Gloucester County

Gloucester County sits at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.066, which translates to a 4.28% cap rate on the model underwrite. At a $381,762 median price and $2,097 median rent, the market leans firmly toward the appreciation side of the spectrum. The appreciation score of 83 out of 100 reflects 3.96% year-over-year home price growth, which is meaningful but not speculative. The cash-flow score of 66 sounds decent until you look at the actual numbers: at 6.85% financing with 20% down, the modeled cash-on-cash return is -8.73% and monthly cash flow is -$639 in the red. This is not a market where you buy a stabilized asset at list price with conventional financing and pocket a check each month. The cap rate of 4.28% is simply below the cost of debt, so leverage works against you here unless you bring more equity, find a below-market deal, or buy with a short-term rate playbook in mind.

That math makes Gloucester a clear appreciation play, not a cash-flow play. An investor who fits here is either buying at a meaningful discount to the median, putting down 35-40% to neutralize the mortgage drag, or underwriting toward a refinance when rates compress. A value-add operator who can force appreciation through renovation has a credible path: the 83 appreciation score suggests the market rewards repositioned assets, and the $381,762 median leaves some headroom to find distressed product below that figure. A pure cash-flow buyer hunting for day-one positive carry should look elsewhere. The affordability index of 48 and the affordability score of 48 out of 100 signal that renters in this county are already stretched, which puts a ceiling on how aggressively you can push rents on a stabilized asset without vacancy risk.

The carry costs here are not a secondary consideration, they are the central underwriting problem. New Jersey's state-average effective property tax rate of 2.49% is the highest flag in this analysis. At that rate on a $381,762 purchase, annual property taxes run roughly $9,506, and when you add $802 in annual insurance, you are looking at $859 per month in taxes and insurance alone before you pay a dollar of mortgage, maintenance, or management. That $859 figure is 41% of the $2,097 median rent. This rate is flagged as very high, and it deserves its own dedicated line on your underwrite before you get anywhere near a cash-flow projection. The caveat worth keeping: 2.49% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Gloucester will vary, sometimes materially, so confirm the specific parcel's tax bill directly before closing any deal.

Compared to its neighbors, Gloucester sits in the middle of the pack on rent-to-price ratio. Atlantic County edges it out at 0.0686 versus Gloucester's 0.0659, meaning Atlantic returns slightly more rent per dollar of purchase price, and Atlantic's overall score of 64 is one point higher. Burlington County is priced higher at $409,401 with a marginally lower rent-to-price ratio of 0.0648, making it a harder cash-flow environment on a similar appreciation thesis, though its overall score of 64 matches Atlantic. Warren County, at 0.0588, is the weakest rent-to-price county in this group despite a similar price point near $410,000, and its overall score of 61 reflects that. Mercer County has the highest rent-to-price at 0.0699 and the highest median rent at $2,514, but also the highest purchase price at $431,761 and an overall score of just 60, suggesting the market prices in those rents efficiently and leaves little margin for error. Cumberland County is the outlier: a $268,279 median price, a 0.0768 rent-to-price ratio, and the highest overall score in this peer group at 66. If your primary objective is day-one cash flow and you can accept a lower-income, higher-risk tenant profile, Cumberland warrants a serious look before Gloucester. Choose Gloucester over its neighbors when your thesis is price appreciation with population scale, you have enough equity to absorb the financing drag, and you want exposure to a South Jersey suburban market with a 302,000-person population base rather than a smaller or more economically distressed county.