Union Parish

Union Parish sits at a median home price of $165,091, up 4.96% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 95 out of 100. The data provided does not include a median rent figure, cap rate, or cash-on-cash return for this parish, which means the cash-flow picture cannot be fully underwritten from what's here. The scoring reflects that directly: the cash-flow score comes in at zero (unscored, not failing), while the appreciation score registers 86 out of 100. The overall score of 78 and a national percentile rank of 98th out of 1,000 counties suggest this market is getting attention for reasons beyond monthly rent checks. At $165,091 with 4.96% annual price growth, this is a market where the investment thesis, if there is one, leans on price appreciation rather than day-one yield.

The investor profile that fits here is the appreciation-oriented buyer comfortable operating in a smaller, less liquid market. A population of 21,049 means thin transaction volume, which cuts both ways: less competition on acquisitions, but a narrower exit pool when it comes time to sell. The affordability index of 95 tells you that housing is accessible relative to local incomes, which supports owner-occupant demand and keeps a floor under prices, but it also signals that rent-to-income constraints may cap how far rents can be pushed. With no rent data in the supplied figures, a cash-flow buyer cannot reliably underwrite this market from the available inputs and would need to pull comps independently before committing capital. A value-add operator working at the $165,091 price point has room to work if forced sales or distressed inventory can be sourced below that median, but again, the thin population base limits the tenant pool.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Union Parish, so the job-base analysis cannot be completed here. What the population figure does tell you is that this is a small rural Louisiana parish, and concentration risk is real: a single employer contraction or industry downturn in a market of 21,049 people hits occupancy faster and harder than it would in a metro area. The stability score of 50 is the lowest subscale score in the data set and warrants attention. That number, sitting at the midpoint, suggests the underlying economic and demographic inputs do not offer the same conviction as the affordability and appreciation scores.

On carry costs, Louisiana's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.55% is flagged as low, and the numbers bear that out. Annual property tax on a $165,091 purchase works out to roughly $908, and annual insurance runs approximately $1,090, combining for a monthly tax-and-insurance figure of $167. That is a genuine tailwind for anyone holding here. To be precise, that 0.55% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and the actual rate in Union Parish or within specific townships may differ, so verify the local millage before closing. Still, at $167 per month all-in for taxes and insurance, the carry cost structure is meaningfully lighter than what investors face in higher-tax states, and it creates some buffer on the expense side when rent data is thin.

The primary risks here are concentration and liquidity. A parish of 21,049 people in rural Louisiana with a stability score of 50 is not a market that absorbs vacancy easily. Without vacancy rate data in the supplied figures, a specific number cannot be cited, but the structural reality of a small rural market is that tenant turnover events are more disruptive than in denser metros. Regulatory risk is not flagged in the data, and no specific demographic trends are provided, so those vectors cannot be assessed here.

Compared to the five neighboring parishes in the data, Union Parish carries the highest overall score at 78. Assumption Parish scores 74 at a slightly higher median price of $171,822. Caldwell Parish scores 73 at a much lower $127,430, which may appeal to investors prioritizing entry-point affordability over overall score. Calcasieu Parish, at a score of 70, offers actual rent data: a median rent of $1,062 against a $193,360 median price implies a rent-to-price ratio of 6.59%, which is a real, if modest, cash-flow signal. Iberia Parish, also at 70, shows the most compelling rent-to-price ratio in the neighbor set at 10.63%, with a $1,188 median rent against a $134,124 median price. If cash flow is the priority and the investor is willing to accept a lower overall score, Iberia Parish's rent-to-price ratio makes it the stronger cash-flow candidate among the neighbors shown. Union Parish is the right choice when the investor's conviction is on price appreciation in an affordable, low-tax-burden Louisiana market and can accept the liquidity and stability tradeoffs that come with a rural parish of this size.