Pulaski County

Pulaski County sits at the extreme low end of the Illinois market by nearly every measure. The median home price of $75,166 is the headline, but the investment data tells a harder story: cap rate and cash-on-cash return both calculate to zero, which means the rent-to-price relationship isn't generating the kind of returns that would normally justify acquisition. Home values declined 13.9% year over year, placing Pulaski firmly on the depreciation side of the ledger rather than the appreciation side. The affordability index hits 100, a perfect score, which reflects how cheap entry is, not how well the market performs once you own. Nationally, Pulaski ranks in the 13th percentile across 1,000 counties, and 85th out of 102 Illinois counties, which puts it near the bottom of the state.

The cash-flow score is zero and the appreciation score is zero, which means this county doesn't fit cleanly into either the cash-flow or appreciation investor profiles. A pure cash-flow buyer needs rent rolls that service debt and produce a spread, and the data here doesn't support that conclusion. An appreciation buyer needs either population growth or economic momentum to underpin price gains, and a 13.9% annual price decline points the opposite direction. A value-add operator might look at the $75,166 median and see an entry point for repositioning assets, but a population of 5,177 creates a thin tenant pool and an even thinner exit market when it's time to sell or refinance. The affordability score of 100 is real, but affordability alone doesn't generate returns if the rental demand isn't there to fill units and the resale market can't absorb the asset later.

No economic anchors were provided for Pulaski County, so job base and employer concentration can't be addressed from this data. What the numbers do reflect is a small, rural county with a declining population of 5,177, which by itself signals limited organic rental demand. Markets this size can work for individual operators with very specific local knowledge, but the risk of extended vacancy in a thin market is real, and it's one an outside investor should price conservatively.

The carry costs deserve serious attention here. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27%, Illinois ranks among the highest in the country, and the propertyTaxFlag for this data is flagged very_high. On a $75,166 purchase, that translates to approximately $1,706 in annual property taxes and $203 in estimated annual insurance, for a combined monthly tax-and-insurance burden of $159. That figure is material on a $75,000 asset, especially when cap rate is effectively zero and any rent collected has to cover that $159 before reaching debt service or generating cash flow. Per the data note, 2.27% is a state-average estimate using Tax Foundation 2024 figures, and the actual county or township rate in Pulaski may differ, so verify the precise millage rate before finalizing any underwrite. Illinois property tax is not a line item you can minimize on a small rural asset.

The 13.9% year-over-year price decline is the most direct risk signal in this dataset. Price contraction in a county with a population under 6,000 can be self-reinforcing: fewer buyers, thinner liquidity, longer days on market, and wider bid-ask spreads when an investor needs to exit. Concentration risk is inherent in a market this size, where a single employer closure or demographic shift can meaningfully move the needle on vacancy and values. Regulatory risk isn't addressed by the data provided.

Comparing Pulaski to its neighboring counties sharpens the picture. Greene County carries an overall score of 65 versus Pulaski's 45, with a median home price of $106,001, still affordable by Illinois standards. Schuyler County scores 49 with a median of $140,751. Monroe County, the highest-scoring neighbor at 59, has a median of $327,942 and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.047, which works out to roughly $1,285 in median rent against a substantially higher purchase price, but a 59 score still reflects a market with more functional economics than Pulaski. Calhoun County scores 61 at a median of $184,783. All four neighbors outrank Pulaski in overall score. The only scenario where Pulaski makes sense over a neighbor is if an investor has hyper-local knowledge, low or no financing requirements, and a specific tenant base already in place. For a buyer entering the market cold, every one of the four surrounding counties presents a more defensible underwrite.