@Jessica LawsI also recommend you look into Houston, TX.The income and appreciation in Houston are growing at a steady pace.I personally have rentals in Houston, and the surrounding areas of Spring and Conroe.Good luck! 

And I'm looking for more steady income for the time-being, being that I am working on acquiring my first property/house hack and I want to be able to show proof of income 

This certainly helped keep property tax revenues steady during the pandemic—and for some communities, collections could potentially grow in coming years due to the skyrocketing values of residential real estate.Property taxes’ stability could help continue to protect state and local budgets if the U.S. is headed toward a recession in the near future.

Even with prices at least steadying recently most units I see that are move in ready are still too high compared to rental comps. 

Plus, you might have influence on where you go...some places are better then others start your due diligence now and work on improving your odds at getting orders to a place that helps.You being in the military means you get a low but steady paycheck...loans are easy to get but harder to qualify for.

Now that that's out of the way...There are tons of economic micro-climates and each city will have a different investment 'temperature' so it would be sensible to narrow it down.

They are looking for steady returns and don't care about the upside.For other investors, they don't care about the cash flow, but are looking to maximize their upside potential and hit the "home run."

A little background information im currently in the navy but getting out in December and moving back to Rock Hill SC in July, i have a small savings and im starting school again come January. once December hits i will lose my Military pay and rely on GI bill BAH and what ever i make off a part time while i am in school. ive thought of purchasing my first home when i hit SC and using my military income to get approved for a loan and house hack, ive also thought about moving in with my brother and saving the 5-6K a month the military pays me for the last 6 months of my service, which would boost my savings quite a bit, but without the steady income from the military after, I see getting a loan quite difficult. thoughts?

There is a big market for it, as the town is growing very fast, and we know that by investing in it we are guaranteed a long-term, steady income from rents. 

Our average temperatures are June - 75, July - 77, August - 76, September - 71.