Butler County

Butler County scores an 83 on appreciation and posts 8.74% year-over-year home price growth on a median price of $248,755, which puts it squarely in the appreciation-driven camp rather than the cash-flow camp. The cash-flow score is 0, and the investment estimate fields for cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and net cash flow are all zeroed out, meaning the current rent-to-price relationship does not support a meaningful yield at the $248,755 entry point with a 6.85% rate. An 8.74% appreciation clip is noteworthy in a county of 8,373 people, and the affordability index of 77 suggests prices are not yet stretched relative to local income, which gives the appreciation thesis some structural room to continue. The national percentile rank of 82 out of 1,000 counties, and a state rank of 35 out of 90 Nebraska counties, confirms this is a market that screens well on a relative basis even if the income return is thin.

The investor this market suits is an appreciation buyer willing to accept minimal or negative monthly cash flow in exchange for equity accumulation, or a long-horizon hold where the 8.74% price trajectory eventually reprices rents upward. At a $248,755 purchase and 20% down ($49,751), you are carrying a meaningful mortgage at 6.85% with no offsetting yield cushion right now. A cash-flow buyer running standard vacancy, maintenance, and management assumptions against current rents will find the numbers do not work. A value-add operator who can force appreciation through renovation might find the affordability index of 77 useful, since there is room between current prices and affordability ceilings, but the thin population base of 8,373 limits the pool of tenants and exit buyers, which is a real constraint on the value-add thesis.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Butler County, so the underlying drivers of rental demand and job stability cannot be assessed from this data set. What the population figure of 8,373 does tell you is that this is a small rural Nebraska county, where rental demand is likely thin and concentrated, and any significant vacancy is felt immediately on a per-property basis. Stability scores at 50, exactly at the midpoint, which is consistent with a small market where individual property performance can diverge sharply from county-level trends.

The carry cost picture deserves careful attention before you underwrite any deal here. Nebraska's state-average effective property tax rate is 1.73%, which the data flags as high, and at that rate on a $248,755 purchase you are looking at $4,303 in annual property taxes. Combined with $1,443 in estimated annual insurance, the monthly tax and insurance load comes to $479. That is a real number that has to be covered by rent before you get to mortgage, maintenance, vacancy, or management. At 1.73%, the state-average rate is high enough that it deserves its own line on your underwrite, and it will meaningfully compress any cash-flow margin. The honest caveat here is that this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and the actual Butler County or township rate may differ, so pull the county assessor's current mill levy before you close any model.

The primary risk in Butler County is concentration and population scale. With 8,373 residents, the rental market is small enough that a single employer contraction or demographic shift can move vacancy rates materially. No vacancy or demographic trend data was provided, so this cannot be quantified, but the small population base is itself the risk factor. Regulatory risk specific to Butler County is not addressed in the available data.

Compared to the neighboring counties provided, Butler's $248,755 median is the second highest in the peer group, trailing only Seward County at $297,253. Nance County at $197,789 and Scotts Bluff County at $187,880 are meaningfully cheaper entry points, and all five neighbors carry overall scores of 71 or 72, nearly identical to Butler's 71. The case for choosing Butler over a neighbor comes down almost entirely to its appreciation score of 83 and its 8.74% price growth, since on overall score alone there is no differentiation. If you are buying for yield or capital preservation at lower entry, Nance or Scotts Bluff offer lower basis with comparable overall scores. If you are buying for price momentum and can tolerate the carry costs and thin population base, Butler's appreciation trajectory is the clearest differentiator in this peer group.