Jasper County

Jasper County sits at a 3.2% cap rate and a gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.49%, which places it firmly on the appreciation side of the spectrum. At a $229,091 purchase price and $940 median rent, the math on cash flow is straightforward and unfavorable: after a $1,201 monthly mortgage at 6.85%, plus $329 in estimated operating expenses, the modeled position runs negative $590 per month. Cash-on-cash return comes in at -13.44% on a $45,818 down payment. The county scores 44 out of 100 on cash flow and 84 on appreciation, with 4.2% year-over-year home price growth. That growth rate is real and meaningful for a market with a $229,000 median, but it does not offset the carry deficit under current financing conditions. Anyone underwriting this deal needs to go in clear-eyed: this is a bet on price appreciation and equity accumulation, not on monthly distributions.

The investor this market suits is someone who can absorb a negative monthly position, has a long hold horizon, and believes the 4.2% annual price appreciation continues or accelerates. An affordability index of 81 and a median price under $230,000 suggest there is still room for price growth before the market becomes inaccessible to the local buyer pool, which is a reasonable tailwind for appreciation investors. A value-add operator could theoretically compress the gap, but $940 median rent leaves little upside without meaningful renovation moving a property to a higher rent tier, and even then the 3.2% cap rate ceiling suggests the market will not reward heavy basis easily. Cash-flow buyers should look elsewhere.

On carry costs, the property tax situation deserves a dedicated line in your underwrite. Iowa's state-average effective rate of 1.53% is high enough to be a real drag, and when combined with estimated insurance at 0.34%, the combined monthly tax-and-insurance load comes to $357. That figure is already embedded in the -$590 monthly cash flow estimate, but it matters for scenario analysis: a buyer who underestimates the tax burden or models at a lower rate will be surprised. The caveat the data carries is worth repeating, the 1.53% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024, and actual Jasper County or township rates may differ in either direction. Pull the county assessor's current levy before finalizing any model.

Stability scores at 50 out of 100, which is middling. The county population of 37,808 is small enough that any single employer departure or sector contraction would have an outsized effect on rental demand. No economic anchor data was provided for this county, so specific employer or industry concentration cannot be characterized here, but a market of this size warrants direct research into the local employment base before committing capital. A 37,000-person county does not have the demand depth that absorbs vacancy easily if conditions shift.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the data, Jasper sits in the middle of the price range. Monroe at $164,272, Lee at $117,640, and Keokuk at $139,177 are all significantly cheaper, and lower entry points can mean more favorable rent-to-price ratios, though rent data for those three was not provided. Scott County is the most comparable by price at $233,631 and shows a rent-to-price ratio of 0.544%, meaningfully better than Jasper's 0.492%. Scott County also carries an overall score of 63, identical to Jasper's, which raises a direct question: if cash flow is already thin in Jasper, why not pivot to Scott, which has a higher rent-to-price ratio at a nearly identical price point? Madison County at $328,942 and a score of 65 sits at the high end of the range and is likely pushing further into appreciation-only territory. An investor should choose Jasper over its neighbors when the specific thesis is appreciation in an affordable Iowa market with a more rural character, or when local knowledge and deal sourcing in Newton or another Jasper community create a basis advantage not visible in county-level medians. On the numbers alone, Scott County presents the stronger cash-flow case among the neighbors with available rent data.