McCook County

McCook County sits at a median home price of $300,726, up 4.94% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 66, meaning it is moderately accessible but not cheap. The data returns a cash-flow score of 0, which is the clearest signal in the dataset: at a 6.85% rate, the mortgage load on a $300,726 purchase with 20% down is not being offset by rental income at a level that produces meaningful free cash flow. Cap rate comes back at zero in the model, which in practice means the rent-to-price ratio is thin enough that unlevered yield is negligible at current prices. This county scores 86 on appreciation, ranking 169th nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked, landing in the 78th percentile overall. The picture is straightforward: you are buying price growth, not income.

That appreciation score and the 4.94% annual price gain tell you exactly who belongs here. This is a market for the investor who is comfortable with equity accumulation as the primary return driver and who either has enough cash to tolerate neutral or slightly negative monthly carry, or is underwriting a long enough hold period that compounding appreciation does the heavy lifting. A cash-flow buyer shopping at $300K in a county with zero modeled cash-on-cash return will find the numbers don't work at today's rates. A value-add operator needs to ask whether forced appreciation through renovation can push rents high enough to change the equation; given a population of 5,714, the rental pool is limited and rent ceilings are real. The stability score of 50 indicates meaningful volatility risk, so the appreciation buyer taking this position should not be relying on a short-duration exit.

McCook County carries no provided economic anchor data, so no specific employer commentary is warranted here. What the population figure alone communicates to an investor is this: 5,714 residents means a very thin tenant universe. Lease-up risk is not academic in a county this size. Vacancy periods between tenants can be materially longer than in a metro, and a single job-loss event at a dominant local employer, whatever it may be, can compress demand noticeably. That structural thinness is worth pricing into your hold-period assumptions before you close.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure of $411 is material and worth having on the front page of your underwrite. The state-average effective property tax rate of 1.28% produces $3,849 annually in taxes and the insurance load adds $1,083, totaling $4,932 per year before touching the mortgage. The 1.28% rate is flagged as normal, meaning it is neither a tailwind nor a penalty relative to national norms, but at a $300K purchase price the absolute dollar figure still shows up meaningfully in the cash-flow column. Keep in mind this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county or township rates may differ, so pull the McCook County assessor data directly before finalizing your numbers.

The concentration risk in a 5,714-person county is the single most important qualitative flag this dataset supports. Demand for rentals is not diversified. A small agricultural region in South Dakota is exposed to commodity cycle headwinds, weather events, and population migration in ways that larger metro markets are not. The stability score of 50 reflects this directly. No vacancy or regulatory data is provided here, so speculation on those fronts would go beyond the data, but the population and stability score together are enough to require a stress scenario in your underwrite that assumes extended vacancy.

Against its neighbors, McCook sits at the same overall score of 69 as Davison, Turner, and Moody counties, and just one point below Lake County at 70. The differentiation comes on price. Davison County prices in at $241,475, nearly $60,000 below McCook, with an equal overall score of 69. For a cash-flow oriented investor, Davison's lower entry price at the same quality score is worth serious attention. Turner County at $292,690 and Moody at $286,418 split the difference. Union County is priced above McCook at $350,909 with a slightly lower overall score of 68, making it the hardest to justify on a value basis. The case for choosing McCook over Davison specifically is the appreciation score, if your thesis is price growth and you believe the 4.94% YoY gain reflects durable demand rather than a transient spike. If income is the objective, the neighbor comparison points toward Davison's lower purchase price as the more logical entry point within this peer group.