Perry County

Perry County sits at a median home price of $168,494 with 12.1% year-over-year appreciation, which is the story this market is telling loudest. The dataset does not include a median rent figure or a populated cap rate, so a direct yield calculation is not available here, but the appreciation score of 85 out of 100 and a cash flow score of 0 place Perry squarely at the appreciation end of the spectrum. The affordability index of 94 and a median price well under $170,000 mean the entry cost is low relative to most markets, but without a rent figure to anchor the income side, this is not a market you underwrite on day-one cash flow. The 12.1% price gain over the past year is a meaningful data point, though a county of 11,511 people can produce outsized percentage moves on relatively thin transaction volume, so treat that figure as a signal worth watching rather than a guarantee of trajectory.

The investor this market suits is an appreciation buyer or a long-hold land banker comfortable with thin or speculative income returns in the near term. A cash-flow buyer needs a rent-to-price ratio and a functioning cap rate before committing capital, and neither is available here. A value-add operator who can manufacture equity through renovation may find the $168,494 median price a low-risk entry point if local comps support after-repair values well above that, but the small population base, 11,511 residents, limits the tenant pool and resale universe. Anyone buying here is making a bet on price appreciation continuing, not on collecting a spread between rent and debt service.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Perry County, so drawing conclusions about job base or rental demand drivers is not possible from the available inputs. What the population figure does signal is concentration risk: at roughly 11,500 residents, this is a thin market where a single employer exit or regional economic shift can move vacancy and prices materially. Investors accustomed to mid-size MSAs should calibrate their expectations accordingly.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure is $184, using a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.81% and an insurance rate of 0.50%. The 0.81% rate falls in the normal range and does not create a significant drag on underwriting the way a high-rate state would. That said, the note accompanying this data is worth taking seriously: this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024, and actual county and township rates in Perry County may differ. Pull the county assessor data before closing. Annual taxes are estimated at $1,365 and annual insurance at $842, for a combined $2,207 per year. At a $168,494 purchase price with 20% down, the insurance figure also deserves attention given Mississippi's exposure to severe weather; verify that the 0.50% rate reflects realistic coverage for the specific property location rather than a statewide average that understates risk in storm-prone areas.

The primary risks here follow directly from the numbers. Small population creates concentration risk on both the tenant and buyer side. The absence of rent data in the dataset means you are flying partially blind on income underwriting. And 12.1% annual appreciation in a county this size warrants skepticism about whether the pace is sustainable or driven by a handful of transactions. There is no vacancy or regulatory data provided to assess those dimensions further.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the dataset, Perry's $168,494 median sits above Scott ($123,939, score 76), Hinds ($125,430, score 76), and Holmes ($84,259, score 76), and below Lee County ($196,256, score 75). Hinds County is the most directly comparable on yield data: a median rent of $1,343 against a $125,430 median price produces a gross rent-to-price ratio of 1.29%, which is meaningfully better than most appreciation-focused markets and gives a cash-flow buyer an actual number to work with. Lee County shows a rent-to-price ratio of 0.78% at a $1,270 median rent against a $196,256 price, which is tighter. Perry's overall score of 77 is the highest in this peer group, driven by its appreciation score, but an investor who needs to see cash flow underwrite before deploying capital should look hard at Hinds County, where the rent data exists and the entry price is $43,000 lower. Choose Perry over its neighbors only if you are explicitly underwriting for appreciation and can carry the asset without depending on rental income to cover debt service.