Schuyler County

Schuyler County posts a median home price of $153,673 and a 3.5% year-over-year price gain, which places it in the 96th percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked. The affordability index of 97 confirms that entry cost is not the constraint here. What is absent from the data, and worth naming plainly, is any rent estimate or cash-flow figure. Cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and monthly cash flow all come back at zero in the dataset, which means the rent side of the equation simply could not be modeled. That is not a red flag about the market per se, but it does mean an investor cannot rely on a pre-built underwrite here and needs to pull comp rents manually before committing. What the data does show is an appreciation score of 82 out of 100 against a cash-flow score of 0, a split that tells you clearly where this county's potential lies.

The appreciation score of 82, a national ranking of 30th, and a price gain of 3.5% annually point to a market that rewards patient, long-hold buyers more than it rewards anyone chasing monthly spread. The affordability index of 97 out of 100 means land and structures are still cheap relative to income benchmarks, which is the raw material for further appreciation as the market matures. A value-add operator can work here precisely because of that affordability: at a $153,673 median, even a modest renovation budget is a small percentage of purchase price, and forcing value through improvements is arithmetically easier than in markets where you start at $400,000. The stability score of 50 is the honest counterweight. It signals a market that can move, but that does not have deep structural support underneath it, which matters if you need to refinance or exit in a down cycle.

No economic anchor data was provided for Schuyler County, so no employer names or sector concentration figures can be cited. What the population figure of 6,879 does tell you is that this is a thin market. A county of under 7,000 people has a small rental pool by definition, which concentrates vacancy risk at the individual property level. One bad tenant or one prolonged vacancy hits your annual return harder than it would in a market with 200,000 people and a continuously replenishing renter base. That is not a reason to avoid Schuyler, but it is a reason to underwrite vacancy conservatively and to know exactly who your tenant base is before you close.

Illinois carries a state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27%, which the Tax Foundation flags as very high, and Schuyler is subject to that state-level environment. On this asset at $153,673, that rate produces an estimated $3,488 in annual property tax, and combined with $415 in estimated annual insurance, the monthly tax-and-insurance carry is $325. That $325 per month is a hard fixed cost that runs regardless of occupancy. At a purchase price under $154,000, $325 monthly is a significant share of any reasonable rent figure, and it deserves its own line on your underwrite before you ever pencil in maintenance or management. Note that 2.27% is the state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data; actual Schuyler County and township rates may differ, and you should pull the county assessor's figures for any specific parcel.

The neighbor comparison sharpens the picture. McDonough County shows a rent-to-price ratio of 0.1209, the highest of any county in the comparison set, at a median home price of only $92,986. If cash flow is the primary objective, McDonough is the stronger choice on the numbers provided. Saint Clair County at $173,515 and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0844, and Rock Island at $151,597 with a ratio of 0.0819, both offer modeled rent figures that Schuyler currently cannot match in this dataset, giving those markets a clearer underwriting path. Clinton County at $212,337 and Iroquois County at $149,561 each carry a slightly higher overall score than Schuyler (76 and 78, respectively, versus Schuyler's 77), though neither neighbor edges Schuyler's 96th-percentile national ranking, which is the most distinctive data point Schuyler holds. The case for choosing Schuyler over its neighbors comes down to one thing: if you believe the appreciation score of 82 and the national ranking of 30 reflect a structural price tailwind that the neighbors do not share, and you can independently verify rent levels sufficient to cover the $325 monthly tax-and-insurance burden plus debt service, then Schuyler's entry price and appreciation trajectory make it the pick. If you need a modeled, proven cash-flow case before you commit capital, McDonough's ratio of 0.1209 is the number to beat, and it beats everything else in this group.