I would say to research a city for what type of asset you are  targeting and then look at demographics, i.e. job growth, population growth, size and number of households.  

The same way you carry some account balance for an emergency in a household budget.

Crosscheck median family income and household price growth on sites like census.gov and city-data.

"The significance of this phenomenon is that, similar to ordinary income tax rates, generating “too much” in capital gains can drive the household up into higher capital gains tax rates.

However, is this just showing me that these areas have a high level of lower-income households.

I use median household income by zip code and adjacent zips (qualified with boots on the ground assessment).

Here are some rough numbers we're seeing.Studio apartment $3000One bedroom $3200-3500Two bedroom $3500-4000Three bedroom $4500-5500Expenses are similar to STRs: utilities, consumable supplies, occasionally replacing broken or worn down household items and furniture, insurance, and the usual for any property such as maintenance, CAPEX, and taxes.

I know Burlington/Graham are quite popular for households where one spouse works in the Triangle area and one works in the Triad, I'm guessing Mebane is similar?

The bottom of households are finding ways to cope with the incrementals.

Look for Median Household Income, Poverty, Median Contract Rent, Median House Value and Unemployment.