Day County

Day County, South Dakota scores 69 overall and lands in the 78th national percentile across 1,000 counties, which tells you the market is genuinely competitive relative to most of the country. The appreciation score of 82 is the standout figure here, and home prices rising 3.65% year-over-year on a median of $268,945 give that score some grounding. What the data does not give you is a cap rate, estimated cash flow, or cash-on-cash return, all of which are listed at zero. That is not a rounding artifact. It reflects a market where the rental income picture either doesn't pencil cleanly or simply isn't modeled reliably enough to publish, and an investor should treat that gap seriously before committing capital. The cash flow score confirms it: zero. The affordability index of 72 means prices aren't punishing relative to income, but the missing income-side numbers mean you cannot close the loop on yield from this data alone.

This market is built for the appreciation buyer, not the cash-flow buyer. An 82 appreciation score with 3.65% annual price growth suggests the county is participating in South Dakota's broader price trend with some momentum behind it. If you need month-one positive cash flow to make a deal work, Day County's data doesn't give you the evidence to underwrite that confidently. A value-add operator might find angles here given the affordability index of 72, but without rent or income data, the thesis would rest heavily on price appreciation and forced equity, not yield. The stability score of 50 is the other number worth pausing on. At exactly the midpoint, it signals neither a high-conviction defensive market nor an outright volatile one, but it's not the kind of score that should make a conservative buy-and-hold investor feel anchored.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Day County, which limits what can be said about job concentration, institutional demand drivers, or rental demand sustainability. With a population of 5,485, this is a small, rural county. Small population bases create concentration risk by definition: a single employer contraction, a demographic shift, or a school closure can move the needle on vacancy in ways that larger markets absorb more easily. The stability score of 50 likely reflects some of this dynamic. Investors used to secondary cities with diversified employment bases should calibrate their expectations accordingly.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure is $368, based on a state-average property tax rate of 1.28% and an insurance rate of 0.36%. The 1.28% rate is flagged as "normal," meaning it doesn't represent a particular headwind or tailwind relative to national norms. That said, $368 per month is a real number on a $268,945 asset, and it needs to appear on your underwrite before you know whether any rental income scenario pencils. South Dakota does not have a state income tax, which is a genuine carry-cost consideration that works in the investor's favor even if it doesn't appear directly in this data set. The caveat that matters: 1.28% is a state-average effective rate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and your actual Day County or township rate could differ in either direction.

The neighbor comparison is instructive. Day County's median of $268,945 is the lowest entry point among the five comparable counties provided. Davison County comes closest at $241,475 but carries the same overall score of 69. Turner ($292,690), Moody ($286,418), and Lake ($302,351) all price higher with scores of 69, 69, and 70 respectively. Union County at $350,909 is the most expensive and scores 68, one point below Day. If entry price is your primary lever and you're buying into South Dakota for appreciation exposure, Day County offers the lowest buy-in in this peer group at a competitive overall score. Lake County's marginally higher score of 70 at a $33,000 price premium may or may not be justified depending on what's driving that extra point. Choose Day County over its neighbors when your thesis is price appreciation at the lowest acquisition cost in the peer set, and when you can independently verify the rental income side of the ledger that this data doesn't supply.