Franklin County

Franklin County's headline numbers tell a split story. At a median home price of $267,680 and a 9.52% year-over-year price gain, the appreciation score of 81 out of 100 is the obvious standout. The cash-flow score, however, is 0, and the cap rate and cash-on-cash figures in the dataset are not populated, which is itself a signal: this is not a market where the rent-to-price math works cleanly at current prices. The affordability index of 73 suggests the county is not deeply expensive by national standards, but prices have moved fast enough that the spread between what you pay and what you can collect in rent has compressed. The overall score of 69 places Franklin in the 78th national percentile across 1,000 counties, and 45th out of 105 Kansas counties, which means it lands in the upper tier nationally while sitting in the middle of the Kansas pack.

For the appreciation-oriented buyer, Franklin makes a credible case. A 9.52% price gain in one year on a $267,680 median base is meaningful equity accumulation, and an appreciation score of 81 is one of the stronger readings in the dataset. If you are buying with a longer hold horizon, banking on continued price movement, and are either putting substantial equity to work or supplementing rental income from other cash-flowing assets in your portfolio, Franklin fits that thesis. A value-add operator who can force appreciation through renovation may find some room as well, since an affordability index of 73 indicates buyers exist at these price points. The pure cash-flow buyer, though, should look elsewhere. When the cash-flow score registers at zero and cap rate data is absent, the market is signaling that monthly income after financing and expenses is not the reason to be here.

The taxInsurance data is worth putting under the microscope before you underwrite anything. At the Kansas state-average effective property tax rate of 1.41%, the annual tax burden on a $267,680 purchase works out to roughly $3,774, with insurance adding another $1,553 annually at a 0.58% rate. Combined, that is $444 per month in tax and insurance carry before you touch debt service, maintenance, management, or vacancy. At a 6.85% interest rate on an 80% LTV loan, the mortgage payment adds further weight to the monthly expense stack. The 1.41% rate falls within the "normal" range per the tax flag, so it is not a deal-killer, but $444 a month in fixed overhead is a real number that needs to sit on its own line in your underwrite. Keep in mind this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and your actual county or township rate may differ from that figure.

The stability score of 50 is the data point that demands the most attention for a buy-and-hold investor. At the exact midpoint of the scale, it suggests neither a particularly resilient economy nor a fragile one, but it does mean the county does not have the employment depth or demographic momentum that insulates a rental portfolio during downturns. No economic anchor data was provided for Franklin County, so employer-level concentration or institutional demand drivers cannot be assessed from this dataset. With a population of 25,968, the rental pool is inherently shallow. A handful of vacancy events in a small market can shift local absorption in ways that larger metros absorb without notice. That demographic thinness is the primary risk to carry alongside the appreciation thesis.

Compared to its neighbors, Franklin sits at a crossroads. Geary County comes in at a 0.0707 rent-to-price ratio and an overall score of 70 on a $212,411 median, making it a materially better cash-flow proposition at a lower entry price. Barton County is the outlier, with an 0.0828 rent-to-price ratio on a $119,265 median, which is where the pure income buyer should be looking if cash yield is the objective. Butler County at $241,761 and a 0.0606 ratio lags even Franklin on yield. Jefferson County and Jackson County are priced almost identically to Franklin at $269,844 and $262,894 respectively, but neither has rent-to-price data populated, making direct comparison on yield impossible. The reason to choose Franklin over these neighbors is specifically the appreciation score of 81, which is the highest reading in this peer group. If you are running an appreciation strategy, Franklin's recent price trajectory and that relative score suggest it is the right call. If income yield is the deciding factor, Geary or Barton should be underwritten first.