McCone County

McCone County sits at a median home price of $230,436 with 4.66% year-over-year appreciation, an affordability index of 86, and an overall score of 75 that places it in the 93rd percentile nationally and 3rd out of 56 Montana counties. The appreciation score of 85 is the standout number here. The cash flow score, however, is 0, and the investment estimate carries zeroed-out cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and monthly cash flow figures, which tells you plainly that the rental income data needed to construct a reliable income underwrite is absent or insufficient. This is not a market where you buy for yield. It is a market where the thesis, if there is one, is price growth and land value, not monthly spread.

That appreciation profile points squarely at one buyer type: the patient, equity-focused investor who is comfortable holding without material cash flow and is betting that a 4.66% annual price run continues. An affordability index of 86 suggests there is still room before prices become prohibitive relative to local incomes, and at a median income of $79,022 the county is not a poverty pocket. But the population is 1,746 people. That number demands respect. A rental property here is not a unit in a market, it is essentially a private lending decision on a specific house in a specific small community. Tenant demand is thin by definition, and any vacancy is not absorbed by a deep applicant pool. This is emphatically not a market for a cash flow operator hoping to build a portfolio of income-producing units, and it is not a value-add play unless you have deep local knowledge and a buyer waiting on the back end.

No economic anchor data was provided for McCone County, so any claim about employer concentration or job base stability would be speculation. What the population figure does communicate is that the county is agricultural and rural in character, which typically means income is tied to commodity cycles and seasonal employment. That structural reality is relevant to rental demand: the pool of renters who can qualify, pay consistently, and stay long-term is small. For a buy-and-hold landlord, tenant selection in a market this size is not a process, it is a negotiation with whoever is available.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance burden is $232, using a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.83% (Tax Foundation 2024). That rate is flagged as normal, meaning it is neither a tailwind nor a headwind in the way that Montana's lower-tax neighbors sometimes are. At $232 per month, the carrying cost is manageable relative to a $230,436 asset, but because the income side of the underwrite is effectively blank, you cannot yet confirm whether that $232 sits inside or outside a workable margin. Before committing, you need a realistic rent estimate from local property managers or comparable active listings, because the model here cannot supply one. County and township rates may also differ from the state average, so treat that 0.83% as a directional figure only.

The core risk in McCone County is concentration, specifically population concentration so extreme that it approaches single-asset risk at the market level. With 1,746 residents, a single employer contraction, a bad agricultural season, or a demographic shift toward outmigration can move the entire rental demand curve in a county this size. There is no diversification buffer. The stability score of 50 is consistent with that reading. An investor who does not have genuine local presence, relationships, and the ability to self-manage or find reliable management in a town this size should weigh that operational friction carefully.

Against the neighboring counties, McCone's appreciation score of 85 is the highest in the peer group, but its overall score of 75 trails Sheridan County's 77. Sheridan sits at a median home price of $165,002, which is $65,000 cheaper than McCone at entry. If the appreciation thesis breaks or slows, an investor in Sheridan has a lower-cost basis and a marginally better overall score to fall back on. Pondera at $250,371 carries a lower overall score of 73 at a higher price, making it a harder case to construct. Blaine and Liberty Counties both score 71, also at lower price points than McCone. The argument for choosing McCone over these neighbors comes down entirely to whether you have conviction in that 4.66% price trajectory and want the higher affordability index as a buffer. If income yield matters at all to your underwrite, or if you want a market with more population depth, Sheridan County at $165,002 with a 77 overall score is the more defensible entry point.