Door County

Door County sits at a median home price of $436,878, appreciating 2.31% year-over-year, in a market that has almost nothing to offer a cash-flow buyer and a reasonable but not exceptional story for an appreciation buyer. The cash-flow score is zero, which tracks given the absence of meaningful rent-to-price data and the cost structure of the peninsula, and the cap rate comes back at zero as well, confirming what the price point already implies: this is not a market where the numbers pencil on a standard long-term rental. The appreciation score of 73 out of 100 is the one figure that keeps Door on the radar, suggesting the market has historically rewarded patient holders even if current income is negligible. With an affordability index of 38, the pool of local buyers and renters who can absorb these prices is thin, which adds a layer of demand risk that income-focused investors cannot ignore.

The investor profile this market fits is narrow. An appreciation buyer with a long time horizon, low leverage tolerance, and an existing portfolio generating income elsewhere can treat Door County as a capital-appreciation play and tolerate minimal or negative near-term cash flow. A short-term or vacation rental operator, particularly one targeting the well-documented tourism draw of the Door Peninsula, has a more credible income thesis than a conventional long-term landlord, though nothing in the provided data quantifies short-term rental yields directly. Value-add operators looking to force equity through renovation face the same exit problem as everyone else: buyers at $436,878-plus are discretionary and rate-sensitive, so the margin for error on a value-add underwrite is tight. Cash-flow buyers should simply look elsewhere, because no combination of rent optimization at this price point and cost structure is likely to produce positive cash-on-cash at a 6.85% rate and a 20% down payment.

No economic anchor or employer data was provided for Door County, so the job-stability and rental-demand picture cannot be quantified here beyond what the population figure implies. At 30,038 residents, this is a small, geographically isolated county at the tip of a peninsula. Small population bases can mean lower vacancy in good conditions, but they also mean that any single demand shock, whether seasonal employment contraction, a decline in tourism, or demographic outflow, has an outsized effect on rents and occupancy relative to a larger metro. The 50 out of 100 stability score reflects this fragility, and investors should weight it accordingly.

The carry costs here are a material underwriting consideration. At a 1.85% state-average effective property tax rate, Wisconsin's levy is high enough to deserve its own line on every pro forma. On a $436,878 purchase, that rate produces an estimated $8,082 in annual property taxes, and combined with an estimated $1,005 in annual insurance, the monthly tax and insurance load comes to approximately $757. That figure, before mortgage, maintenance, vacancy, or management, eats directly into any gross rent the property can generate. Investors should treat the 1.85% as directional; the note accompanying this data is explicit that it reflects a state-average effective rate from Tax Foundation 2024 estimates, and the actual county or township rate for a specific parcel in Door County may differ, potentially materially. Run the actual assessed value and mill rate for any specific property before finalizing the underwrite.

The geographic concentration risk here is real and worth naming plainly. Door County is a peninsula with one primary access corridor, a small permanent population, and an economy that appears heavily weighted toward seasonal activity. That concentration means rental demand is not diversified across industries or employment centers in the way a suburban county adjacent to a major employer base would be. If the tourism and hospitality sector softens, there is no obvious secondary demand driver to absorb the vacancy. Regulatory risk around short-term rentals is also worth investigating independently, as municipalities in tourism-heavy Wisconsin counties have moved in varying directions on short-term rental licensing and caps, and nothing in the data confirms Door County's current stance.

Against its comparison set, Door County is the weakest cash-flow option in the group. Saint Croix County carries a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0514 at a median price of $401,930, making it the most cash-flow-accessible of the neighbors listed and the obvious alternative for an investor who wants Wisconsin exposure without sacrificing income math. Dane County at 0.0486 and Ozaukee at 0.0454 also outperform Door County on yield at comparable or higher price points. Waukesha at 0.0402 is the weakest of the neighbors on yield but still has a functioning long-term rental market that Door's zero cash-flow score cannot match. The one argument for choosing Door over any of these neighbors is the 73 appreciation score, which is the highest in the group if appreciation is the primary investment thesis, but investors should weigh that against the liquidity constraints of a small, seasonally driven market where the buyer pool is narrow and holding periods may be involuntarily extended.