Fulton County

Fulton County, Indiana comes in at a 96th-percentile national ranking out of 1,000 counties scored, with an overall score of 77 and an appreciation score of 91. The median home price sits at $213,114, up 6.67% year-over-year, which is a meaningful price run for a county of 20,420 people. The data does not include a median rent figure or cap rate for Fulton, so cash-flow arithmetic cannot be completed from what's provided, and the cash-flow score registers at zero. That zero is not a typo to brush past: it signals this county does not pencil as a yield play at current prices and a 6.85% rate. What the data does support clearly is an appreciation thesis, and that 91 appreciation score paired with 6.67% annual price growth puts Fulton firmly on the appreciation end of the spectrum rather than the cash-flow end.

The investor this market suits is someone buying for price appreciation in a still-affordable Indiana market, not someone underwriting to monthly net income. The affordability index of 84 and a median price just above $213,000 mean entry costs are modest relative to many markets nationally, which matters for appreciation buyers managing downside risk: you are not paying a premium multiple for growth that has already been priced in. The 20% down payment on a median-priced acquisition runs $42,623, a reasonable equity position. But with a cash-flow score of zero and no rent data available to verify gross yield, a pure cash-flow buyer has no numerical basis to underwrite here. A value-add operator might find opportunity precisely because the county is small and potentially under-rented, but that thesis would need local rent comps the current dataset does not supply.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance estimate runs $201, using Indiana's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.85% and an insurance rate of 0.28%. Indiana's 0.85% rate falls in a normal range and does not represent a meaningful drag relative to higher-tax states. It is not a tailwind worth celebrating either, just a neutral line item. That said, the data note is worth taking seriously: this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024, and county and township-level assessments in Indiana can diverge from that figure, so any serious underwrite should pull the actual Fulton County millage rate before signing off on your expense stack.

The dataset does not include economic anchors or employer data for Fulton County, so no claims about the local job base or employer concentration are appropriate here. What can be said from the demographic picture is that a population of 20,420 is small, and small-county markets carry concentration risk by definition. Demand for rentals in a county this size can be meaningfully moved by a single employer adding or cutting shifts, a college enrollment trend, or an infrastructure project. An investor without local knowledge of what is driving the 6.67% price appreciation should treat that growth figure as a question to answer before closing, not a reason to skip due diligence. Without vacancy data, crime data, or regulatory information in the dataset, no specific claims can be made on those dimensions.

Comparing Fulton to its neighbors sharpens the picture. Greene County scores 78 overall at a median of $198,077, a slightly lower price point with a marginally higher overall score. Grant County at $147,231 and Delaware County at $160,460 offer meaningfully cheaper entry, and Delaware County shows a rent-to-price ratio of 8.01% on a median rent of $1,071, which is a legitimate cash-flow signal. Miami County at $163,132 carries a rent-to-price ratio of 7.18% on $976 median rent. Both Delaware and Miami deliver actual yield data that Fulton does not, and a cash-flow buyer should look hard at Delaware County in particular before committing to Fulton. The case for choosing Fulton over its neighbors rests entirely on the appreciation thesis: the 91 appreciation score and 6.67% price growth are the best appreciation numbers in this peer group based on provided data. If you are positioning for price appreciation, tolerating a neutral or negative carry in the near term, and can deploy $42,600 in equity at a $213,000 price point, Fulton makes a reasonable case. If you need the rent check to cover the mortgage today, Delaware or Miami County are the data-supported alternatives.