@Dawn Anastasi - Congrats on attaining your goal and realizing your freedom number!

No one has mentioned Chicago area ...I know it has its issues and property taxes are not worth mentioning ...however this area has unbeatable returns...15% to 20%  cab be  easily attained and suburbs do have  very good appreciation as long as you stick with reos and buy when there is less activity so u can get good appreciation.Ray

Census data has things like number of housing units, persons per household, education level attained, etc.  

Not all of us have attained your superior manipulating skills. 

Wholesalers enter this area under misconceptions of it being the place to start, that is very wrong, the concept is easy to understand, the execution of doing a good job or attaining the goal, ethically and legally,  can be very difficult. 

Here is a list of a few that I find to be of most value:Population TotalHome ValuesHousehold IncomesPoverty RatePopulation AgeRental Vacancy Rate*Homeowner Vacancy Rate*Educational Attainment Rate (High School/GED & Bachelors)Number of Housing UnitRent to Income Ratio*Rent to Price Ratio*Population on SNAPS (supplemental nutrition assistance program) percentageProperty Tax Rate*Median Age of BuildingsNumber of Structures by Units (SFR, Duplex, Triplex, Quadplex, etc...)Median Rents by Number of BedroomsPopulation Change (Births, Deaths, In-Migrations, Immigrants)*note that some of the metrics are composites that are computed by comparing two or more variables from the ACSA number of the variables above can also be broken up into cohorts, which will give you even more insight into how an area is doing.

Healthy economy and solid growth, yet attainable prices for newbies.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Just closed my first deal in Milwaukee with more on the works! Any out of area investors, feel free to reach out as I am open to wor...