Plymouth County

Plymouth County sits at a median home price of $297,521, up 4.35% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 66 out of 100. The data provided does not include a median rent figure or a calculated cap rate, which is a meaningful gap for any investor building a cash-flow underwrite. What the scoring does tell you is that Plymouth lands an appreciation score of 84, a cash-flow score of 0, and a stability score of 50, placing it squarely in the appreciation-driven column of the buy-and-hold spectrum. At the 77th national percentile out of 1,000 counties scored, it ranks 62nd within Iowa's 99 counties, which means it outperforms most of the country on the overall composite but sits in the bottom third of its own state. That positioning, combined with the missing rent data, tells you this is a market where price growth is the thesis, not monthly spread.

The investor profile this market suits most cleanly is the appreciation buyer with a long hold horizon and enough reserves to absorb thin or negative near-term cash flow. The 84 appreciation score, combined with 4.35% annual price growth on a $297,521 median, suggests roughly $12,900 in equity gain per year at the current pace, before any leverage amplification on the 20% down of $59,504. A cash-flow buyer cannot responsibly underwrite this market without confirmed rent data, and the cash-flow score of 0 is a direct warning. A value-add operator might find opportunity if they can acquire below the county median and force appreciation through renovation, but the stability score of 50 signals that demand is not locked in, so the exit and refinance assumptions need to be stress-tested rather than assumed.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Plymouth County, so drawing conclusions about the drivers of rental demand or job-market depth would require outside research beyond what this dataset supports. What the stability score of 50 does imply is that the demand base is not as durable as markets scoring in the 70s or 80s on that metric. For a county of 25,621 people in northwest Iowa, that makes intuitive sense: smaller population bases tend to produce thinner and more cyclical tenant pools, and any single employer contraction or demographic shift can move vacancy materially. Investors targeting this market should independently verify the county's largest employment sectors before committing.

At a 1.53% state-average effective property tax rate, Iowa's tax burden is high enough to deserve its own line on your underwrite, and Plymouth is no exception. The data flags this rate as high, and the math is direct: annual property tax on the median-priced asset runs $4,552, insurance adds another $1,012, and combined they produce $464 per month in carry before you touch mortgage principal and interest, maintenance, management, or vacancy reserves. On a $297,521 purchase with a 6.85% rate and 20% down, the monthly mortgage alone is substantial, meaning the tax-and-insurance load of $464 is sitting on top of an already heavy debt service number. This is not a rate that rounds to zero in a back-of-envelope analysis. The caveat from the data source applies: 1.53% is a state-average estimate using Tax Foundation 2024 figures, and the actual Plymouth County or township rate may differ, so pulling the county assessor's current millage before closing is non-negotiable.

The neighbor comparison clarifies Plymouth's position. Johnson County sits at nearly the same median price, $297,138, but comes with a documented rent-to-price ratio of 7.09% and a median rent of $1,756, which gives an investor a real cash-flow handle to underwrite. Clarke County shows a rent-to-price ratio of 7.07% on a much lower median of $189,690, meaning the entry cost is roughly 36% lower with comparable rental yield characteristics. Pottawattamie County offers a 6.67% rent-to-price ratio at a $232,170 median. All three of those neighbors carry overall scores of 67, one point below Plymouth's 68, so you are not sacrificing much composite quality. Calhoun County comes in at $139,624 median with no rent data provided, but the low price point suggests a very different risk and return profile. Plymouth makes the most sense over its neighbors specifically when an investor's thesis is price appreciation rather than current yield, when they have a longer hold timeline, and when they are comfortable with a thinner tenant pool in a smaller market. If immediate cash flow or rent coverage ratios are the primary underwriting filter, Johnson County's documented rent of $1,756 on a nearly identical price point, or Clarke County's lower entry cost with a comparable rent-to-price ratio, are more directly actionable choices with the data currently available.