Lawrence County, Alabama Eviction Risk: Very Low

Lawrence County scores 2.1/10 (Low) on the EvictionRiskMap eviction-risk scale, placing it among the more landlord-favorable markets in Alabama eviction laws. That average reflects conditions across all 7 incorporated places in the county, with individual city scores ranging from 1.9 to 2.2. At rank 55 of 67 Alabama eviction laws counties, 54 counties carry more eviction risk than Lawrence County does, and only 12 are less risky, putting this market firmly in the lower-risk third of the state.

For landlords and investors, that translates to a renter base that is relatively stable: the average rent burden sits at 21.8% of income, well below the thresholds that drive chronic non-payment. Average rent is $662, and only 24.6% of households rent, meaning tenant supply is modest and turnover pressure is low. Taken together, the operating environment here is quieter than most Alabama counties, though hyper-local conditions vary enough across the county that city-level data still matters when making acquisition decisions.

The cities inside Lawrence County

The highest-risk locations in the county are Moulton (2.2/10, population 3,401) and Hatton (2.2/10, population 405). Moulton is the county seat and the largest rental market here; its slightly elevated score relative to the county average reflects greater tenant-side economic pressure. Town Creek (2.1/10, population 979) and North Courtland (2.1/10) match the county average and represent mid-range risk within the county.

The most landlord-favorable cities are Trinity (1.9/10, population 2,561) and Hillsboro (1.9/10, population 527), both of which land at the lowest end of the county's score range. Courtland scores 2/10. The spread of 0.3 points across the seven cities is narrow in absolute terms, but it is still enough that landlords concentrating portfolios in Trinity or Hillsboro face meaningfully different risk profiles than those operating primarily in Moulton or Hatton. Risk here is hyper-local, and city-level pages give the granularity that county averages cannot.

State-level laws that apply here

Every rental in Lawrence County operates under the Alabama eviction laws Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Ala. Code section 35-9A. Non-payment of rent triggers a 7-day notice to pay or vacate; lease violations carry a 14-day cure-or-quit notice; end-of-term or no-cause terminations require 30 days. Alabama requires 48 hours of advance notice before a landlord may enter a unit. The full Alabama eviction process, from notice through lockout, runs 30 to 45 days uncontested and 60 to 120 days if the tenant contests. Filing fees run $200 to $300, sheriff lockout fees add $30 to $150, and attorney fees typically fall between $500 and $2,500 depending on case complexity.

Alabama has no statewide rent control, no just-cause eviction requirement, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so Lawrence County landlords face no additional local caps or rent-stabilization rules. Source of income (such as housing vouchers) is not a protected class under Alabama law. For a full breakdown of Alabama eviction costs and the full Alabama tenant protections framework, the statewide guides on this site have detailed statutory citations and procedural timelines.

With a poverty rate of 16.1% and roughly one in four households renting, Lawrence County carries real but manageable risk; use the city grid above to identify which of the seven communities aligns best with your target return profile before committing capital.