Vanderburgh County

Vanderburgh County sits at a median home price of $202,409 and a median rent of $1,058, producing a gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.627% monthly, or roughly 7.5% annualized. The model cap rate comes in at 4.08%, which is serviceable but not exceptional, and it tells the real story here: this market leans toward appreciation rather than cash flow. Home prices are up 4.45% year-over-year, the affordability index sits at 87 (meaning housing is meaningfully cheaper than the national baseline), and the market ranks in the 81st percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties. The appreciation score of 84 is the standout number in the scorecard; the cash flow score of 63 confirms the other side of that trade-off. At a 6.85% rate with 20% down, the modeled monthly mortgage of $1,061 plus $370 in estimated expenses totals $1,431 against $1,058 in rent, producing a projected cash flow of negative $373 per month and a cash-on-cash return of -9.61%. That is not a cash flow market at current financing rates.

The buyer this market suits is not someone underwriting to monthly surplus today. It is an appreciation-oriented investor who either brings more equity to the table, can access below-market financing, or is willing to carry a modest negative spread in exchange for a low entry price and price growth that has been running at 4.45% annually. At $202,000, the absolute dollar exposure is low enough that the carry cost of a negative $373 monthly cash flow, roughly $4,476 per year, is a defined and manageable drag on a long-hold position. A value-add operator who can push rents above the $1,058 median, or who buys below the median price point, could tighten or eliminate that gap. The stability score of 50, however, is the number that should give a purely passive buyer pause. This is not a market where you set it and forget it; you need to be attentive to tenant quality and occupancy.

The monthly tax and insurance figure of $191 is embedded in the $370 expense estimate and is not unusually burdensome. Indiana's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.85% is flagged as normal, meaning it is neither a meaningful tailwind nor a line-item problem. The annual tax burden on a $202,000 property runs approximately $1,720, and annual insurance comes in around $567. Both are in line with Midwest norms. The caveat here, per the source data, is that this rate is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Vanderburgh will differ. Pull the county assessor data before closing to confirm the real number.

Concentration risk is the one structural concern the data surfaces indirectly. Vanderburgh is a mid-sized market at 179,900 people, large enough to have real tenant depth but not so large that a single employer disruption is easily absorbed. The stability score of 50, sitting at the midpoint, reflects that dynamic. A market of this size with that score warrants diligence into local employment diversity before building a large position. No vacancy or demographic data is provided here, so those risk factors are not quantifiable from this dataset alone.

Against its neighbors, Vanderburgh holds up well on rent-to-price ratio. Madison County, IN, at 0.689% monthly gross yield, is the only comparable in this dataset that clearly outperforms on raw cash flow metrics, with median rent of $1,047 on a $182,525 median price. If your primary objective is the best monthly yield among these counties, Madison County wins that comparison on the numbers provided. Fountain County comes in at 0.614% monthly on a $185,369 median price, and Wayne County at 0.582% on $165,210, both of which offer lower entry prices but also lower rents. Wayne County in particular has both the lowest price and the lowest rent in the group, which makes it a volume play rather than a quality play. Vanderburgh's case over its neighbors is the combination of scale, a higher absolute rent ($1,058 versus $949 in Fountain and $801 in Wayne), and an appreciation score of 84 that none of the neighbors' data contradicts. Choose Vanderburgh over the neighbors when you want a larger, more liquid market with stronger price growth potential and can stomach a negative carry at current rates. Choose Madison County instead when the spreadsheet has to work at month one.