Hancock County

Hancock County sits at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 8.47%, which places it firmly on the cash-flow side of the spectrum for Mississippi. The cap rate comes in at 5.51%, which is respectable at a $236,201 median purchase price, and the affordability index of 79 confirms you're not paying a premium to enter. The catch is the levered picture: at a 6.85% rate on a 20% down payment, the monthly mortgage of $1,238 plus $583 in estimated expenses against $1,667 in median rent produces a cash-on-cash return of negative 3.4% and a monthly cash flow of negative $154. That gap isn't catastrophic, but it means the deal only pencils at current rates if you're buying below median, forcing rents above median through value-add work, or accepting that the carry cost is your tuition while the asset pays down. Year-over-year home price appreciation was 0.84%, so you won't be bailed out by rapid equity gains. Hancock ranked 183rd out of 1,000 counties nationally, landing in the 77th percentile overall, with its cash-flow score of 85 the clear standout and its appreciation score of 58 and stability score of 50 the clear drags.

The cash-flow score of 85 makes Hancock most attractive to a buyer who can reduce leverage or bring creative financing. An investor paying cash captures a 5.51% cap rate with no mortgage drag, which is straightforward to underwrite. The value-add operator also has a logical path here: a $236,201 median price is low enough that acquisition plus renovation capital stays manageable, and the 8.47% gross yield suggests there's room for forced appreciation through rent improvement to push returns above the levered breakeven. A pure appreciation buyer scoring this market at 58 should look elsewhere; the 0.84% price growth last year doesn't support a thesis built on equity compounding. The affordability index of 79 is a fair tailwind for rental demand since households who can't qualify to purchase in this price range still need somewhere to live, but it also limits how aggressively you can push rents in a market with constrained incomes.

No economic anchor data was provided for Hancock, so employer-level demand analysis isn't possible here. The Gulf Coast location and county population of 46,010 give you a sense of scale: this is a smaller market where a handful of large employers or a single sector shift could meaningfully move vacancy in either direction.

The combined monthly tax and insurance burden is $258, which the model estimates as $159 in monthly property taxes (based on a 0.81% state-average effective rate) and $98 in monthly insurance (at 0.50%). That 0.81% rate is flagged as normal relative to other states and doesn't demand a special underwriting adjustment the way a high-tax regime would, but do not treat it as a fixed number. The note accompanying this data is explicit: this is a state-average effective rate from Tax Foundation 2024, and your actual county or township rate may differ. Pull the Hancock County assessor data before closing. The insurance rate of 0.50% annualized is also worth watching given Mississippi's Gulf Coast exposure to hurricane and wind risk; the actual premium on a specific property near the coast could be materially higher than what this model averages in.

The stability score of 50 is the one number that deserves direct attention as a risk flag. A score at the median on stability in a smaller Gulf Coast county suggests demographic or economic concentration risk without being explicit about the source. With a population of 46,010 and no diversified employer base confirmed in the data, a single-industry downturn or a major storm event could shift rental demand faster than a larger metropolitan market would absorb. Regulatory risk specific to Hancock isn't in the data, so no claims are made there, but any coastal Mississippi county warrants a review of local short-term rental ordinances if that's part of the strategy.

Among the neighbors provided, Hancock's 8.47% rent-to-price ratio is the highest in the comparison set. Rankin County checks in at 7.95% with a $261,732 median price and a marginally higher overall score of 69, but you're paying $25,000 more per door at a thinner yield. Jackson County is cheaper at $210,656 and a similar overall score of 67, but its 7.96% ratio is still below Hancock and its median rent of $1,398 versus Hancock's $1,667 is a meaningful difference in gross income per unit. Tate County has a slightly higher overall score of 70 and a comparable price of $238,526 but no rent data was provided, making it harder to underwrite. Union County at $197,435 and Tishomingo at $186,176 come in cheaper, but both score below Hancock at 66 and 65 respectively, suggesting the lower price doesn't compensate for weaker fundamentals. If your primary criterion is gross yield and cash-flow potential within Mississippi, Hancock is the strongest entry in this peer group; if you want a higher overall score and can accept a thinner yield, Tate County is worth a closer look before committing.