Clark County

Clark County, Wisconsin sits at a median home price of $223,852 with year-over-year appreciation of 9.91%, which is a meaningful run in a market this size. The affordability index of 82 and the county's position in the 86th percentile nationally (113th out of 1,000 counties ranked) signals a market that still offers entry points well below the national median. The cash flow score, however, comes in at zero, and with no cap rate or net cash flow data available, the income side of this market cannot be underwritten from these figures alone. What the data does tell you is that Clark leans firmly toward the appreciation end of the spectrum rather than day-one cash flow. A 9.91% price gain on a $223,852 asset is a real wealth-building number, but an investor expecting rent to cover carry costs from month one will need to run independent rent comps before committing.

The buyer this market suits is someone with a medium-to-long hold horizon who is comfortable with thin or neutral cash flow in exchange for continued price appreciation. The 9.91% YoY gain and a stability score of 50 paint a picture of a market moving with momentum but carrying some volatility, not the kind of sleepy, counter-cyclical county that pure cash-flow operators prefer. An appreciation buyer or a patient buy-and-hold investor who can weather carry costs will be better positioned here than someone who needs the rent check to cover the mortgage on day one. Value-add operators could find opportunity given the affordability score of 82 and the relatively low absolute price point, where forced appreciation through renovation is a plausible exit strategy if the local buyer pool supports higher comps after improvement.

On the tax and insurance side, the carry cost picture deserves serious attention. Wisconsin's state-average effective property tax rate of 1.85% is high enough to flag as a material underwriting line item, and the county's own rate may differ. On a $223,852 purchase, that rate generates an estimated $4,141 in annual property taxes. Combined with estimated annual insurance of $515, the total monthly tax-and-insurance burden runs approximately $388. At a 6.85% interest rate on a loan of roughly $179,082 (assuming 20% down), the mortgage payment alone adds another layer of fixed carry. Any investor who underwrites Clark without putting that $388 tax-and-insurance figure on its own line is likely to be surprised at closing. Wisconsin consistently ranks among the higher-tax states for real property, and 1.85% as a baseline is not a number to round down.

Risks worth flagging from the data: Clark County has a population of just 34,703, which creates meaningful concentration risk. A thin renter pool means that vacancy in even a small portfolio can swing your effective yield dramatically. The stability score of 50 is precisely midpoint, suggesting neither the durable demand characteristics of a university town or major employment hub nor outright fragility, but it does mean the market has limited shock-absorbing capacity. No economic anchor data was provided, so employer concentration and job-base diversity cannot be assessed from this data set. That gap in itself is a due-diligence item: before deploying capital here, an investor should independently verify the depth of local employment and whether it skews toward any single sector or employer.

Compared to its neighbors, Clark's $223,852 median is the second-lowest in the peer group. Marinette County comes in lower at $205,028 and carries the same overall score of 72, making it worth a direct comparison if price point is the primary driver. Marquette ($257,231, score 72), Lincoln ($237,321, score 72), and Shawano ($258,748, score 74) all trade at higher medians with similar or only marginally better overall scores. Trempealeau County at $279,244 and a score of 73 offers the least price efficiency of the group. If appreciation rate and entry price are the deciding factors, Clark's 9.91% YoY gain at the lowest-but-one price point in the peer set makes it a reasonable choice over neighbors carrying $30,000 to $55,000 more in acquisition cost with no meaningful score advantage. An investor should choose Clark over a neighbor when the investment thesis is buying early into a still-affordable market with demonstrated price momentum, and when the business plan can absorb the high property tax rate and the liquidity constraints that come with a sub-35,000 population county.