Greene County

Greene County's median home price sits at $200,277, up 6.25% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 87, meaning homes here are meaningfully cheaper relative to local incomes than the national baseline. The data does not supply a median rent or cap rate figure, which makes it impossible to calculate a price-to-rent ratio or confirm cash flow from the numbers provided. What the scoring confirms is that the tool's own model rates cash flow at zero and appreciation at 90 out of 100, placing Greene firmly on the appreciation end of the spectrum rather than the cash-flow end. An investor underwriting this county for immediate monthly surplus would be working against the grain of what the market is currently rewarding.

That appreciation score of 90, a national percentile rank of 96 out of 1,000 counties, and a state rank of 7 out of 92 Indiana counties make Greene most compelling for a patient, equity-oriented buyer who can tolerate thin or zero near-term cash flow in exchange for above-average price appreciation. The 6.25% year-over-year price gain is real acceleration in a county priced at $200K, where even moderate percentage moves translate into meaningful equity at a low absolute dollar basis. A value-add operator who can force appreciation through renovation and then refinance or sell into that rising price trend could also find a workable angle here, particularly given the affordability score of 87, which suggests there is still room for prices to move before the market prices out local buyers and renters.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Greene County, so no assessment of job base, sector concentration, or demand drivers tied to specific employers can be made from the available information. What the stability score of 50 does signal is that whatever the underlying economic structure looks like, this is not a high-conviction stability market. A score at the midpoint means the demand base has real question marks, and that deserves weight in any underwrite. A 30,900-person county in rural Indiana is inherently more sensitive to single-employer or single-sector disruption than a larger metro market, and the data does not provide evidence to argue against that read.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure comes to $189, based on Indiana's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.85% and an insurance rate of 0.28%. That $189 is material when cash flow is already zeroed out in the model. The 0.85% rate carries a "normal" flag, meaning it is neither a tailwind nor a headwind relative to the broader national range, but the honest caveat from the data itself applies: this is a state-average estimate, and actual county or township rates in Greene County may differ from that figure. Anyone doing a live underwrite should pull the assessor's effective rate for specific parcels before finalizing numbers. At a $200,277 purchase price, the difference between a 0.85% and a 1.1% effective rate is roughly $42 per month, which is enough to matter on a deal where cash flow is already marginal.

The specific risk worth flagging is demographic and scale concentration. A population of 30,900 makes the rental demand pool narrow. If a major employer exits or regional economic conditions shift, vacancy can move quickly in a small market with limited renter demand redundancy. The stability score of 50 reinforces this. There is no vacancy or crime data provided to quantify the risk further, but the combination of small population, rural geography, and a mid-range stability score is itself a concentration risk that requires a lower purchase price or higher rent assumption to offset.

Among the neighboring counties, Greene's $200,277 median sits above Grant ($147,231), Delaware ($160,460), Miami ($163,132), and Orange ($182,101), and below Newton ($218,351). Delaware County offers a rent-to-price ratio of 8.01% on a $160,460 median, and Miami County offers 7.18% on $163,132. Both of those neighbors show actual rent data that Greene County's dataset does not supply, and both produce measurable gross yield figures that would support a cash-flow underwrite. Delaware and Miami score 75 and 73 respectively versus Greene's 77 overall, but if current income is the objective, either neighbor gives you a cleaner path to positive cash flow. Choose Greene County over these neighbors specifically when the investment thesis is equity appreciation over a three-to-seven year hold, when the entry price at $200K is acceptable relative to income, and when the investor can carry the asset through a period of flat or negative monthly cash flow while the 6.25% annual price trend does its work.