Monroe County, Alabama Eviction Risk: Low
8 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Monroeville (2.7) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #14 of 67 AL counties
8k residents · 8 cities · 9 tracts
Monroe County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord13.5%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Monroe County, AL, tenants prevail in roughly 13.5% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline28dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Monroe County, AL until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 28 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$0.9–2.5klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Monroe County, AL costs landlords $940 to $2,548 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$60335% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Monroe County, AL is $603 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 35% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters38.7%of households38.7% of occupied housing units in Monroe County, AL are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty25.9%14.3% unemp.25.9% of Monroe County, AL residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 14.3%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
How Monroe County ranks in Alabama
Landlord guides for Alabama
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Monroeville | 5,802 | 2.7 | 30.9% | $577 | Rep |
| 002 | Frisco City | 1,416 | 2.3 | 51.0% | $698 | Rep |
| 003 | Excel | 524 | 2.1 | 51.0% | $582 | Rep |
| 004 | Uriah | 199 | 2.2 | 24.5% | $585 | Rep |
| 005 | Beatrice | 182 | 1.9 | 9.9% | $750 | Rep |
| 006 | Vredenburgh | 65 | 2.3 | 21.7% | $597 | Rep |
| 007 | Megargel | 46 | 2.6 | 32.8% | $585 | Rep |
| 008 | Peterman | 19 | 1.7 | 32.8% | $1,040 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Monroe County, Alabama eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.2/10 (Low) across its 8 incorporated cities, placing it at rank 50 of 67 Alabama counties, meaning 49 counties in the state post higher risk scores and only 17 are less risky. For landlords and investors, that positioning in the lower-risk third of Alabama eviction laws translates to a rental market where tenant-side instability is comparatively contained. With average rent at $603 and an average rent burden of 35% of income, the affordability picture is tight for renters but not at the extreme levels that reliably spike eviction filings.
Scores across the county's cities run from 1.6 to 2.3, a narrow band that signals broadly consistent operating conditions rather than dramatic neighborhood-to-neighborhood swings. Investors underwriting a portfolio across Monroe County can expect low but not negligible risk, with poverty running at an average of 25.9% and roughly 38.7% of households renting rather than owning, both figures worth pricing into vacancy and turnover assumptions.
The cities inside Monroe County
At the top of the risk range, Monroeville (score 2.3/10, population 5,802) and Excel (score 2.3/10, population 524) share the county's highest readings. Monroeville anchors the local economy as the county seat and largest population center; its score, while the highest in Monroe County, remains well within the Low tier statewide. Uriah comes in at 2.2/10, matching the county average exactly.
On the lower end, Frisco City (score 1.8/10, population 1,416) and Vredenburgh (score 1.6/10) represent the most landlord-favorable conditions in the county. Even the gap between Vredenburgh's 1.6 and Monroeville's 2.3 is modest, but risk is always hyper-local: a single apartment complex in a higher-poverty census tract can behave quite differently from the county average, so city-level scores are the more actionable reference point than the countywide figure alone.
State-level laws that apply here
Every landlord in Monroe County operates under Ala. Code § 35-9A (the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). Notice requirements are straightforward: 7 days for non-payment of rent, 14 days for a lease violation with opportunity to cure, and 30 days for an end-of-term or no-cause termination. Alabama eviction laws does not require just cause to end a tenancy and has preempted local rent control, so no Monroe County municipality can impose rent caps or more restrictive notice rules on top of state law. Landlords must give tenants at least 48 hours notice before entering a unit under Ala. Code § 35-9A-204.
On the cost side, the Alabama eviction laws eviction process carries court filing fees of $200 to $300, sheriff lockout fees of $30 to $150, and attorney fees typically ranging from $500 to $2,500 if counsel is retained. An uncontested case generally resolves in 30 to 45 days; a contested matter can extend to 60 to 120 days. Reviewing Alabama eviction costs in full before budgeting a Monroe County acquisition is a practical first step, and landlords new to the state should also read up on Alabama tenant protections to understand the habitability and retaliation statutes that run alongside these procedures.
With a poverty rate of 25.9% and 38.7% of households renting, Monroe County's risk profile is real but manageable; the city-by-city grid above gives the most precise read on where within the county your investment sits on the risk spectrum.
Historical eviction filings in Monroe County
From 2000 to 2017, eviction filings in Monroe County increased 145%. The peak was 54 filings in 2003.1
- 222000
- 54Peak (2003)
- 542017
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.