Benson County

Benson County sits at a median home price of $137,405, making it one of the more affordable entry points in North Dakota and nationally, where it ranks in the 96th percentile out of 1,000 counties tracked. The affordability index hits 100, the ceiling of the scale. Appreciation is running at 3.17% year-over-year, and the appreciation score of 81 confirms this is not a stagnant market. What the data does not provide is a cap rate, cash-on-cash return, or estimated cash flow figure, all of which register as zero in the underlying model, meaning the tool could not produce a reliable rental income estimate for this county. That is a meaningful gap. Investors should treat Benson as an appreciation and affordability play with rental economics that require independent verification before underwriting a deal.

The appreciation score of 81 combined with a cash flow score of 0 places Benson squarely on the appreciation end of the spectrum. At $137,405, the purchase price is low enough that a buyer putting 20% down is in at roughly $27,500, which keeps the equity requirement manageable. But without confirmed rent comparables or a modeled cap rate, the cash-flow case cannot be made from this data alone. This market will suit an investor who is primarily buying for price appreciation and low entry cost, accepts that the rental yield story needs local verification, and is comfortable operating in a small, low-liquidity market. It is not suited for a strict cash-flow buyer who needs a cap rate north of 6% to make a decision, or for a value-add operator who depends on a dense pool of tenants to absorb a repositioned asset.

The county's population is 5,960. That is a small base, and stability scores at 50, exactly the midpoint. There are no economic anchors provided in the data, so employer concentration, job drivers, and the demand side of the rental equation cannot be assessed here. An investor must do that fieldwork independently before committing capital, specifically identifying who the tenants are, what industries they work in, and whether the population trend is flat, growing, or contracting. In a county this size, losing one major employer or experiencing even modest population decline would meaningfully compress rental demand.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance estimate comes to $152, based on a state-average effective property tax rate of 0.98% and an insurance rate of 0.35%. The tax Foundation 2024 state-average rate of 0.98% is flagged as "normal," meaning it does not represent a meaningful tailwind or headwind relative to the national median. At $137,405 in purchase price, annual property tax runs approximately $1,347 and insurance adds roughly $481, for a combined $1,828 annually. These figures are manageable, but the standard caveat applies: the 0.98% is a state-average estimate, and actual county and township rates in North Dakota can vary from that figure, so you need to pull the Benson County assessor data before finalizing your underwrite.

The primary risks here are structural: a sub-6,000 population creates real concentration exposure. Any single economic disruption, whether a school closing, a government office relocating, or an agricultural downturn, can move vacancy in ways that a larger metro would absorb without notice. Liquidity is also a concern. At this market depth, exit options narrow, buyer pools are thin, and days on market can extend significantly if local economic conditions shift. There is no vacancy or regulatory data in the dataset to cite specifically, but thin-market dynamics are an inherent feature of counties this size nationwide.

Compared to its neighbors, Benson offers the second-lowest entry price in the peer group, trailing only Hettinger County at $121,524, while posting a higher overall score of 77 versus Hettinger's 75. McLean County at $209,561 and Barnes County at $187,323 both carry meaningfully higher price tags with overall scores of 78 and 75 respectively, giving only marginal score improvement for a 35% to 52% price premium. Golden Valley at $179,434 and Foster at $177,105 sit in a similar range with scores of 78 and 77. If your thesis is capital efficiency and you are willing to accept the liquidity and verification risk that comes with a small market, Benson's combination of a 96th-percentile national ranking, $137,405 median price, and 81 appreciation score makes it the most affordable high-ranked option in this peer group. Choose a neighbor when you need deeper rental market data, confirmed cash-flow economics, or better exit liquidity, trade-offs that likely justify the higher basis in McLean or Barnes for investors who cannot tolerate the uncertainty that comes with operating in a market this size.