And help or suggestions would be appreciated. thanks I use sites like the local chamber of commerce for the area, homes.com, neighborhood scout, niche, and census.gov to get statistics on schools, crime, and local development. 

The LA Chamber of Commerce says they are: https://lachamber.com/news/2023/06/05/press-release/a-recent...I believe there were only three states losing population prior to COVID (NY, Cali, and Illinois), and they continue to lose population today.

remember your first home is not your forever home, it's your first rental so it doesn't need to be everything you want.look for homes where the bones are good, but cosmetically needs love. don't by pre 1960 if you can help it. you'll end up just having to replace all the guts like plumbing and electrical at some point. it's inevitable. look in areas where the path of growth is headed, but might not be currently. think 5 years out. look for resources like your local chamber of commerce to see what businesses are coming in and where. your city planning office should also be on your call list as they can help show where most permits are being pulled for development. follow the money. go to local investing meetups. crowdsource local knowledge and form meaningful relationships. those who've gone before you typically will help out and help you avoid the mistakes they've already made. onward.

Talk with local investors about who they use and maybe check with your local chamber of commerce.

Last year it made it through one chamber of CA legislation before getting shelved.  

I'll actually spend time in the markets that I'm consider and literally just network with other investors and seek out people who are knowledgeable about the market.That said, some of the data sources I like when looking at rental areas:census.govcity-data.comzillow.comzilpy.comLocal chamber of commerce sites - can provide information about business/job/wage growthLocal real estate associations (members of NAR) - can provide information about local housing stats, housing supply, etc.

For free resources and data, websites like the, FRED, Statistica, YCharts, Trading Economics, and Local government or chamber of commerce are great places to start.

Most of the cheap ones, like the InSinkErator Badgers, have a plastic grind chamber which will crack and leak.  

There is some noise in this comment, but overall I appreciate it, especially on LinkedIn, where everything is an echo chamber of "I help create passive income for busy professionals", "Invest like the rich", "create financial freedom through real estate".  

In addition, check out the chamber of commerce https://greaterlouisvillepartnership.com/ where you can find the top 10 employers for different industries such as healthcare, tech, manufacturing and logistics.