Walworth County

Walworth County sits at the appreciation end of the buy-and-hold spectrum, and the numbers make that positioning unambiguous. The median home price of $405,546 against a median rent of $1,786 produces a gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.53%, or roughly 6.3% annualized, which sounds acceptable until you run the actual underwrite. At a 6.85% financing rate with 20% down, the monthly mortgage alone comes to $2,126. Stack on $625 in estimated operating expenses and the model spits out negative $965 per month in cash flow, a cash-on-cash return of -12.41%. The cap rate of 3.44% tells a similar story: you are paying a price that the income cannot support at current rates. Year-over-year home price appreciation of 4.39% is real and above many comparable Wisconsin counties, and the appreciation score of 84 out of 100 reflects that, but the cash-flow score of 49 and the affordability index of 43 confirm this is not a market where the rent check covers the carry.

That profile suits a specific kind of buyer. If you are an appreciation-oriented investor who can absorb monthly negative carry, either through cross-collateralized portfolio income or personal liquidity, Walworth's price trajectory and 84-point appreciation score make a reasonable case. A cash-flow buyer, by contrast, has no business here at current prices and rates: negative $965 per month is not a rounding error, it is a structural feature of a market where home values have moved well ahead of rents. A value-add operator would need to find a property meaningfully below the $405,546 median and push rents well above the $1,786 median just to approach breakeven, which is a narrow and difficult path in a market with limited distressed inventory at this price point.

The tax and insurance carry deserves its own line on your underwrite. Using the state-average effective rate of 1.85%, annual property taxes on a median-priced asset come to approximately $7,503, and insurance adds another $933, combining for $703 per month in tax and insurance alone before you touch mortgage principal, interest, or operating costs. At 1.85%, Wisconsin's state-average rate is high enough that it materially compresses your already thin income, and you should treat it as a serious underwriting consideration rather than a background assumption. The data note is worth heeding: this is a state-average estimate from the Tax Foundation's 2024 figures, and actual county or township rates in Walworth may differ, so confirm the specific mill rate for any parcel before closing.

The risk picture that the data supports centers on affordability and concentration. An affordability index of 43 means the typical buyer or renter in Walworth is stretched, and at $405,546 the median price point is high relative to what the local rent base can sustain, as the negative cash flow confirms. Walworth's economy is anchored in part by Lake Geneva's tourism and second-home market, which introduces seasonal and discretionary-income sensitivity that a more diversified employment base would not carry. No employer-specific data is provided here, so specific concentration claims beyond the tourism orientation would be speculation, but the market's resort-town character is a relevant underwriting consideration for rental demand stability.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the data, Walworth's rent-to-price ratio of 0.529% per month is actually the highest in the peer group, which is somewhat counterintuitive given the negative cash flow. Saint Croix County is the closest comp at 0.514%, but its median price of $401,930 and median rent of $1,721 produce a slightly worse ratio. Washington County, at nearly the same price point ($404,889) but a rent of only $1,528, has a 0.453% ratio and would be a worse cash-flow outcome. Jefferson and Chippewa counties are cheaper in absolute terms, $346,047 and $306,995 respectively, but their rent-to-price ratios of 0.436% and 0.443% are lower than Walworth's, meaning the income relative to purchase price is actually less favorable despite the lower entry cost. On the appreciation dimension, none of the neighbors' appreciation scores are provided, but Walworth's 84 is a meaningful differentiator if price growth is your thesis. Choose Walworth over these neighbors when you have the balance sheet to carry negative cash flow and are specifically underwriting for price appreciation in a lakefront-influenced market, not when you need the property to service itself from day one.