What Is Cash Flow Per Door Benchmark?
The industry standard for "good" cash flow per door is $200–$300/month net for leveraged properties. Below $150/month is thin—one vacancy or repair wipes out months of profit. Above $400/month is excellent and typically found in lower-cost Midwest and Southeast markets or value-add properties with below-market rents.
Here's how it breaks down. A property renting for $1,400/month with a $950 mortgage payment, $200 in taxes/insurance, $112 in management (8%), $70 vacancy reserve (5%), $100 maintenance, and $75 CapEx reserve = $1,507 in total expenses. Net cash flow: -$107/month. That's negative—and it's more common than most gurus admit. The same property with a $750 mortgage (lower purchase price or larger down payment) nets $143/month. Still thin.
The benchmark varies dramatically by market. Properties in San Francisco might have negative cash flow but 5–8% annual appreciation. Properties in Memphis might produce $350/door in cash flow but only 2–3% appreciation. Neither is inherently better—they're different strategies. Know which game you're playing and benchmark accordingly.
Cash flow per door benchmark is the metric that measures net monthly income per rental unit after all expenses—mortgage, taxes, insurance, management, maintenance, vacancy reserve, and CapEx reserve—used to evaluate individual property performance and portfolio health.
At a Glance
- Good benchmark: $200–$300/month net per door (leveraged)
- Excellent: $400+/month net per door
- Danger zone: Below $150/month net per door
- Free-and-clear target: $500–$800/month net per door
- Includes: All expenses—mortgage, taxes, insurance, management, vacancy, maintenance, CapEx
How It Works
Full expense calculation
True cash flow per door must include every cost, not just mortgage payment. Monthly calculation: Gross rent ($1,500) minus mortgage ($900), property taxes ($175), insurance ($85), property management ($120 at 8%), vacancy reserve ($75 at 5%), maintenance ($100), CapEx reserve ($100), and miscellaneous ($25). Total expenses: $1,580. Net cash flow: -$80. Ouch. Most new investors forget CapEx, vacancy reserves, and management—inflating their per-door numbers by $200–$300/month.
Market comparison
Midwest (Indianapolis, Cleveland, Memphis): Average rent $1,100–$1,400, purchase price $100,000–$160,000, cash flow $250–$400/door. Southeast (Birmingham, Jacksonville): Average rent $1,200–$1,500, purchase price $130,000–$200,000, cash flow $200–$350/door. West Coast (Portland, Phoenix): Average rent $1,500–$2,200, purchase price $300,000–$500,000, cash flow $50–$200/door. Northeast (Hartford, Rochester): Average rent $1,000–$1,400, purchase price $80,000–$150,000, cash flow $200–$350/door.
Improving cash flow per door
Five levers: (1) Increase rent through renovations or market-rate adjustments. (2) Reduce mortgage by refinancing or paying down principal. (3) Lower insurance by shopping annually and bundling policies. (4) Decrease maintenance through preventive programs. (5) Self-manage to eliminate the 8–10% management fee.
Portfolio averaging
Not every door will hit $300/month. Some properties in your portfolio will produce $450/door; others will produce $125/door. The portfolio average is what matters. If your 15-door portfolio averages $275/door, you're generating $4,125/month—a solid foundation regardless of individual property variation.
Real-World Example
Marcus owns 10 rentals across three markets. His per-door breakdown: 4 properties in Indianapolis average $340/door. 3 in Nashville average $180/door. 3 in Atlanta average $225/door. Portfolio average: $258/door. Total monthly cash flow: $2,580. He identifies the Nashville properties as underperformers. After raising rents by $100/month (they were $150 below market) and refinancing one from 7.5% to 6.75%, Nashville improves to $265/door. New portfolio average: $289/door. Total monthly cash flow: $2,890—a $310/month improvement without buying a single new property.
Pros & Cons
- Simple, universal metric for comparing properties
- Reveals underperformers in a portfolio quickly
- Drives data-based improvement decisions
- Benchmarkable against market and peer averages
- Direct input into door count goal calculations
- Doesn't capture appreciation or equity build
- Varies wildly by market, making cross-market comparisons misleading
- Can incentivize buying cheap properties with high maintenance costs
- Sensitive to small expense changes (one $200 repair shifts monthly number)
- Trailing metric—reflects past performance, not future potential
Watch Out
- Cherry-picking expenses: Leaving out CapEx reserves, vacancy, or management fees inflates cash flow per door by $200–$300/month. Include everything—even if you self-manage, account for the cost of your time at market rate.
- Gross vs. net confusion: "$500/month cash flow" usually means gross rent minus mortgage only. True net after all expenses might be $150. Always clarify whether a number is gross or net.
- Ignoring appreciation markets: A property producing $100/door in Phoenix but appreciating $15,000/year delivers better total return than a $350/door property in Cleveland appreciating $3,000/year. Cash flow per door doesn't tell the whole story.
- Deferred maintenance inflation: Skipping maintenance to show higher cash flow per door borrows from the future. That deferred roof replacement will eventually cost more than the years of inflated cash flow saved.
Ask an Investor
The Takeaway
Cash flow per door is the vital sign of your rental portfolio. Track it monthly, benchmark against your market, and use it to identify underperformers. Target $200–$300/door for leveraged properties and $500–$800/door for free-and-clear. But always remember it's one metric—total return includes appreciation, equity build, and tax benefits that per-door cash flow doesn't capture.