McHenry County

McHenry County sits in the upper tier of Illinois markets, ranking 114th nationally out of 1,000 counties (85th percentile) and posting a 4.55% year-over-year price gain on a median home price of $357,917. The gross rent-to-price ratio of 6.98% is respectable but not a cash-flow number on its own. At a 6.85% mortgage rate with 20% down, the model spits out a cap rate of 4.54% and a cash-on-cash return of -7.62%, with estimated monthly cash flow of -$523. That negative carry is real and not a rounding artifact. The appreciation score of 85 out of 100 versus a cash-flow score of 70 tells you exactly where this market earns its keep: price growth, not monthly surplus.

The investor who fits McHenry is someone buying appreciation with an income offset, not someone underwriting to day-one cash flow. At a median income of $100,101 and an affordability index of 76, the tenant base is creditworthy and stable, which matters for vacancy and lease renewal rates even when gross yield is thin. A value-add operator has a plausible case if they can acquire below the $357,917 median, force appreciation through renovation, and reposition rents above the $2,081 median, since the rent-to-price math gets materially better even with a $20,000 reduction in basis. A pure cash-flow buyer, however, should look elsewhere in this dataset, because there is no realistic financing scenario at current rates that produces positive cash-on-cash at median price without a substantially larger down payment than 20%.

The stability score of 50 out of 100 is the number that deserves the most attention. McHenry is exurban Chicago, and its rental demand is structurally tied to the broader Chicago metro employment base. No specific economic anchors were provided in the data, so it would be speculation to name employers, but the county's location and $100,101 median household income suggest a workforce that commutes into deeper suburban or urban employment centers. That's a dependency worth tracking: if remote work penetration reverses or Chicago-area employment softens, demand for exurban single-family rentals could pull back faster than in closer-in submarkets.

The tax and insurance burden is the single most important line item to get right in any McHenry underwrite. The state-average effective property tax rate of 2.27% is very high by national standards, and that label is warranted: at $357,917 of assessed value, that translates to $8,125 in annual property taxes. Combined with $966 in annual insurance, you are carrying $758 per month in tax and insurance before touching mortgage principal, interest, maintenance, or management. That $758 figure alone exceeds many counties' total PITI contributions from insurance and taxes combined. Illinois property taxes are notoriously variable by township, and the 2.27% figure is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, so actual McHenry township rates may differ, and they can differ materially. Before contracting on any specific parcel, pull the actual tax bill, not an estimate. At 2.27%, the rate is high enough to deserve its own line on your underwrite and enough to swing an otherwise marginal deal negative.

Comparing McHenry to its neighbors clarifies where it sits on the spectrum. Cook County offers a rent-to-price ratio of 8.06% at a lower median price of $314,517 with nearly identical rent at $2,113, making it the clearest cash-flow alternative in this peer group. An investor prioritizing current yield should look at Cook first. Kendall County posts the highest rent-to-price ratio in the group at 7.27% with rents at $2,307 on a $380,573 median, offering better gross yield at a higher basis. Will County at 7.05% rent-to-price and $2,121 median rent on a $361,064 median price is the closest comparable to McHenry and offers a marginally better yield profile at a nearly identical price point. Lake County, at 6.67% rent-to-price, is the weakest yielder in the neighbor set and is priced above McHenry at $374,727. McHenry's 4.55% price appreciation distinguishes it from the group and is the reason to choose it over Will or Cook, but only if the investor's thesis is appreciation-led and they have the balance sheet to carry negative cash flow or the capital to put down enough equity to neutralize the mortgage drag. If the underwrite requires cash-on-cash breakeven or better from day one, Cook County's 8.06% gross yield at a lower price is the more defensible entry in this market set.