Muskingum County

Muskingum County comes in at a 3.88% cap rate with a gross rent-to-price ratio of 5.97%, which places it firmly in the middle of Ohio's cash-flow-versus-appreciation spectrum, leaning neither direction convincingly. At a median home price of $211,125 and median rent of $1,051, the market is affordable by most measures, scoring 85 out of 100 on affordability, but the math at current financing rates is punishing. Running a standard 20% down ($42,225), a buyer faces a monthly mortgage of $1,107 plus $368 in estimated expenses, against $1,051 in rent, producing negative cash flow of $424 per month and a cash-on-cash return of negative 10.48% at a 6.85% note rate. Year-over-year home price appreciation of 2.15% is modest, and the overall score of 65 out of 100 reflects a county that offers affordable entry but no clean angle at current rates.

The numbers here speak most directly to a value-add operator or a longer-horizon investor who can manufacture yield rather than buy it off the shelf. At $211,125 median, there is room to acquire assets below median through distressed channels, force appreciation through renovation, and push rents above the $1,051 market average enough to close the cash-flow gap. A pure cash-flow buyer targeting day-one positive returns will struggle to make the arithmetic work without a substantially below-market purchase price or a meaningful rent premium. An appreciation buyer finds only 2.15% annual price growth here, which is real but not the kind of number that justifies accepting negative carry if that is the primary thesis. Muskingum's affordability score of 85 is its clearest asset; the question is whether an investor can exploit that affordability at the acquisition level before the market does.

The property tax picture deserves serious attention. Ohio's state-average effective rate is 1.56%, and Muskingum falls under that umbrella, carrying a propertyTaxFlag of "high." On the subject property, that translates to roughly $3,294 in annual taxes and $486 in insurance, a combined monthly carry of $315 already baked into the $368 expense estimate. At a 1.56% rate, the tax line alone is meaningful enough to deserve its own row on any underwrite, since a delta of 0.20 to 0.30 percentage points at the county or township level could move that number another $200 to $300 per year. The note in the data is clear: this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024, and actual county and township rates will vary. Verify the parcel-level rate before closing, not after.

The stability score of 50 out of 100 is the most cautious signal in the dataset, and in a county of 86,393 people with no economic anchors provided, that number is worth sitting with. A smaller population base with limited diversification means rental demand is more sensitive to any single employer contraction or demographic shift. The analysis does not have vacancy or concentration data to quantify that risk precisely, but a stability score at the midpoint of the scale in a sub-100,000 population county with modest appreciation is a flag that an investor should do ground-level diligence on the local tenant pool, job base, and population trend before committing.

Compared to the five neighboring counties provided, Muskingum's 5.97% gross rent-to-price ratio is middle-of-the-pack. Hamilton County leads the group at 6.94%, with a $262,214 median price and $1,516 median rent, and carries an overall score of 66, marginally ahead of Muskingum's 65. Columbiana County offers the highest ratio at 6.53% and the lowest entry price at $153,705, though its overall score of 64 and $836 median rent suggest lower absolute rent levels and likely a thinner tenant pool. Butler and Clermont counties both price higher ($302,712 and $316,533 respectively) with rent-to-price ratios of 5.97% and 5.82%, offering no yield advantage over Muskingum at considerably higher acquisition cost. Geauga County sits at a $363,108 median with a 6.38% ratio and a 67 overall score, the highest in the group, but the capital requirement is nearly double Muskingum's.

The case for choosing Muskingum over its neighbors comes down to one variable: entry price. If an investor's thesis is value-add, the $211,125 median is the lowest among the four higher-scoring or comparably-scoring counties in this set, meaning less capital at risk per door and more room to absorb renovation costs while staying below replacement value. If the thesis is stabilized cash flow at current rates, Hamilton County's higher rent-to-price ratio at only a $51,000 price premium deserves a serious look first. Muskingum earns consideration when capital is constrained, the operator has the capacity to add value, and the underwrite assumes a purchase well below the county median.