Dade County

Dade County, Missouri scores 78 overall and lands at the 98th percentile nationally, ranking 14th out of 1,000 counties tracked and 2nd in Missouri. That placement is driven almost entirely by appreciation, where Dade scores 94, paired with a 7.62% year-over-year price gain on a median home price of $203,086. The cash flow score, by contrast, is 0, and the cap rate and cash-on-cash return fields carry no value in the data provided. That combination tells you everything about where this county sits on the spectrum: it is an appreciation play, not an income play, and investors underwriting it for monthly cash flow should proceed with eyes open.

The 86 affordability index and $203,086 median price mean entry cost is reasonable by national standards, and with a 20% down payment of roughly $40,600 and a 6.85% rate on the remaining balance, monthly mortgage alone will be the dominant carry cost. Without rent data in the provided inputs, there is no price-to-rent ratio to quote here, but the zero cash flow score is a clear signal that rents do not cover expenses at current prices and financing costs. This market suits an appreciation buyer who can tolerate neutral or slightly negative monthly carry in exchange for price growth, or a longer-horizon value-add operator who can reposition a property to force equity while the market continues to move. A pure cash-flow buyer optimizing for yield from day one has better options elsewhere in Missouri.

No economic anchor or employer data was provided for Dade County, so drawing conclusions about job base or rental demand drivers from named entities is not possible. What the data does show is a population of 7,598, which is a small county by any measure. Small population creates concentration risk: a single employer contraction, a demographic shift, or a wave of new supply can move vacancy and rents in ways that larger, more diversified metros absorb more easily. Stability scores 50, which is the exact midpoint, and that score is consistent with a small, rural Missouri county where the economic base is not diverse enough to score higher but is not obviously distressed either.

On carry costs, the state-average effective property tax rate is 0.97%, which the data flags as normal. At that rate, annual property tax on the median home comes to approximately $1,970. Combined with an estimated $894 in annual insurance (0.44% of value), the monthly tax-and-insurance burden is $239. That figure is not alarming on its own, but remember that it layers on top of a mortgage that, at 6.85% on roughly $162,000, will be the larger monthly obligation. The 0.97% rate is a state-average estimate per Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township levies in Dade County may differ, so pull the county assessor's figures before finalizing any underwrite.

The principal risk here is scale. A county of 7,598 people is thinly traded. Liquidity on exit is limited, buyer pools are narrow, and days-on-market in a rate environment like the current one can stretch substantially. The 7.62% price appreciation is real and notable for a county at this price point, but extrapolating that trajectory in a market this small carries more variance than the headline number implies. Regulatory risk is not flagged by the data, and no vacancy or crime statistics are provided, so no claims are made there. What an investor should stress-test is the exit: who buys this property in five years, at what price, and how long does it take to find them.

Compared to the neighboring counties provided, Dade sits at $203,086 and an overall score of 78. Linn County at $139,094 and a score of 80 offers a higher overall score at a meaningfully lower entry price, and an investor prioritizing affordability or a lower capital outlay should look there first. Butler County at $160,556 has actual rent data, a rent-to-price ratio of 0.00673 (roughly $900 monthly rent), and a score of 70, making it the clearest cash-flow alternative in this neighbor set, even if the overall score is lower. Andrew County at $281,483 and a score of 73, and Clinton County at $275,256 and a score of 70, are both more expensive and score lower than Dade, offering no obvious advantage. Choose Dade over its neighbors specifically when your thesis is price appreciation at a still-accessible entry point, you can service neutral or negative cash flow during the hold, and you have conviction in the Missouri rural appreciation trend that pushed Dade to 7.62% year-over-year.