In court-decided eviction outcomes for Butte, AK, tenants prevail in roughly 21.7% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
47d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Butte, AK until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 47 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$1.3–4.2k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Butte, AK costs landlords $1,278 to $4,229 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,610
27% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Butte, AK is $1,610 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 27% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
17.1%
of households
17.1% of occupied housing units in Butte, AK are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
7.9%
4.3% unemp.
7.9% of Butte, AK residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 4.3%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
1.8
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
3.7
State political climate
Alaska legislature & governorship
2.2
Economic stress
7.9% poverty · 4.3% unemp.
5.2
Supply constraint
$1,610 average · 17.1% renters
6.3
Rent Control risk
27.1% of income on rent
3.8
Eviction process difficulty
47 days filing → judgment
1.9
Tenant organizing strength
17.1% renters
4.5
Housing court bias
County bench composition
4.1
Geographic context
Risk heat across Butte and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Butte compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Moderate
#18of 30 cities
#18 of 30 cities in Matanuska-Susitna Borough for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Alaska
Moderate
#212of 353 cities
#212 of 353 cities in Alaska for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
3
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 3/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a slow, steady climb.
50-yr trend+0.7 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steady ratchet · no large swings
47d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,610/mo. A contested eviction takes 47 days and costs $1,278–$4,229 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
17.1%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 4,085 residents, 17.1% rent. 27% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 7.9% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
2.8
Local + regional
The politics
Light-statute interior market.
Local & regional political climate score 1.8 and 3.7. State climate at 2.2, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
2.2
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 2.2/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 1.9, housing court bias 4.1, rent-control risk 3.8. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-3.1 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
5.2
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 5.2. Supply constraint: 6.3. The numbers behind those: 7.9% poverty, 4.3% unemployment, 27% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Butte sits in the quick & cheap quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Butte · 47d · ~$2.8k all-in ($59/day) · score 3National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Butte, Alaska, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3/10 (LOW tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Butte is a city of 4,085 residents where 17.1% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 27.1% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,610/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Butte eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 1.9/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Butte closes 47 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Butte's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 4.1/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Butte runs $1,278 to $4,229 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 47 days of typical timeline and $1,610/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 4.5/10 in Butte, and the city has limited rent control exposure (3.8/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Alaska, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Butte: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a LOW tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Alaska's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $4,229 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Butte
Trap · PRACTICAL TRAP
Compare Butte to neighboring cities in Matanuska-Susitna County via the grid below. The 3.5/10 score is computed from nine sub-factors plus a state-law multiplier under AS 34.03 URLTA. Cross-reference the state overview link in the guides section for Alaska statutory detail.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant in Butte without a reason?
Yes, for a month-to-month tenancy, you can issue a 30-day no-cause termination notice. This means you don't need a specific reason like non-payment or lease violation, provided there is no fixed-term lease in effect. Just make sure you give proper written notice.
Q2
How long does an eviction take if the tenant doesn't fight it?
If the tenant doesn't respond to the court filing, you can typically get a default judgment relatively quickly, often within 3-4 weeks from filing the complaint. The sheriff's lockout follows soon after. This speeds up the average 47-day timeline.
Q3
What if my tenant pays late, but before the 7-day notice expires?
If your tenant pays all overdue rent and applicable late fees within the 7-day notice period, you cannot proceed with the eviction for that specific non-payment. The notice is satisfied, and the tenancy continues. Do not accept partial payments if you want to proceed with eviction.
Q4
Can I keep the security deposit for unpaid rent in Butte?
Yes, Alaska law allows you to deduct unpaid rent from the security deposit. You must still provide an itemized statement of deductions to the tenant within 14 days of them vacating and providing a forwarding address.
Q5
Do I need to send the eviction notice by certified mail?
While not always legally required for the notice itself, sending it certified mail with a return receipt requested, in addition to hand-delivery, provides irrefutable proof that the tenant received the notice. This can be crucial evidence if the tenant claims they never got it in court.
A 3/10 places Butte in the 41st percentile of Alaska cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has climbed steadily since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Butte (3/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
