Sedgwick County

Sedgwick County lands at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 6.44%, which translates to a 4.19% cap rate at the model purchase price of $222,530. That cap rate sits below the threshold most cash-flow buyers want to see, and the model confirms it: at 6.85% financing, a 20% down payment produces a monthly mortgage of $1,167, estimated expenses of $418, and a median rent of $1,194, leaving a cash-on-cash return of negative 9.14% and a monthly cash flow of negative $390. This is not a market where you buy stabilized assets at median price and expect day-one cash flow at current interest rates. The appreciation score of 74 out of 100 and year-over-year price growth of 2.36% tell the other side of the story: Sedgwick is pricing like a market where capital gains are doing real work, even if the yield math doesn't close at today's cost of debt. Nationally it ranks in the 75th percentile across 1,000 counties, which puts it solidly in the upper quarter, but the stability score of 50 suggests the market carries meaningful cyclical exposure.

The investor profile this county suits is not the cash-flow buyer running 1% rule screens. The numbers simply don't support that play at median price and current rates, unless you're working distressed acquisitions well below the $222,530 midpoint. An appreciation buyer with a longer hold horizon, or a value-add operator who can force equity through renovation and push rents above median, has a more credible thesis here. The affordability index of 79 and median household income of $65,372 indicate that the renter pool has enough income depth to absorb rent increases if you deliver upgraded product, but you won't get there buying stabilized product at list price and holding at market rent. The overall score of 66 and cash-flow score of 64 are middle-of-the-road; this market rewards selectivity, not broad deployment at median metrics.

The $369 per month in combined property tax and insurance is a meaningful line item against a $1,194 median rent, representing roughly 31% of gross rent before mortgage, vacancy, or maintenance. The state-average effective property tax rate used here is 1.41%, flagged as normal, so it's not an outsized drag by Kansas standards, but it's not a tailwind either. Keep in mind this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Sedgwick will vary from that figure, so confirm the specific parcel rate before finalizing any underwrite. Insurance at 0.58% annually, or $1,291 per year, is worth noting given Kansas's exposure to severe weather, and some individual properties may price higher depending on age and construction type.

Wyandotte County is the most instructive comparison in the neighbor set. At a median price of $201,013 and median rent of $1,229, Wyandotte's rent-to-price ratio of 7.34% meaningfully outperforms Sedgwick's 6.44%, and both counties share an overall score of 66. If pure yield is the priority, Wyandotte gets you closer to cash-flow neutrality at today's rates than Sedgwick does, and at $21,000 less in median acquisition cost. Crawford County pushes further in that direction: at $130,736 median and an 8.59% rent-to-price ratio, it's the yield play in this group, though the lower absolute rents ($935) suggest a smaller and likely less liquid tenant market. Riley County, at $261,211 median and a 6.15% ratio, scores 65 overall and offers less on both yield and price relative to Sedgwick, making it the harder argument to construct. The case for choosing Sedgwick over its neighbors comes down to market size: at 522,700 residents it dwarfs every county in this comparison, which matters for exit liquidity, tenant depth, and the ability to build a portfolio at scale without exhausting deal flow. If you're allocating $1M or more and need a market large enough to absorb it, Sedgwick's population base and 74-point appreciation score make it the most defensible choice in the set, provided you underwrite conservatively and don't lean on median rent to carry the deal from day one.