Big Horn County

Big Horn County sits at a median home price of $228,463, down fractionally year-over-year (negative 0.31%), which tells you this market is essentially flat rather than appreciating. The affordability index of 81 is meaningful, placing entry costs well below what most investors encounter in higher-profile Montana markets. What's missing from this picture is equally telling: the cash flow score registers at zero, and the cap rate, cash-on-cash return, estimated cash flow, and monthly mortgage figures are all absent from the underlying model. That's not a data gap to gloss over. It signals that the rent data needed to construct a reliable income picture is thin enough that underwriting from first principles, using local rent comps gathered on the ground, is the only responsible approach before committing capital here.

The scoring profile makes the investor fit fairly narrow. With an appreciation score of 48, a stability score of 50, and a cash flow score of zero, Big Horn doesn't cleanly serve the appreciation buyer or the cash flow buyer based on what the numbers show. The affordability score of 81 is the one genuine bright spot, and it points toward a value-add or deep-discount buyer who can acquire at or below the $228,463 median, force equity through renovation, and hold while waiting for market conditions to clarify. An appreciation-focused buyer looking at a 49th-percentile national ranking (402nd out of 1,000 counties scored) and a state rank of 22nd out of 56 Montana counties should ask hard questions about what catalyst would move this market. A cash-flow buyer simply cannot underwrite a deal without local rent data and should treat the zero cash flow score as a stop sign until they have real numbers in hand.

Big Horn County's population of 13,090 is a material underwriting variable in its own right. Small, rural counties with this population base tend to have thin rental demand, limited tenant pools, and longer vacancy exposure when a unit turns. The economic anchors and employer data for this county were not provided, so no claims about job stability or demand drivers can be made here. What that absence itself suggests is that the county lacks the kind of diversified institutional employment base that typically anchors rental demand in rural markets, though an investor doing on-the-ground diligence should verify that directly with local property managers and county economic development offices.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance estimate comes to $230, or roughly $2,764 annually, using a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.83% and an insurance rate of 0.38% on the $228,463 purchase price. The 0.83% tax rate carries a "normal" flag, meaning it's neither a tailwind nor a drag relative to national norms, and it doesn't require special treatment on your underwrite beyond standard line-item inclusion. The caveat worth keeping: this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Big Horn can differ from that figure, sometimes materially in rural Montana jurisdictions. Confirm the actual mill levy with the county assessor before finalizing any pro forma.

The primary risks here are concentration and liquidity. A county of 13,090 people offers a limited buyer pool when you need to exit, which compresses your ability to time a sale and can widen bid-ask spreads significantly in a soft market. Flat home prices (negative 0.31% year-over-year) suggest the market is not currently generating the appreciation that would reward a patient hold, and without a visible demand catalyst, that picture may not change materially over a short hold period. Regulatory risk data was not provided, so no specific landlord-tenant or zoning concerns can be flagged here, but Montana's overall regulatory environment for landlords is generally less restrictive than coastal states, a factor worth confirming at the county level.

Compared to its neighbors, Big Horn's median of $228,463 sits above Dawson County ($185,301), Golden Valley County ($202,891), and Phillips County ($214,980), while coming in well below Stillwater County ($437,730) and Chouteau County ($285,884). All five neighbors share an overall score of 59, same as Big Horn, except Stillwater which scores 60. Given that score parity, the decision between Big Horn and its neighbors comes down to price point and local market depth. Dawson County at $185,301 offers a lower entry price with the same overall score, which may better suit a buyer trying to maximize optionality on a small capital base. Stillwater County's $437,730 median implies a meaningfully different investor profile and likely better liquidity given its higher price tier. Big Horn makes the most sense over its neighbors if an investor has specific off-market access, local management relationships, or a value-add thesis that justifies the higher entry cost relative to Dawson or Phillips, none of which the aggregate scores alone can provide.