Lauderdale County

Lauderdale County sits at a median home price of $142,798, making it one of the most affordable entry points in Tennessee and, by its national rank of 14 out of 1,000 counties scored, one of the most competitively positioned markets in the country. The affordability index reads 99 out of 100, which is a blunt signal: buyers are getting a lot of real estate per dollar here. Year-over-year appreciation came in at 13.48%, a meaningful run-up for a county at this price point. The appreciation score of 82 reflects that trajectory. What the data does not provide is a cap rate or cash-on-cash figure, which means cash-flow underwriting is incomplete from this dataset alone. Investors should treat the income side as an open variable to stress-test locally before committing.

The appreciation score of 82 paired with a missing cash-flow score positions Lauderdale squarely in the appreciation-buyer column, with a secondary case for value-add operators who can acquire at $142,798 and force equity through renovation without needing to clear a high purchase threshold. At a 13.48% annual price gain, a buyer who closed twelve months ago on a median-priced asset added roughly $19,200 in equity on a $28,560 down payment, which is a meaningful return on equity even before any income from the property is counted. For a pure cash-flow buyer, the missing rent and cap rate data is a red flag to do ground-level rent comps before underwriting. The county's affordability index of 99 does suggest rents are likely modest relative to acquisition costs, which is typical in rural Tennessee markets at this price tier, but that needs to be confirmed with actual comparable lease data.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Lauderdale County, so specific drivers of rental demand cannot be attributed to named entities here. What the population figure of 25,171 does tell you is that this is a small, rural county. Thin population creates concentration risk on the demand side: a single employer exit or demographic shift has an outsized effect on vacancy. The stability score of 50 reflects that directly. Investors accustomed to metro or suburban markets with deep renter pools will find this environment meaningfully different. Lease-up timelines may be longer, and tenant turnover can create extended vacancy periods that compress returns in ways that a 13% appreciation number does not offset in the short run.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance figure is $127, based on Tennessee's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.71% and an insurance rate of 0.36% applied to the $142,798 purchase price. The 0.71% tax rate is flagged as normal, which at this price point produces an annual tax bill of roughly $1,014, a manageable figure. The honest caveat is that 0.71% is a state-average estimate per the Tax Foundation's 2024 data, and the actual Lauderdale County or township rate may differ. Pull the county assessor's current millage before closing. At $127 per month all-in for tax and insurance, the fixed carry cost is low enough that it does not become the underwriting problem, which makes the unknown rent figure the dominant variable in whether this deal works on a monthly basis.

The demographic concentration risk is real. A county of 25,171 people has a limited renter pool. If your target tenant demographic is working-class or agricultural labor, economic disruptions, population outmigration, or infrastructure gaps can create sustained softness. The stability score of 50 is the lowest sub-score in the dataset and should be read as a direct warning about demand durability, not just price volatility. There is no vacancy data provided, but thin markets at this population level typically require longer hold periods to average out vacancy risk.

Compared to its neighbors, Lauderdale's case is built almost entirely on price. Claiborne County prices in at $228,611 with an overall score of 74, Rhea at $266,373 with a 68, Lincoln at $257,281 with a 68, Carroll at $180,314 with a 63, and Anderson at $301,800 with a 62. Lauderdale's median is $85,813 cheaper than the next-lowest neighbor, Carroll, and its overall score of 78 is the highest in the peer group. Anderson County is the only neighbor with rent data available, at $1,601 per month against a $301,800 median, which implies a gross rent-to-price ratio of about 6.4%. If Lauderdale's rents come in anywhere near that ratio on a $142,798 acquisition, the yield math improves significantly, but that assumption requires local verification. Choose Lauderdale over its neighbors when your thesis is maximum affordability, appreciation leverage on a small capital base, and willingness to accept the liquidity and stability trade-offs that come with a 25,000-person rural county. Choose a neighbor when tenant pool depth and income stability matter more than entry price.