Woodford County

Woodford County sits at a median home price of $235,906 with an 8.87% year-over-year appreciation rate, which immediately tells you what kind of market this is. The appreciation score of 83 out of 100 confirms it: Woodford is trending toward the appreciation end of the spectrum. The cash flow score, however, is zero, and with no cap rate or rent data populating the model, you're looking at a market where the income return is at best thin. The affordability index of 79 and an affordability score of 79 suggest prices are not yet stretched to unworkable levels, but the combination of an 8.87% price run-up and a 6.85% interest rate environment means the math on monthly income is going to be tight before you even factor in carry costs.

That appreciation profile makes Woodford a better fit for a long-hold equity buyer than a cash-flow hunter. If your underwriting model requires day-one positive cash flow, the numbers as presented here do not support that thesis, and you should be clear-eyed about that going in. The 86th national percentile ranking out of 1,000 counties and a top-50 state rank out of 102 Illinois counties tell you the market is well-regarded for overall investment quality, largely driven by that appreciation trajectory and relative affordability. A value-add operator could potentially force equity by improving a distressed asset and refinancing at a higher appraised value, but you would need to underwrite conservatively given the interest rate drag and the carry costs discussed below.

The carry cost picture in Woodford demands serious attention. Illinois carries a state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27%, flagged here as very high, and that designation is earned. On a $235,906 purchase, that rate produces an estimated $5,355 in annual property taxes. Add estimated annual insurance of $637, and you're at $499 per month in tax and insurance alone before you service any debt. That $499 figure deserves its own hard line in your pro forma because it will consume a meaningful share of gross rent in any scenario. The caveat here is real: 2.27% is a state-average estimate sourced from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county or township rates in Woodford can diverge materially from that figure. Pull the county assessor data before you close, not after.

Woodford's stability score of 50 is the number that should give a disciplined investor pause. It sits exactly at the midpoint, neither reassuring nor alarming, but it suggests the market has exposure to some combination of demographic or economic headwinds that temper the otherwise solid appreciation story. With a population of 38,414, Woodford is a small county, and small-county markets can move sharply in either direction when a major employer or demographic trend shifts. No economic anchor data was provided for this county, so the analysis cannot speak to specific employers or job base characteristics, and you should fill that gap through your own due diligence before committing capital.

When you set Woodford against its neighbors, the contrast is instructive. Williamson County at a $152,606 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0839 is the clearest cash-flow alternative in this peer group, with cheaper entry and a higher yield ratio than anything Woodford is likely to produce. Kankakee County at $211,066 and a 0.0744 rent-to-price ratio offers a middle path, lower price point with a comparable overall score of 72. Champaign County at $226,633 and a 0.0738 rent-to-price ratio is the closest comparable to Woodford in price but comes with a university-driven rental base that can provide demand floor stability, a quality Woodford's data does not demonstrate. McHenry County at $349,331 is significantly more expensive with a 0.0726 ratio, meaning it offers less income yield per dollar deployed while requiring far more capital. You choose Woodford over these neighbors specifically when you are betting on continued price appreciation in a market that has already posted 8.87% year-over-year growth, you can tolerate a thin or neutral cash-flow position in the early years, and you are prepared to absorb what may be a very high property tax burden that, if the state average is close to the local reality, will run nearly $500 per month on a typical acquisition before a single dollar of mortgage is paid.