Wichita County

Wichita County sits at the cash-flow end of the spectrum, and the numbers make that case clearly. At a median home price of $169,452 and median rent of $1,324.55, the rent-to-price ratio comes in at 0.94%, which clears the rough 0.8% threshold most cash-flow investors use as a minimum screen. The cap rate lands at 6.09%, a figure that reflects genuine income relative to acquisition cost at these price points. Appreciation, by contrast, is modest: 2.08% year-over-year price growth. This is not a market where you're banking on equity gains to make the deal work. The overall score of 77 out of 100, ranking 30th nationally out of 1,000 counties and in the 96th national percentile, reflects a market that earns its position through yield rather than trajectory.

The model underwrite, however, deserves a careful read before anyone gets excited about that cap rate. At 20% down ($33,890), a 6.85% interest rate generates a monthly mortgage of $888. Add estimated expenses of $464 and you arrive at a projected cash flow of negative $28 per month, with a cash-on-cash return of -0.86%. That's functionally breakeven, not a cash-flowing machine, at least not at the assumed leverage and rate. An investor who can bring more equity to the table, negotiate a better rate, or source below median, say at $140,000 to $150,000, will flip that number positive. The market suits the cash-flow buyer who underwrites conservatively and hunts deals rather than the buyer who pays median and expects the model to do the work. It also suits the value-add operator: with a $169K median, renovation basis is low enough that forced appreciation through rehab can move the needle meaningfully on both rent and resale without overextending.

On the cost side, the tax and insurance carry is a real line item here. Texas's state-average effective property tax rate of 1.80% is high enough to deserve its own row on any underwrite, and at that rate the annual tax bill on a $169K property runs approximately $3,050, or about $254 per month. Combined with estimated annual insurance of $847 (roughly $71 per month), the total monthly tax-and-insurance load is $325. That's not a rounding error; it's 37% of the gross rent that disappears before you touch debt service or maintenance. Worth noting: the 1.80% figure is a state-average estimate per Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county or township rates in Wichita County may differ, so pull the specific mill rate for any submarket you're targeting before finalizing your numbers.

Wichita County is home to Wichita Falls, a city anchored by Sheppard Air Force Base, one of the largest military training installations in the United States. A large federal military employer provides a baseline of rental demand that is largely insensitive to local economic cycles: service members rotate in and out on predictable timelines, many of them renting rather than buying on short-term assignments. That dynamic supports occupancy in a way that a single private-sector employer cannot. The stability score of 50 out of 100 is the weakest dimension of this market, suggesting real concentration risk, and that risk cuts two ways: the base creates reliable demand but it also means the market's health is meaningfully tied to federal defense priorities and installation decisions that are outside any local operator's control.

Comparing Wichita County to its neighbors sharpens the investment case. Andrews County and Callahan County both carry median prices of $244,485 and $220,841 respectively, yet score only 75 overall, two points below Wichita's 77. You're paying 44% to 30% more for a lower score, which compresses yield and pushes cap rates down without a commensurate improvement in market quality. Stonewall County scores 82, five points above Wichita, but its $91,350 median price signals a much thinner, likely illiquid market where deal volume and tenant pools are limited. Cottle and Donley counties score 68, below Wichita on both measures, at median prices of $65,066 and $107,131 respectively. The calculus here is straightforward: Wichita County offers the best combination of price, yield, and market depth in this peer group. An investor should choose one of the lower-priced neighbors only if they are specifically comfortable operating in very small, low-liquidity markets and can verify local rental demand independently. For anyone wanting scale, population of at least 100,000, and a credible tenant base, Wichita County is the only county in this group that checks all three boxes.