Forrest County

Forrest County prints a gross rent-to-price ratio of 8.32% and a cap rate of 5.41%, which places it clearly on the cash-flow side of the spectrum rather than the appreciation side. Home prices sit at a median of $181,503, and median rent of $1,258 per month means tenants are paying roughly $1 for every $143 of asset value, a ratio that competes well against most Sun Belt metros trading at $1 per $200 or worse. The appreciation story is modest, with year-over-year home price growth of just 0.73%, so there is no meaningful price tailwind propping up total returns. What keeps the overall score at 70 and the national percentile at 81st is the combination of low entry cost and a rent level that partially offsets it. The "partially" matters: at a 6.85% rate on a 20% down conventional loan, the model underwrites to negative $133 per month cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of -3.82%. That gap is not fatal, but it is real, and it tells you that the numbers only pencil if you can improve on the financing, negotiate below list, or buy a property with rents meaningfully above the county median.

The investor this market suits most is someone who tolerates slight negative cash flow in exchange for a low-dollar entry point and a workable cap rate, or who has the operational skill to push rents above $1,258. A pure cash-flow buyer who needs to see positive cash-on-cash from day one should stress-test hard: with only $36,301 down and $951 monthly mortgage service, there is limited cushion. The affordability score of 91 out of 100 is the real signal here. Entry prices this low allow investors to deploy capital across multiple units rather than concentrating in one asset, which is a meaningful risk-management argument. A value-add operator buying distressed product below the $181,503 median and renovating to rents in the $1,350 to $1,450 range could flip the cash-on-cash into positive territory while still sitting well below replacement cost. An appreciation buyer looking to compound equity over five to seven years should look elsewhere; a 0.73% annual price gain means Forrest is not that vehicle.

On the carry-cost side, the monthly tax and insurance burden is $198, which is folded into the $440 estimated expense figure. Mississippi's state-average effective property tax rate is 0.81%, flagged here as normal, and at that level it does not become a headline underwriting risk the way a 1.7% or 2% rate would. The insurance rate of 0.50% annually produces $908 per year, which is relatively contained for a Mississippi county. That said, the 0.81% figure is a state-average estimate per Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Forrest County or township-level rates can differ, so pull the county assessor's mill rate before closing. Neither line item is punishing in isolation, but together they represent $2,378 per year in fixed costs that run regardless of occupancy.

The concentration risk worth naming is that Forrest County's population of 77,917 is anchored in a mid-sized Mississippi market without the diversification of a larger metro. A stability score of 50 out of 100 reflects that this is not a high-growth, economically diversified county. No economic anchor data was provided, so specific employer commentary is not appropriate here, but the modest appreciation rate and middling stability score together suggest that rental demand is driven by cost-of-living necessity rather than an influx of high-income workers. That means tenant quality distribution may skew toward workforce renters, which affects both collections risk and the ceiling on achievable rents.

Among the neighbors, Forrest compares favorably on entry price relative to Rankin County ($261,732) and Tate County ($238,526), both of which carry higher prices without producing meaningfully higher overall scores (69 and 70 respectively). Rankin's rent-to-price ratio of 7.95% actually trails Forrest's 8.32%, so you are paying more for a slightly worse yield relationship, though Rankin benefits from proximity to the Jackson metro and may offer better appreciation prospects. The more interesting comparison is Lauderdale County, which posts a rent-to-price ratio of 11.69% on a $122,775 median price and rents of $1,196, scoring 72 overall. Lauderdale is the sharper cash-flow play if you are optimizing that single metric, though Forrest's higher absolute rent level ($1,258 vs. $1,196) on a slightly larger asset base may attract a more stable tenant pool. Monroe County at $160,564 and Alcorn County at $166,945 score 73 each, both marginally ahead of Forrest overall, but without rent or ratio data provided here those comparisons cannot be taken further on a yield basis. Choose Forrest over its neighbors when your priority is a balance between entry price, rent level, and market size, and when you are willing to manage to the numbers closely enough to bridge a modest initial cash-flow deficit.