Henderson County

Henderson County sits at a median home price of $219,054, up 9.7% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 83, which is genuinely rare for a market posting that kind of price appreciation. The county ranks 113th nationally out of 1,000 counties scored and lands in the 86th percentile overall, placing 5th in Tennessee out of 95 counties ranked. The investment profile is skewed hard toward appreciation: the appreciation score is 81, while the cash flow score is effectively zero. That combination tells you this is a market where the spread between rents and purchase prices is tight at current financing rates, but the underlying asset is moving. At a 6.85% interest rate on a $219,054 purchase with 20% down ($43,811), the mortgage payment alone will be a real constraint on monthly net operating income, and investors should model carry costs carefully before assuming positive cash flow.

The numbers make Henderson most suitable for an appreciation-focused buyer or a longer-hold value-add operator who can manufacture equity through renovation rather than depending on day-one rent yield. The affordability index of 83 suggests home prices relative to local incomes still leave room for continued appreciation without the market being overextended, which is a meaningful distinction from metros where affordability has already compressed into the 50s and 60s. A pure cash-flow buyer targeting a 7%+ cap rate will likely struggle here without a below-market acquisition or a significant value-add component. The stability score of 50 is the other number worth sitting with: it suggests this is not a set-and-forget market, and vacancy risk or income volatility should be baked into any underwriting with appropriate reserve assumptions.

The taxInsurance data provides a useful carry-cost anchor. At Tennessee's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.71%, the annual property tax on a $219,054 purchase comes to approximately $1,555, and annual insurance runs approximately $789, putting combined monthly tax and insurance at $195. The 0.71% rate falls in the normal range and is not the underwriting headwind you would see in Illinois or New Jersey, but it is not the tailwind you get in markets with sub-0.5% effective rates either. Worth noting: this rate is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and Henderson County's actual township or county levy may differ, so pull the assessor data before you finalize your model.

Across the neighbor set, Henderson presents the most compelling balance of price and overall score. Claiborne County comes in close at a 74 overall score and $228,611 median, which makes it the most direct comparable, and investors who can work either market should run parallel underwriting. Rhea and Lincoln counties both score 68 overall while carrying median prices of $266,373 and $257,281 respectively, meaning Henderson offers a 17-21% price discount for a meaningfully higher overall score. Carroll County has the lowest median price in the peer group at $180,314, but its overall score of 63 reflects trade-offs that are worth investigating before chasing the cheaper entry. Anderson County is the outlier in a different direction: at $301,800 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0636, it is the only neighbor with published rent data, and that ratio translates to gross rent of roughly $1,601 monthly, which can serve as a directional ceiling for what larger Tennessee counties are achieving. Henderson's lower price point relative to Anderson could produce a similar or better gross yield if local rents are proportional, but that requires verifying local rent comps directly since that data is not provided here.

The primary risk to flag is the combination of a small population base of 27,845 and a stability score of 50. Small-county markets concentrate tenant demand in a shallow pool, meaning a single large employer slowdown or demographic shift can move vacancy rates in ways that larger MSAs absorb more gradually. Investors underwriting Henderson should explicitly size their liquidity reserves to handle extended vacancy periods, avoid over-leveraging on the appreciation thesis, and stress-test the model at both flat and declining rent scenarios. None of those cautions are unique to Henderson, but they apply with more force in a county this size.