Grenada County

Grenada County sits at a median home price of $131,458, making it one of the more affordable entry points in Mississippi and landing it at a perfect affordability score of 100. The county ranks 253rd nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked, putting it in the 68th percentile overall, which is a reasonable position for a small rural market. Home prices are essentially flat year-over-year, down a negligible 0.01%, so there is no meaningful appreciation story here. The cash flow score registers at zero, which is a direct signal that the rent-to-price math is not producing the yield spreads an income-focused buyer would want to see at current financing rates. With a 6.85% interest rate assumption on a $131,458 purchase and a $26,292 down payment, the mortgage burden relative to achievable local rents compresses margins quickly. Grenada lands squarely in the middle of the cash-flow versus appreciation spectrum, but it is not excelling at either end, which is the core tension any investor needs to sit with before committing capital here.

The investor profile that makes the most sense for Grenada is a value-add operator or a cash buyer who can bypass the financing drag entirely. At a median price just above $131,000, the absolute dollar exposure is low, and a cash buyer effectively resets the return calculus by eliminating the mortgage payment that is squeezing levered cash flow to zero. A conventional leveraged buy-and-hold buyer chasing monthly income will find the numbers frustrating at a 6.85% rate. An appreciation buyer has even less reason to be here: flat price movement and a population of 21,474 in a county with no disclosed growth trajectory does not set up a compounding equity story. The value-add angle, buying distressed or underperforming assets below replacement cost in a low-price market and forcing equity through renovation, is where the math could work, but that requires local contractor relationships and deal-level underwriting that goes well beyond market-level scores.

The data does not include economic anchor or employer information for Grenada County, so no claims about job concentration, major employers, or industry mix can be made here. What the population figure of 21,474 does tell you is that this is a small market with limited tenant pool depth. Thin rental demand relative to a larger metro means vacancy risk is real even if specific vacancy rates are not provided, and rent growth is likely to track slowly with local wage dynamics rather than any supply-demand compression.

On carry costs, the monthly tax and insurance figure of $144 is relatively manageable in absolute terms, reflecting a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.81% and an insurance rate of 0.50%. The tax flag is "normal," so this is not a market where the tax line is going to ambush your underwrite the way a 1.5% or 2% rate would. That said, Mississippi's insurance environment is worth a separate look at the county level, as proximity to Gulf Coast weather patterns can affect actual premiums in ways a state-average figure does not capture. The note accompanying this data is honest: these are state-average estimates sourced from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and the actual Grenada County rate can differ. Pull the county assessor data before closing on a specific parcel.

Grenada's most meaningful risk is its size. A county of 21,474 people with flat home prices and an unspecified economic base is exposed to concentration risk if a single employer contracts or relocates. There is no diversification buffer that a larger metro provides. Regulatory risk is not flagged in the data, and no landlord-unfriendly ordinances are identified, but Mississippi is generally considered a landlord-friendly state, which is a modest structural positive.

Comparing Grenada to its neighbors clarifies where it fits. Madison County at a $329,801 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.062 is a higher-price, lower-yield market, likely driven by suburban Jackson demand. Jackson County at $210,656 and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.080 is the most yield-efficient neighbor shown, with an overall score of 67 versus Grenada's 65. If you are a leveraged cash-flow buyer, Jackson County's higher gross yield at 7.96 cents of annual rent per dollar of price is more interesting than Grenada's implied yield even before accounting for the price gap. Union County at $197,435 and an overall score of 66 also edges Grenada on the composite. The case for choosing Grenada over these neighbors comes down to one variable: absolute capital outlay. At $131,458, Grenada is roughly $66,000 cheaper than Union County and $79,000 cheaper than Jackson County. For an investor deploying limited capital, seeking value-add plays at the lowest possible basis, or building a portfolio with multiple units rather than concentrating equity in one higher-priced asset, Grenada's price floor is its primary differentiator. Anyone prioritizing yield efficiency or appreciation potential should look at Jackson County first.