Peoria County

Peoria County's gross rent-to-price ratio sits at 8.67%, which is well above the threshold where cash flow becomes plausible in theory, though the actual underwriting tells a more complicated story. At a $166,288 median purchase price and $1,201 median monthly rent, the cap rate pencils at 5.63%, which is a real number worth paying attention to in an environment where many Midwest markets have compressed into the 4s. Year-over-year home price appreciation came in at 5.84%, which is meaningfully above inflation and suggests this market is not simply cheap because it is stagnant. The model scores reflect that duality: cash flow scores at 87 out of 100, appreciation at 89, but stability lands at 50, signaling that the upside comes with real volatility risk baked in. The national rank of 7 out of 1,000 counties puts Peoria in the 99th percentile overall, which is a high bar and worth stress-testing against the carry costs below.

The investor who fits this market best is someone who can manage the gap between gross yield and net cash flow. With a 20% down payment of $33,258, a $872 monthly mortgage at 6.85%, and $420 in estimated expenses, the model projects negative $91 monthly cash flow before accounting for tax and insurance. That gap is not fatal, but it does mean Peoria is not a purely passive cash-flow play at today's rates, at least not at the median price point. A value-add operator who can buy below median, force equity through renovation, and push rents above the $1,201 median is better positioned here than someone expecting day-one cash flow. The 5.84% appreciation rate and 94 affordability index suggest the entry price is still low enough that equity build will carry a patient investor, but the math requires active management of purchase price and rent level, not passive acceptance of median inputs.

The property tax situation deserves its own line on your underwrite, and it is not a minor footnote. Illinois carries a state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27%, flagged here as very high, which generates an estimated $3,775 in annual property tax on a $166,288 asset. Combined with $449 in annual insurance, the monthly tax-and-insurance burden is $352. That figure alone accounts for roughly 29% of the $1,201 median rent, which is why the model's cash-on-cash return lands at negative 2.86% despite a headline rent-to-price ratio that looks attractive. To be clear, the 2.27% is a state-average effective rate from the Tax Foundation's 2024 data, and county or township-level rates in Peoria County may differ, so pull the actual assessor data before closing. But the directional signal is unambiguous: Illinois property taxes are a structural headwind that does not disappear with a favorable purchase price, and any underwrite that soft-pedals that line will disappoint at year-end.

On the risk side, the stability score of 50 is the most important number an investor should probe further. A population of 181,186 in a mid-size Midwest city creates concentration risk if the local employment base is narrow or tied to a single sector or employer. The data provided does not include specific economic anchors or employer detail, so this analysis cannot quantify that risk with names and numbers, but the score itself signals that the model has flagged something. Before deploying capital, an investor should independently verify the diversity of the local job market, recent population trends, and whether the 5.84% home price appreciation has been consistent or is coming off a single spike year. Regulatory risk in Illinois is also worth monitoring at the state level given the broader policy environment around landlord-tenant law, though no county-specific data was provided here.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the dataset, Peoria's $166,288 median price is the second highest, trailing only Menard County at $198,736. Massac County at $112,844 and Edwards County at $124,765 offer lower entry points, and both score 79 to 81 overall, close to Peoria's 80. Marshall County at $131,595 and Richland County at $132,577 similarly score at 80 to 81. The spread in overall scores is narrow, which means the decision between Peoria and its neighbors comes down to what the investor is optimizing for. Peoria's larger population base of 181,186 provides more rental demand depth and liquidity on exit than any of the neighboring counties, which are smaller markets where a buyer pool can thin quickly. An investor who needs scale, wants multiple acquisitions in one market, or values exit liquidity should choose Peoria. An investor who is purely chasing gross yield and can accept a thinner, less liquid market may find the lower price points in Massac or Edwards worth exploring, with the understanding that vacancy and demand dynamics in those smaller markets carry their own unquantified risks.