"great markets" for me, is positive job growth, population growth, median income over $35k, city over 50k population. ill get a deal that fits, then adding proper management and RE taxes, it goes from a 6% to a 2% quick. ehat gives??

Jacksonville is the largest city in the country (geographically) with a population of  1.6 mil.

All U.S. metro areas with populations of at least 200,000 and at least 1,000 single-family home and condo sales in Q3 2021 were considered.Taking a look at Kent County specifically, in October, the average home sale was $297,581, a 12.3% increase from October 2020.

I would recommend that you start by populating your profile, share your goals, and then come back with specific targeted questions and you'll be sure to get excellent answers.

Items like, rent growth, job growth, income growth, job diversification, population growth can be good starting points. 

I have also put together a data sheet with many different metrics on all cities within the United States with 100,000+ population.

Think about it this way, if 70% of households in the entire US own a pet (I don't know the stats for your area), then you're locking yourself to only 30% of the population by not allowing pets.

Columbus is the only Ohio market that has seen rapid growth in jobs and population.

There's a ~20-30k population here but yet nothing on zillow/apartments.com/the internet.

NAR considered a market a hidden gem if its median home price to median family income ratio is at the lower end of the distribution of 379 metro areas relative to the distribution of a combined set of seven indicators that drive housing demand and supply:3-year wage growth (BLS average weekly wage, 2018 Q2–2021 Q2)3-year job growth (BLS nonfarm payroll employment, 2018 Q3–2021 Q3)Ratio of the 3-year change in population (2020 vs. 2017) to the sum of housing permits over a 3-year period (2018-2020)3-year population growth (US Census Bureau, 2017-2020)Net domestic migration as a percent of population (U.S.