Scott County

Scott County, Indiana sits at a median home price of $206,441 with year-over-year appreciation of 4.73%, and it earns an affordability index score of 86 out of 100. The scoring model gives it an 85 on appreciation and places it in the 93rd percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties ranked, landing it at 14th in Indiana out of 92. What's conspicuously absent from the data is a cash flow score, which registers at zero, and the investment estimate carries zeroed-out figures for cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and estimated monthly cash flow. That's a signal worth taking seriously before underwriting: this county's investment case rests almost entirely on price trajectory, not on rent-driven income generation.

That profile maps cleanly onto a specific investor type: the appreciation buyer willing to accept thin or negative monthly cash flow in exchange for equity growth at 4.73% annually on a sub-$210,000 basis. At a 20% down payment of roughly $41,300 and a 6.85% rate, the monthly mortgage alone is material, and without cap rate or rent data in the model, a buyer has to do their own rent comp work before committing. The cash flow score of zero is a disqualifier for the income-first investor who needs the property to carry itself. A value-add operator might find opportunity if the local housing stock is distressed enough that forced appreciation closes the gap, but the data here doesn't support that thesis on its own. The affordability score of 86 does suggest that purchase prices remain accessible relative to local incomes, which matters for exit strategy: a deep buyer pool on resale is part of what sustains appreciation.

No economic anchor data was provided for Scott County, so employer-specific context isn't something this analysis can responsibly add. What the population figure of 24,403 does tell you is that this is a small county, and small markets carry concentration risk by definition. Rental demand in a county this size is likely tied to a narrow set of employers or a single industry. If that base shifts, vacancy can move quickly and there's limited cushion from diversified demand the way a larger metro provides.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure comes to $194, based on a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.85% and an insurance rate of 0.28%. That $194 is a meaningful line item on a property this price, but the tax rate at 0.85% is flagged as normal, meaning it's neither a tailwind nor a headwind compared to Indiana broadly. The honest caveat here, per the data source, is that this is a state-average estimate drawn from Tax Foundation 2024 figures, and your actual county or township rate may differ. Pull the Scott County assessor data before you finalize your underwrite because township-level rates in Indiana can diverge meaningfully from the state average.

The small population base is the most concrete risk this data supports. A county of 24,403 people has a thin rental market by volume, which means a handful of vacancies or a single large employer contraction can move local metrics fast. The stability score of 50 reflects this, sitting exactly at the midpoint and suggesting the model sees roughly equal probability of conditions holding or deteriorating. There's no regulatory or demographic risk data provided, so flagging anything specific there would be speculation.

Comparing to the neighbors, Scott's median home price of $206,441 is higher than Grant ($147,231), Delaware ($160,460), Miami ($163,132), and Orange ($182,101), and roughly in line with Newton ($218,351). Delaware County is the most useful comparison because it includes rent and price-to-rent data: a rent-to-price ratio of 0.080, or roughly $1,071 on a $160,460 median, is a meaningfully better cash flow setup than what Scott offers at this price point. Miami County runs a similar story at a 0.072 rent-to-price ratio on a $163,132 median. Both Delaware and Miami carry the same overall score of 75 as Scott but with lower entry prices and visible cash flow metrics. An investor primarily chasing income should be in Delaware or Miami, not Scott. You choose Scott over those neighbors specifically when you believe the 4.73% appreciation rate is durable and you're comfortable running a negative or break-even monthly position to capture equity growth on a sub-$210,000 basis, something that's easier to stomach if you're deploying capital from a larger portfolio and treating this county as an appreciation allocation rather than an income position.