Angelina County

Angelina County posts a rent-to-price ratio of 7.97%, which places it firmly in cash-flow territory by conventional screening standards. The cap rate on a median-priced acquisition comes in at 5.19% at a $198,763 purchase price with $1,320.83 in median monthly rent. That is a serviceable yield at face value, but the modeled cash-on-cash return of -4.8% and a monthly cash flow of -$183 after a 20% down payment tell the more honest story at a 6.85% interest rate. Debt service is the primary drag: the $1,042 monthly mortgage plus $462 in estimated expenses consumes the full rent and then some. Home prices declined 1.19% year-over-year, so there is no near-term appreciation tailwind softening that shortfall. The appreciation score of 44 out of 100 corroborates this; Angelina is not a market you buy for price growth.

The cash-flow score of 80 reflects the ratio and the affordability, not the leveraged outcome. That gap is important to understand. An all-cash or low-leverage buyer, or one who purchased below market through a value-add deal, can make the numbers work. At a 5.19% cap rate, an investor paying cash on a $198,763 asset collects roughly $10,300 annually before income taxes, which is acceptable for a low-cost Texas market. The affordability index of 87 and the median price well under $200,000 mean distressed inventory and off-market deals exist. A value-add operator targeting properties at 10-15% below median, forcing rent to or above the $1,320 median, and managing expenses tightly has a credible path to positive leveraged cash flow. A pure appreciation buyer has little reason to be here given the -1.19% price movement and a 44 appreciation score.

The $381 monthly combined tax and insurance figure is not a rounding error; it represents 29% of the $1,320 median rent before you pay a dollar of principal, interest, maintenance, or vacancy. Texas's state-average effective property tax rate of 1.80% is the primary driver, and at that level it deserves its own line on your underwrite. On a $198,763 asset that is $3,578 annually in estimated property taxes alone. The note attached to this figure matters: 1.80% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Angelina County or township-level rates may differ, so pull the county appraisal district's current rate before finalizing any pro forma. Insurance adds another $994 per year at 0.50%, which is not unusual given Texas's exposure to severe weather events. Together these carry costs meaningfully compress the margin between gross rent and net income.

Angelina County's population of 86,608 is anchored by Lufkin as the county seat, which serves as a regional commercial and healthcare hub for the broader East Texas Piney Woods area. The stability score of 50 suggests the local economy neither accelerates nor deteriorates at an unusual rate, which for a buy-and-hold investor translates to steady but unspectacular rental demand rather than the occupancy volatility you might see in an energy-dependent single-employer market. The affordability index of 87 indicates the local population can afford local rents at current income levels, which is a floor condition for sustainable occupancy.

The concentration risk here is demographic scale. At 86,608 residents, Angelina is a secondary market, and secondary East Texas markets can face tenant pool thinning during regional economic softness. The price decline of 1.19% year-over-year warrants monitoring; if it extends another year or two, it signals either softening demand or increasing supply, both of which would pressure rents. There is no vacancy data provided, so do not assume the 1.19% price drop has already flowed into rent weakness, but do stress-test your underwrite with a 5-8% vacancy assumption rather than something more optimistic.

Against its neighbors, Angelina compares favorably on rent-to-price ratio. Matagorda County's ratio of 5.39% at a $210,399 median price is materially weaker for income-focused buyers; you are paying more and collecting less relative to price. Wichita County is the sharper cash-flow alternative, with a rent-to-price ratio of 8.67% at a $163,787 median, and it carries the same overall score of 68 versus Angelina's 65. If pure yield efficiency is the mandate, Wichita County has the edge. Cottle, Donley, and Dawson counties show median prices between $65,000 and $108,000 with the same overall score of 68, but rent data is absent for those three, making a clean yield comparison impossible. Choose Angelina over the comparison set when you want a mid-sized, regionally anchored market with a sub-$200,000 entry point and a tenant base connected to a functioning regional economy, rather than a micro-market where a single employer or thin liquidity dominates outcomes. Avoid it if you need positive leveraged cash flow from day one at current interest rates without a below-market acquisition or a value-add component.