Iroquois County

Iroquois County sits at the affordable end of the Illinois spectrum, with a median home price of $152,115 and home price growth of 1.2% year-over-year. The affordability index scores a near-perfect 97 out of 100, which tells you the entry bar is low. What the data does not show is a functioning cash-flow score or any cap rate figure, meaning the tool's model could not construct a positive return at the current rent-to-price relationship, at least not at a 6.85% interest rate. That is a real signal. The county scores 62 on appreciation and 50 on stability, placing it in a middle tier on both dimensions: not a growth market, not a collapsing one. At a national percentile of 78 and ranked 169 out of 1,000 counties, Iroquois is a top-quartile market overall, but that ranking is almost entirely carried by its affordability score rather than by income-producing performance.

The profile here fits a specific buyer type, and it is not a pure cash-flow investor running a spreadsheet at 6.85% debt. With cap rate and cash-on-cash both zeroed out in the model, a leveraged buyer needs either a materially below-list acquisition, a value-add play to push rents, or the discipline to wait for rate relief before deploying. A cash buyer or a value-add operator who can source off-market at a discount to the $152,115 median has the most credible path to returns, because the price point is low enough that even modest rent improvements move the needle significantly on an unlevered basis. An appreciation buyer should temper expectations: 1.2% annualized price growth does not make this a wealth-building market on that dimension alone. The county's 62 appreciation score suggests some upside potential relative to peers, but it is not a number that justifies buying thin on day one and banking on exit.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Iroquois County, so any commentary on job base or demand drivers would be speculation, and that kind of speculation is exactly what gets investors in trouble in small rural Illinois counties with 27,043 residents. What the population figure does tell you directly is that tenant depth is limited. In a county of this size, a portfolio of even five or six properties represents a meaningful share of the available rental pool. Concentration risk is structural here, not a function of how you underwrite individual deals.

Property taxes in Illinois deserve serious attention at any price point, and Iroquois County is no exception. Using the state-average effective rate of 2.27%, the annual tax bill on a $152,115 property runs approximately $3,453, or $288 per month. Add the estimated insurance of $34 per month and the combined monthly carry for taxes and insurance alone is $322. That is a very high flag on the tax rate, and it belongs on its own line in any underwrite you build here. For context, $322 per month in non-debt carry on a property at this price point is punishing. A gross rent of $900 per month, which is a reasonable midpoint assumption for a county at this income and price level, leaves precious little room after taxes, insurance, maintenance, and vacancy before you reach debt service at 6.85%. Bear in mind this is a state-average estimate, and county and township assessments in Illinois can vary considerably, so confirming the specific parcel's tax history before closing is not optional.

The demographic and population risk is the most concrete downside signal the data surfaces. A county of 27,000 people in rural Illinois is exposed to long-term population drift toward metro areas, and that translates into both tenant turnover risk and long-term price ceiling risk. There is no vacancy data provided here, but any experienced investor in small-town Midwest markets knows that days-on-market for rentals can stretch in ways that urban assumptions do not capture. That alone argues for conservative vacancy underwriting, well above what you would use in a Chicago suburb.

The neighbor comparison sharpens the picture considerably. Will County, Lake County, and Kane County all sit in the $361,000 to $375,000 median range with rent-to-price ratios between 0.066 and 0.071, and overall scores of 68 to 69. Cook County, at $314,517 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.081, is the highest-yielding neighbor on that metric. Adams County is the closest analog to Iroquois on price, at $174,680 median with a 0.067 rent-to-price ratio, and scores a 68 overall. Iroquois edges Adams on overall score by one point. The suburban Chicago counties offer far more tenant depth and liquidity on exit, but at more than double the entry price and similar yield ratios. Iroquois makes sense over its neighbors only if you are deploying limited capital, targeting a value-add strategy where the low nominal price lets you absorb renovation costs and still stay well below replacement value, or if you have specific local market knowledge that lets you acquire below the county median. If your capital can stretch to Cook County's price points and you prioritize yield, the 0.081 rent-to-price ratio there is a better starting position than anything Iroquois currently shows.