CE Universe · 5,233 U.S. markets tracked
Scan every ranked U.S. market by cash flow, population growth and appreciation. Then test a property, check the assumptions and save your research.
Six optional questions turn your budget and goals into a shortlist. Or see the ranked lists
See how a rental deal works ↓Every ranked U.S. market, lowest to highest by cash flow, population growth and appreciation.
Every ranked U.S. market, lowest to highest by cash flow, population growth and appreciation. Open the ranked table
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Arrow keys move through the markets. Space locks one. Enter opens its page.
Type a place, a state or a rule such as cash flow > 300, then press Enter.
✦ Drag to pan · Ctrl + scroll to zoom · click a city for details
Market explorer
Drag to move · pinch to zoom
Colour = standardized Buy & Hold screen status
A screen result is modeled market context, not a verified property.
Search or select a city for details. Use + and − to zoom, or arrow keys to move around. The city list offers the same markets without the map.
Detailed state and county boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025. Reference geography, not property boundaries.
Data generated 2026-10-06
Save cities from the map to revisit them here.
Saved markets stay in this browser on this device. No account is needed to save them. A free account keeps your saved calculator analyses on any device. Sign in or create an account
Anatomy of a rental deal / hypothetical example
A $240,000 rental can look good at first glance. See what is left after financing, operating costs, and reserves. Change the assumptions to find out how much room this deal has.
Enable JavaScript to adjust this example, or use the rental calculator below.
Hypothetical numbers, not a listing or local market estimates. Assumes a 30-year fixed loan, $250/month property tax, $150/month insurance, 5% vacancy, management at 8% of collected rent, and two reserves of 5% of gross rent each for maintenance and replacements. No HOA, owner-paid utilities, or other expenses are included.
Cash needed above excludes initial repairs and extra cash reserves. Monthly cash flow is before income taxes and excludes appreciation. Actual bills and repairs will vary.
Open this example in the full calculator →Adjust the example to see the monthly result.
Modeled Buy & Hold shortlist
166 also clear it at 20% down. Insurance is a 0.5% annual allowance; the count falls to 155 at 1.0% and 106 at 1.5%. These are sensitivities, not premium estimates. Screen buy-hold-v1-2026-09-19.
Strongest score: Cash Flow · Weakest measured signal: Growth
Data caveat: bottom-tier value and market rent are not property-matched; verify rent, tax, condition, and an actual landlord insurance quote.
Strongest score: Cash Flow · Weakest measured signal: Stability
Data caveat: bottom-tier value and market rent are not property-matched; verify rent, tax, condition, and an actual landlord insurance quote.
Strongest score: Cash Flow · Weakest measured signal: Growth
Data caveat: bottom-tier value and market rent are not property-matched; verify rent, tax, condition, and an actual landlord insurance quote.
5,233 U.S. cities · data generated 2026-10-06
Start with 4,812 U.S. markets ranked on public data, then replace our market-level estimates with an actual property’s price, rent, insurance quote, taxes, and costs before you commit.
City data generated 2026-10-06 · ZIP data ACS 2024 5-year · searchable, scored and ranked are different universes; not every ZIP Code has an overall score.
How we work with you
The same three steps every time, whether this is your first property or your ninth. Screen the market, understand what is actually driving the score, then replace our area-level estimates with the real property’s price, rent and costs.
Search a city or ZIP Code, or browse the ranked lists to find markets that fit your strategy.
Read the measured factors, confidence and limitations on the profile. City and ZIP scores stay in their own comparison universes.
Test the actual deal in a free calculator. Sign in only when you want to save the analysis or move it into your property tracker.
Market intelligence
Cities and ZIP Codes are scored by separate, transparent models on different geographies. Their numbers are not interchangeable, so we keep the rankings distinct and link each to its own methodology.
Cash Flow, Durable Growth and Stability & Rental Demand, combined by a published weighted formula. Every factor is a national percentile from Census, Zillow, BLS and FBI data, sourced and dated on each page.
A 0–100 score and A–F grade for Census ZIP Code areas, with national and in-state percentiles, honest ACS history, and clear labels where a factor is county or place context rather than ZIP-observed.
City and ZIP scores are computed on different geographies and are not directly comparable.
Run the numbers
Every calculator shows its formula and every assumption. Signed in, save an analysis to compare deals side by side.
General wealth calculators (investment growth, retirement, and more) stay on the full calculators page.
Methodology
The product is the credibility of the numbers. Both ranking models and the financial screen are published in full; measured, modeled, and assumed inputs are labeled, and the limits are stated on the page.
City inputs include Zillow, Census, BLS and FBI data. ZIP profiles use Census and other government sources unless a page explicitly names something else. Survey estimates are never presented as live listings.
The City Market Score, Buy & Hold screen, and Rental Investor ZIP Score publish every weight, assumption, gate, and limitation.
Every figure carries its source and vintage, and the methodology names what the model can’t see. Scores are a screen built from historical public data, not a forecast, appraisal, or investment advice.
The Rental Investor ZIP Score reads 24 measured inputs, and 6 of them are observed for fewer than 30% of ranked ZIP Code areas. We publish which ones, because the alternative is filling the gap and not saying so: A ZIP either has a measured observation or it does not. No measured value is inherited from a county, neighbour or state. Below are the three thinnest, and the best-covered input for scale.
Share of ranked ZIP Code areas with a measured observation, published in the ZIP model manifest. The ZIP model in full →
Read the full methodology → · no account required · no data sold
Selected research
Overall market quality and financed holdability answer different questions. See the current leading market, the standardized screen, and the purchase conditions that would change the result.
Read → Jul 8, 2026Real NOI, DSCR, cash-on-cash and the stress test: the actual math behind a go/no-go, with a calculator linked at each step.
Read → Aug 18, 2026Why we rejected our first two ZIP scores, and the transparent four-category model that finally passed, on 20,132 ZIP Code areas.
Read →The research stays free and public, permanently. Sign in only when you want us to remember your work.