Trempealeau County

Trempealeau County sits at a median home price of $277,608, up 6.05% year over year, with an affordability index of 71 out of 100. The model scores it a zero on cash flow, which tells you everything you need to know about the current income picture: at a 6.85% mortgage rate on a $277,608 purchase with a $55,522 down payment, the math does not pencil for a traditional cash-flow play. The cap rate and cash-on-cash return both come in at zero on these inputs, meaning you are not buying a yield instrument here. What you are buying is appreciation exposure in a county that ranks 113th nationally out of 1,000 and lands in the 86th percentile overall, driven almost entirely by its appreciation score of 89. This is a price-growth market, not an income market, and investors should underwrite it that way from the first page.

That appreciation score of 89 makes Trempealeau a clear fit for the patient, equity-oriented buyer who can carry a property at break-even or slight negative cash flow while waiting for compounding price growth. The 6.05% year-over-year gain on a $277,608 asset translates to roughly $16,800 in equity at current appreciation rates, which meaningfully offsets a modest monthly carry deficit. The stability score of 50 is the counterweight: this is not a deep, liquid market with 30,000 residents, and that thin population base limits your exit options and can amplify price swings in both directions. A value-add operator looking for forced appreciation through renovation might find the entry price reasonable relative to the national 86th-percentile ranking, but needs to model carefully for days on market and buyer pool depth at resale. Cash-flow buyers looking for strong day-one yield should look elsewhere.

The property tax picture deserves a dedicated line on your underwrite. Wisconsin's state-average effective rate is 1.85%, flagged here as high, and on a $277,608 purchase that produces $5,136 in annual property taxes alone. Combined with $638 in estimated annual insurance, you are looking at $481 per month in tax and insurance before you touch mortgage principal, interest, maintenance, or vacancy. On a small rental in a 30,000-person county, that $481 monthly figure is not trivial and can easily represent 30 to 40 percent of gross rent depending on the unit type. The caveat matters: this is a state-average estimate from the Tax Foundation's 2024 data, and Trempealeau's actual township or county levy may run higher or lower. Pull the county assessor's mill rate before you close. At 1.85%, the rate is high enough that a 0.2 to 0.3 percentage point variance in the actual levy can shift your annual carrying cost by several hundred dollars in either direction.

The concentration and demographic risk in a county of 30,679 is real. A single large employer reducing headcount, or a sustained population outflow, moves the rental demand needle faster here than in a county five times the size. The stability score of 50 reflects exactly this: mid-tier market resilience that is neither a high-volatility rural outpost nor a diversified metro. Investors should stress-test vacancy assumptions conservatively, because thin rental demand pools are slower to absorb new inventory and slower to recover from localized economic shocks.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the dataset, Trempealeau is the priciest at $277,608 but carries the same overall score of 72 as Marquette ($257,231) and Marinette ($205,028) and Lincoln ($237,321). Clark County comes in slightly higher at 73 on score with a $211,676 median, and Shawano County scores 74 with a $258,748 median. On a pure price-to-score basis, Trempealeau is the most expensive option for equivalent or lower overall scores, which means you are paying a premium specifically for that 89 appreciation score. If your strategy is appreciation-led, Trempealeau's price growth trajectory justifies the premium over Clark or Marinette. If you want a more balanced score at a lower entry price with more room to manufacture cash flow through aggressive buying, Clark at $211,676 with a 73 score or Marinette at $205,028 with a 72 score give you $66,000 to $72,000 less capital at risk per door, which materially changes the monthly carry math at 6.85% interest. Choose Trempealeau when you have conviction in the appreciation trend and can absorb the carry cost; choose a lower-priced neighbor when cash flow coverage matters more than price growth.