Iron County

Iron County sits at a 2.84% cap rate on a $409,337 median purchase price, with median rent at $1,491. The gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.0437 (about 0.36% monthly) falls well short of the 1% rule, and the modeled cash flow at 6.85% financing confirms what that ratio implies: negative $1,177 per month with a cash-on-cash return of negative 15%. The appreciation score of 74 and 2.44% year-over-year price growth tell the other side of the story. This is a market that rewards patience and equity accumulation, not a market that generates day-one income. The affordability index of 42 out of 100 means the buy-in is already stretched for the local income base, which limits how far rents can realistically run without wages catching up.

The numbers here suit an appreciation buyer who can carry negative cash flow, not a cash-flow buyer or a value-add operator hoping to manufacture yield through renovation. The appreciation score of 74 is the highest signal in Iron's profile, and a 2.44% annual price gain in a county this size (58,068 people) suggests demand is outpacing local supply rather than tracking a temporarily hot cycle. But carry that math honestly: at negative $1,177 per month, you're writing a check of roughly $14,100 per year to hold this asset. Over a five-year hold at current appreciation rates, a $409,337 asset grows to roughly $460,000 to $461,000, a gain in the low $50,000s before transaction costs. That is a thin cushion against a flat or down year. The value-add operator has no particular edge here because the problem is structural, the cap rate, not a cosmetic one that can be fixed with a kitchen update.

Utah's property tax structure provides a real tailwind for Iron County investors. The state-average effective rate of 0.63% is low by national standards, generating an estimated $2,579 in annual property tax on this purchase price. Combined with an estimated $778 in annual insurance, the combined tax-and-insurance load runs about $280 per month. That is a meaningful number to have on your side when the rest of the cash-flow stack is working against you. Note that 0.63% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and the actual county or township rate in Iron County may differ, so verify the current Iron County assessor figures before finalizing your underwrite. Still, even if the rate runs somewhat higher locally, Utah's property tax environment is broadly favorable compared to the Midwest or Northeast, and it is worth treating as a relative cost advantage when you're comparing Utah markets.

No economic anchor data was provided for Iron County, so no employer-level commentary can be made here. Cedar City is the county seat and home to Southern Utah University, which an investor would typically note as a potential demand driver for rental housing, but because that information is absent from the supplied data, it would be speculation to build a thesis around it. Underwrite this market on what the numbers show, not on assumptions about institutional demand.

The primary risk in Iron County is the concentration of demand in a single small market. At 58,068 residents, the county does not have the depth of tenant pools you find in a metro. If a major employer reduces headcount or enrollment shifts, vacancy pressure in a thin market can move quickly. The affordability index of 42 also signals that rent growth may be constrained by what local incomes can absorb, which matters if you're underwriting appreciation partly through rent increases. There is no vacancy or regulatory data in the provided inputs, so no conclusions can be drawn on those dimensions.

Against its neighbors, Iron County offers the lowest median home price of any county in this comparison set, $409,337 versus $472,857 in Tooele, $534,714 in Utah County, $545,748 in Davis, and $722,602 in Morgan. However, lower price does not translate to better cash flow here: Tooele County carries a gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.0497 versus Iron's 0.0437, meaning Tooele generates more rent per dollar invested despite its higher purchase price. Utah County (0.0403) and Davis County (0.0398) both trail Iron on this metric, so Iron isn't the worst in the set, but Tooele is the cleaner cash-flow option among the counties listed. Choose Iron over its neighbors if your thesis is specifically on price appreciation in a lower-entry-point Utah market, you can absorb the carry, and you believe the county's growth trajectory justifies the cost. If you need the rental income to work harder, Tooele's ratio makes a stronger case.