Logan County

Logan County comes in at a median home price of $106,448, a figure that puts it at the 95th percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked, and 4th in West Virginia out of 55. Year-over-year price growth sits at 2.78%, a measured pace that keeps the market from running away from itself. The affordability index is at its ceiling of 100, meaning entry costs here are as accessible as they get in the dataset. The cash flow score, however, registers at zero, which tells you immediately that this is not a market where the numbers pencil easily on a monthly basis from day one. The appreciation score of 78 and the overall score of 76 confirm what the data is saying: Logan is an affordability and appreciation story, not a cash-flow play, at least not at current rents and a 6.85% rate on a conventional mortgage.

The investor this market suits is someone buying for long-term equity accumulation on a low basis, or a value-add operator willing to manufacture returns through renovation rather than relying on market-rate cash flow. At $106,448, you are buying into a county that ranks in the 95th percentile nationally on price, meaning competition for deals is low and exit prices have room to appreciate from a compressed base. A speculative cash-flow buyer chasing month-one returns should look elsewhere, because the zero cash-flow score reflects a real gap between rents and the cost to carry debt at today's rates. But an investor with a longer horizon who wants to accumulate units cheaply, reduce leverage over time, and benefit from even modest appreciation on a low denominator has a legitimate thesis here. A 2.78% annual price gain on a $106,448 asset adds roughly $2,959 to equity per year, and the stability score of 50 says to size your position accordingly rather than concentrating heavily.

On carry costs, Logan actually offers a meaningful tailwind. The state-average effective property tax rate is 0.59%, flagged as low, and combined with an insurance rate of 0.26%, the monthly tax and insurance burden is approximately $75. That is a real number worth internalizing: on a $106,448 purchase, your combined tax and insurance line is $75 per month. That is significantly below what you would see in high-tax states where the same line item on a similar asset could run $300 to $400. The low tax rate gives you more of each rent dollar to apply toward debt service or reserves. As always, the 0.59% figure is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county or township rates in Logan can differ, so verify the specific parcel rate before closing.

Logan County's population of 32,350 places it in small-county territory, and the stability score of 50 is the honest signal about concentration risk. A market this size with a single dominant economic driver, or one experiencing population contraction, can see rental demand shift quickly if conditions change. The data does not provide specific economic anchors or employer detail for Logan, so no employer-level claims can be made here. What the data does confirm is that the 50 stability score deserves respect in your underwriting: stress-test your vacancy assumptions and maintain reserves appropriate for a thinner rental pool than you would find in a metro.

Comparing Logan to the neighbors in the dataset sharpens the thesis. Preston County's median sits at $133,414 with an overall score of 76, the same as Logan, meaning you are buying 20% cheaper in Logan for identical composite score performance. Upshur County at $154,173 and Ohio County at $154,458 are both 45% more expensive than Logan, and Ohio County's rent-to-price ratio of 0.0755 is the only neighbor-level cash-flow data available, suggesting Ohio actually pencils better on monthly returns despite the higher price. Nicholas County at $158,409 and Taylor County at $185,741 are both priced well above Logan with lower overall scores of 73. The case for choosing Logan over its neighbors comes down to one thing: lowest basis in the dataset with a competitive overall score. If your strategy prioritizes cheap entry, equity upside on appreciation, and low carry costs over month-one cash flow, Logan is the county in this peer group that fits that mandate. If you need the rent check to cover the mortgage from day one at current rates, Ohio County's rent-to-price ratio of 7.5% is the one number in the neighbor data that suggests a more favorable starting position for cash-flow underwriting.