Gross yield: 11.5%.
Yield + labor screen · constrained national screen
High-yield rental markets with positive job growth
A constrained gross-yield ranking that first requires current employment growth above zero.
Question answeredWhich measured market areas retain the highest pre-cost gross yield after clearing a positive employment screen?
Visual ranking
The leading ten, with one metric encoded.
The chart stays intentionally narrow: it shows the ordering metric, while the table and counter-signals keep the rest of the decision visible.
The median of the ten displayed leaders, not a national threshold.
The table preserves the counter-metrics needed before opening a market brief.
Evidence table
Top twenty qualifying market areas.
Each row links to the full metro evidence. Figures retain the units and concepts named in the column headers.
| Rank | Market area | Gross yield | Job change | Home value | Market rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Kingsville, TX | 11.5% | +1.4% | $148.7k | $1.4k |
| #2 | Abilene, TX | 10.6% | +0.8% | $219.8k | $1.9k |
| #3 | Opelousas, LA | 10.2% | +1.8% | $133.1k | $1.1k |
| #4 | Ozark, AL | 10.1% | +0.2% | $165k | $1.4k |
| #5 | Ogdensburg, NY | 9.3% | +0.1% | $150.6k | $1.2k |
| #6 | Plainview, TX | 9.3% | +0.2% | $121.9k | $947 |
| #7 | Clewiston, FL | 9.2% | +2.3% | $275.4k | $2.1k |
| #8 | Monroe, LA | 9.1% | +1.1% | $167.7k | $1.3k |
| #9 | Paducah, KY | 9.0% | +0.6% | $170.2k | $1.3k |
| #10 | Enterprise, AL | 9.0% | +1.1% | $187.6k | $1.4k |
| #11 | Pottsville, PA | 9.0% | +0.1% | $169.6k | $1.3k |
| #12 | Somerset, KY | 8.9% | +1.5% | $183.7k | $1.4k |
| #13 | Corning, NY | 8.8% | +0.0% | $174.3k | $1.3k |
| #14 | Shreveport, LA | 8.8% | +0.0% | $185.7k | $1.4k |
| #15 | Borger, TX | 8.7% | +4.0% | $125.5k | $913 |
| #16 | Laurel, MS | 8.7% | +0.8% | $156k | $1.1k |
| #17 | Sumter, SC | 8.6% | +0.3% | $209.3k | $1.5k |
| #18 | DuBois, PA | 8.5% | +0.0% | $145.4k | $1k |
| #19 | Oneonta, NY | 8.4% | +1.0% | $220.6k | $1.5k |
| #20 | Sandusky, OH | 8.4% | +2.1% | $242.5k | $1.7k |
Method and limits
What this order means—and what it does not.
This is a repeatable screening order, not an investment recommendation, forecast or property-level estimate.
Inclusion and ordering rule: Start with every RentMarker metro that has direct Zillow ZHVI, Zillow ZORI, population and a named BLS employment series. Publish only rows whose year-over-year employment change is greater than zero; rank the surviving rows by gross yield, highest first.
How it is calculated
- Gross yield is monthly Zillow ZORI multiplied by 12 and divided by Zillow ZHVI.
- The employment screen uses the metro's current named BLS series: CES where available, otherwise LAUS.
- No score, appreciation forecast, expense estimate or property-level assumption enters the ranking.
Counter-signals to carry
- Positive employment does not show whether growth is broad-based, durable or sufficient to absorb new supply.
- Gross yield is before taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance, management and financing.
- A small positive employment change clears the rule but should not be read as a strong labor-market call.
Limits before use
- ZORI and ZHVI describe metro-level typical asking rent and home value, not a specific property's rent or acquisition price.
- CES and LAUS measure different labor concepts; the source used for each metro is retained in the download.
- Release periods differ across sources, so the study is a current joined screen rather than a synchronized economic experiment.
Source ledger
Named releases behind this ranking.
Release period and pull date remain attached so a later refresh can reproduce a different order honestly.
Census ACS 5-year — populationACS 2024 5-yearPulled 2026-07-26BLS CES — payroll employmentCES SM currentPulled 2026-07-26BLS LAUS — resident employmentLAUS currentPulled 2026-07-26OMB/BLS delineation — metro geographyOMB July 2023 delineationPulled 2026-07-30Zillow ZHVI — metro home valuesMetro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csvPulled 2026-07-26Zillow ZORI — metro market rentsMetro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csvPulled 2026-07-26
Next decision
Move from a market screen to a property test.
Open the market evidence first, then replace market-wide typicals with the candidate property’s actual price, rent and operating assumptions.