a lower nominal price than Marshall or Richland. Choose Hancock over its neighbors if you want the combination of sub-$115K basis, demonstrated price appreciation, and are comfortable running your own rent comps to fill the income side of the model. Choose Vermilion if you need to see the cash-flow math before you buy.