Kearny County

Kearny County sits at a median home price of $198,354 with 4.3% year-over-year appreciation, an affordability index of 87, and a national percentile rank of 93rd out of 1,000 counties scored. That combination tells you something useful: this is a market where entry prices remain accessible relative to national benchmarks, home values are moving in the right direction, and the market scores well overall. What it does not tell you is that it's a cash-flow machine. The cash flow, cap rate, and cash-on-cash return figures are all zeroed out in the underlying data, which means the rental income story here is either thin or simply not yet quantified with confidence. Investors who need to see a 6% cap rate on day one should take that absence seriously before underwriting a deal.

The appreciation score of 84 and the 4.3% price growth put this squarely in appreciation-leaning territory, not cash-flow territory. The buyer this market suits is someone comfortable holding for price appreciation over a multi-year horizon, willing to accept a neutral or modestly negative monthly carry in exchange for equity accumulation in an affordable entry-point market. At $198,354, the purchase price is low enough that a 20% down payment ($39,671) keeps initial capital at risk relatively contained, and the 6.85% interest rate environment means your mortgage cost is real and non-trivial regardless of entry price. This is not the county for a yield-first investor running a single-family rental portfolio on spread between gross rent and PITI. It is potentially interesting for someone looking to plant a flag in an affordable Kansas market with demonstrated price momentum and an 87 affordability score suggesting the local buyer pool can still absorb future price gains without hitting an affordability ceiling.

No economic anchor data was provided for Kearny County, so employment base, major employers, and job-driven rental demand cannot be assessed from the available inputs. What the population figure does signal is that at 3,964 residents, this is a genuinely small market. Small population counties carry concentration risk by definition: a single employer downsizing, a weather event, or outmigration of a few hundred working-age households can move vacancy and rental demand materially in a short window. The stability score of 50 reflects this, sitting exactly at the midpoint and suggesting the model sees real uncertainty about demand durability in a county this size.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure is $329, based on a state-average effective property tax rate of 1.41% and an insurance rate of 0.58%. The 1.41% rate carries a "normal" flag, meaning it is not a meaningful tailwind or headwind relative to peers, but at $2,797 annually on a $198,354 asset, it is a line item that shows up on every month's P&L. Worth noting: this is the Kansas state-average effective rate sourced from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Kearny County or township-level rates may differ from that figure. Run the county assessor's actual millage before finalizing any underwrite. At $329 per month for tax and insurance combined, that number alone will determine whether a modest rent roll produces positive or negative cash flow once mortgage, maintenance, and management are layered in at a 6.85% interest rate.

The population of roughly 4,000 is the single largest risk factor visible in this data. Thin tenant pools create long vacancy spells when units turn, pricing power is limited because the renter universe is small, and a buy-and-hold investor in a county this size is effectively making a concentrated bet on the economic and demographic trajectory of a single small community. No vacancy rate, crime index, or regulatory data was provided, so those dimensions cannot be scored here, but the demographic concentration risk is real and should inform position sizing.

Kearny's neighbor counties in Kansas tell a clarifying story. Linn County scores 76 overall at a $162,321 median, Clay County scores 74 at $163,354, Kingman County scores 75 at $167,958, and Atchison County scores 75 at $174,878. All four are cheaper entry points with comparable or slightly lower overall scores. Franklin County at $248,596 is the outlier on the high end at a 74 overall score. Kearny's case over the cheaper neighbors comes down to its appreciation score of 84 and the 4.3% YoY price growth, which likely exceed what those lower-priced markets are producing. If your strategy is appreciation-first and you're willing to accept the liquidity and concentration constraints of a sub-4,000-person county, Kearny's price momentum justifies the premium over Linn, Clay, or Kingman. If you want a lower basis and are indifferent to appreciation pace, those neighbors offer cheaper entry at similar overall quality scores. Franklin County at $248,596 with a lower overall score of 74 is the market to avoid in this peer group unless its specific cash-flow or economic profile justifies the price premium, which this data does not support.