Alcorn County

Alcorn County ranks 13th nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked and sits at the 98th percentile overall, with the top overall score in Mississippi. At a median home price of $179,058 and 7.0% year-over-year appreciation, this is not a cash-flow play, at least not on the numbers provided here. The cash-flow score registers at zero, which tells you that rents relative to purchase price are not generating meaningful spreads at current financing costs. With a 6.85% rate on a standard 20% down purchase, the mortgage alone is substantial against whatever rents this market commands. The appreciation score of 92 out of 100, combined with a 7.0% price gain over the past year and a median price still under $180,000, is the actual story. This is an affordable market appreciating at a pace that outperforms most of its Mississippi peers, but you are not buying yield here, you are buying price trajectory at a low entry point.

The investor profile this market suits is someone prioritizing equity accumulation over monthly cash flow. An affordability index of 92 and a $179,058 median means low absolute dollar exposure per door, which matters when you are holding for appreciation. If prices continue near their trailing pace, a buyer at today's median is looking at roughly $12,600 in annual price appreciation per unit, which on a $35,812 down payment represents a meaningful unleveraged gain before any rent offset. That math attracts the buy-and-hold equity builder who can tolerate a breakeven or slight negative carry in exchange for capital appreciation and low entry cost. Value-add operators may also find opportunity given the affordability profile, since there is room between acquisition cost and replacement cost to justify renovation spend, but the local rent ceiling will define how far that pencils.

The data does not include economic anchor details for Alcorn County, so no specific employer analysis is offered here. What the demographic numbers do suggest is a smaller county population of 34,717, which concentrates demand in a thin rental pool. Stability scores at 50 out of 100, squarely at the midpoint, indicating that the market is neither particularly recession-resistant nor particularly fragile based on available inputs. Investors should treat that number as a signal to do additional local diligence on employer concentration and any single large employer dependency before committing capital.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance load comes in at $195, based on a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.81% and an insurance rate of 0.50%. That rate is flagged as normal, meaning it is neither a headwind nor a meaningful tailwind relative to other markets, though the caveat bears repeating: the 0.81% figure is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and county or township-level assessments in Alcorn may differ. At $195 per month, this line item is not going to break or make a deal, but it belongs on every underwrite. Mississippi insurance costs can also vary by exact location and construction type, so get a local quote before finalizing numbers.

The primary risks here are scale and concentration. A county of under 35,000 people means the rental market is relatively thin, and a single large employer departure, a demographic shift, or a soft local economy can move vacancy meaningfully in either direction. There is no vacancy data provided, so that risk is unquantified, but it is structurally present in any small-county market. Regulatory risk is not flagged in the data.

Against its neighbors, Alcorn's $179,058 median sits above Scott County ($123,939, overall score 76), Hinds County ($125,430, score 76), and Holmes County ($84,259, score 76), but below Lee County ($196,256, score 75). Hinds County is the one direct comparison with rent data: a 12.85% rent-to-price ratio at a $125,430 median versus Alcorn's zero cash-flow score tells you that if cash flow is the priority, Hinds offers a meaningfully better gross yield profile at lower entry cost. Lee County, at $196,256 and a 7.77% rent-to-price ratio, provides a higher-cost alternative with rent data that suggests moderate yield. Choose Alcorn over its neighbors when your thesis is appreciation at the lowest absolute entry point with a top-ranked overall profile, and when you can absorb a breakeven cash position while the equity accrues. Choose Hinds if you need yield now.