Boyle County

Boyle County, Kentucky sits at a median home price of $246,553 and a median rent of $1,148, producing a gross rent-to-price ratio of 5.59%. That ratio puts it squarely in the middle of the cash-flow-versus-appreciation spectrum, closer to the cash-flow side by label but not actually delivering it in practice. The modeled cap rate comes in at 3.63%, and once you layer in a 20% down payment at 6.85% financing, the numbers turn negative fast: estimated monthly cash flow of -$546 and a cash-on-cash return of -11.55%. Home price appreciation was 0.78% year-over-year, so this is not a market compensating for thin cash flow with meaningful price growth either. On a national scale, Boyle ranks 402nd out of 1,000 counties analyzed, landing at the 49th percentile overall, with its highest score in affordability at 77 and its lowest in stability at 50.

The negative cash flow at current financing rates means this market does not work for a pure cash-flow buyer running conventional leverage at 80% LTV, at least not at median price and rent. The investor this market suits best is either a cash or near-cash buyer who can get the debt service low enough to turn the cap rate positive in practice, or a value-add operator who can push rents above the $1,148 median on a below-median acquisition. The affordability score of 77 suggests there is room to find assets priced below the median in a county where $246,553 is the midpoint, and the rent-to-price ratio at 5.59% is meaningfully better than at least two of the neighboring counties. An appreciation play is hard to justify at 0.78% YoY. If you are underwriting this county expecting price growth to do the heavy lifting, the data does not support that thesis.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Boyle County, so the underlying drivers of rental demand and job stability cannot be evaluated from the available inputs. That gap is itself worth noting as a due-diligence item before committing capital to a market of 30,613 people.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance estimate is $245, embedded within the $402 total estimated expenses figure in the model. Kentucky's state-average effective property tax rate is 0.86%, which the data flags as normal, and the insurance rate is estimated at 0.33%, producing an annual tax-and-insurance load of roughly $2,934. Neither figure is punishing, and the 0.86% tax rate is not the kind of line item that materially breaks a deal the way a 2%-plus rate would. That said, the note in the data is worth taking seriously: this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Boyle County may differ. Run the county assessor's published millage rate before finalizing your underwrite.

The most concrete risk in Boyle County is scale. A population of 30,613 means the rental pool is thin, vacancy can move fast when a tenant turns, and absorption time for a vacant unit is likely longer than in a mid-sized metro. With a stability score of 50, the lowest of the five scored categories, this is a market where concentration risk is real. Owning multiple units here means significant exposure to a single local economy. No vacancy or crime data were provided, so those specific risks cannot be quantified, but the population ceiling is enough reason to be conservative on vacancy assumptions in your own underwriting.

Compared to the provided neighbors, Boyle's rent-to-price ratio of 5.59% edges out Madison County (4.25%), Warren County (5.18%), and Oldham County (5.07%), making it the most favorable among those three on that metric. Oldham County's $433,371 median price and 5.07% ratio put it out of reach for most value-focused investors and require substantially more capital. Warren County at $286,155 and a 5.18% ratio scores a 56 overall versus Boyle's 59, so Boyle edges it on the composite. Madison County underperforms on rent yield despite a higher price point. McLean County at $152,820 and Greenup County at $146,758 have lower price points and each score a 60 and 62 respectively, which makes them worth a direct comparison if the primary goal is lowering the capital requirement and improving the cash-flow math. If you are specifically drawn to the Boyle County area for local knowledge or management proximity and can source below-median deals, the rent-to-price ratio is competitive within the state. If you are optimizing purely on the numbers, the lower-priced neighbors with comparable or better overall scores deserve a side-by-side look before committing.