Carbon County

Carbon County comes in at a median home price of $284,470, up 3.42% year over year, with an affordability index of 69, which places it in accessible territory relative to many Utah markets. The dataset does not include estimated rent figures or a calculated cap rate, which means cash-flow underwriting has to be built from the ground up by the investor. What the scoring does tell you is this: the cash-flow score is 0 and the appreciation score is 81. That combination is a clear signal that this county sits firmly on the appreciation end of the spectrum, not the immediate-yield end. At 20,338 residents and a sub-$285k entry point, Carbon is a small, relatively affordable market where price growth is the thesis, not day-one cash flow.

The investor this market suits is someone willing to hold for capital gains rather than income from the outset. The appreciation score of 81, combined with a 3.42% year-over-year price gain, suggests the market has been appreciating at a pace that rewards patient ownership. The affordability index of 69 and median price below $285k give a value-add operator or a buy-and-hold appreciation buyer a low-cost entry relative to neighboring counties, several of which are priced considerably higher. A pure cash-flow buyer who needs positive monthly returns from day one will find this scoring profile discouraging and should look elsewhere. Stability scores 50 out of 100, meaning this is not a recession-proof, diversified metro, so the appreciation buyer taking on this county is also accepting meaningful cyclical risk.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Carbon County, so employment concentration and major demand drivers cannot be quantified here. What the population figure of 20,338 does confirm is that this is a small, single-industry-vulnerable county by scale alone. Rental demand in markets this size tends to be thinner and more sensitive to any single employer's hiring cycle than in larger metros, and investors should conduct local research on employment before committing capital.

On carry costs, Carbon County is a genuine tailwind story. Utah's state-average effective property tax rate is 0.63%, flagged here as low, and on a $284,470 purchase that translates to roughly $1,792 in annual property tax. Combined with an estimated $540 in annual insurance at a 0.19% rate, the monthly tax-and-insurance load comes to approximately $194. That is a materially lighter drag than what investors absorb in higher-tax states, and it improves the feasibility of achieving positive cash flow once rents are verified. The honest caveat that applies here: this rate is a state-average estimate from the Tax Foundation (2024), and actual Carbon County or township-level rates may differ. Pull the county assessor's current millage before finalizing your proforma.

The primary risks here are scale and concentration. A population of 20,338 means the pool of prospective tenants is small, and any softening in local employment, outmigration, or shift in energy or extraction industries, which have historically driven rural Utah economies, can move vacancy meaningfully with little warning. The stability score of 50 reflects that underlying fragility. Regulatory risk and demographic data are not provided in this dataset and should be researched independently.

Against its neighbors, Carbon at $284,470 is the most affordable entry point in the comparison set, sitting below Emery County ($288,826), Beaver County ($293,832), Millard County ($334,525), Duchesne County ($370,278), and Juab County ($442,422). Carbon also carries the second-highest overall score in Utah at rank 2 out of 28 counties, and its national percentile of 77 out of 1,000 is the strongest in this peer group. Beaver County scores 71 overall versus Carbon's 68 and is priced only slightly higher at $293,832, making it worth a close comparison if the marginal cost difference is acceptable. Juab County is priced 56% higher than Carbon with an overall score of 65, making that premium difficult to justify on the numbers alone. If your thesis is appreciating into a small Utah market at the lowest possible basis with the lowest carry costs in the peer group, Carbon is the strongest entry point in this comparison. If you need more economic diversification and tenant pool depth, none of these five neighbors solve that problem, and the investor should look toward Utah County or Salt Lake County instead.