Cass County

Cass County scores a cash-flow rating of 0 and a cap rate of 0 in the underlying model, which tells you something important before you read further: the rent data needed to compute those figures isn't available for this county at the density required to produce a reliable estimate. What the data does show is a median home price of $342,998, appreciation of 3.41% year-over-year, and an appreciation score of 81 out of 100. The affordability index sits at 57, and the county ranks 273rd out of 1,000 nationally, landing in the 65th percentile overall. This is not a market where you underwrite to day-one cash flow; it is a market where the investment thesis, if one exists, runs through price appreciation and the seasonal or lifestyle demand that tends to support it.

The appreciation score of 81 places Cass firmly in the appreciation-buyer column. At $342,998 median with a 3.41% annual gain, you are looking at a market that has been moving, but one where the affordability index of 57 signals that buyers are already stretched relative to income. That compression matters: when buyers are priced at the edge of what they can support, incremental price gains become harder to sustain without wage growth or inward migration to back them up. A value-add operator looking for forced appreciation through renovation could find opportunity here if they can source properties below that median, but the absence of reliable rent comps makes it difficult to model a stabilized exit yield with confidence. Cash-flow buyers should treat this county as a pass until rent data supports a cap rate calculation.

No economic anchor data was provided for Cass County, so employer-specific commentary is omitted here. What the population figure of 30,288 does indicate is a small, likely rural or semi-rural market. Small-county markets in Minnesota often carry seasonal demand patterns tied to lakes, recreation, and second-home ownership, and a median price approaching $343,000 in a county of this size suggests that dynamic may be at work. Seasonal or short-term rental demand can look attractive on the surface, but it also concentrates revenue risk into a narrow calendar window and introduces regulatory exposure that a long-term buy-and-hold underwrite does not capture well.

On carry costs, Minnesota's state-average effective property tax rate used here is 1.13%, which produces annual property tax of $3,876 on a $342,998 purchase. Combined with estimated annual insurance of $1,200, the monthly tax-and-insurance load is $423. That is a real number on your operating stack. The propertyTaxFlag is "normal," meaning this rate does not rise to the level of a structural disadvantage compared to the national landscape, but $423 per month in fixed carry before mortgage, maintenance, or management is not a rounding error on a property where gross rent is unconfirmed. Worth noting: the 1.13% figure is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual rates in Cass County townships can differ materially, so pull the county assessor's current mill rate before you finalize any underwrite.

The specific risk profile here centers on two factors the data supports. First, concentration: a population of 30,288 means the rental pool is thin, and vacancy in a small lake-country market can move fast when the economy softens or seasonal demand normalizes. Second, the stability score of 50 out of 100 is the weakest component of this county's scorecard. A stability score at the midpoint suggests meaningful volatility in the underlying demand or price history, and in a small county without visible economic anchors, that is worth taking seriously. Investors who need predictable occupancy to service debt should weight that 50 heavily.

Compared to the neighbors in the dataset, Cass County stands out for appreciation but not for yield. Blue Earth County carries a rent-to-price ratio of 6.09% and an overall score of 66. Olmsted County hits 5.96% rent-to-price at a similar median of $337,521 and also scores 65 overall. Mower County, at a median of $195,984 and a rent-to-price ratio of 4.94%, offers a much lower entry point even if the yield ratio is less compelling than Blue Earth or Olmsted. Nicollet County at 4.91% rent-to-price and a score of 62 is the weakest yield option in the peer group. Cass County, with no rent-to-price ratio calculable, cannot compete on income metrics against Blue Earth or Olmsted. Choose Cass over its neighbors only if your thesis is explicitly appreciation-driven, you have confidence in the local price trajectory, and you are comfortable underwriting without a clean rent comp baseline. If cash flow or yield coverage matters to your hold strategy, Blue Earth County at 6.09% rent-to-price and a slightly higher overall score is the stronger candidate from this peer group.