Howard County, Arkansas Eviction Risk: Low

Howard County, Arkansas eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2/10, placing it in the Low risk tier and landing at rank 37 of 75 Arkansas counties, where rank 1 is the highest-risk county. That position puts 36 counties above it in risk and 38 below, placing Howard County squarely in the middle third of the state. For landlords, a 2/10 score across 5 cities means tenant-default pressure and eviction frequency are well below the statewide norm, and the county's average rent of $696 reflects a genuinely affordable, working-class rental market rather than a speculative one.

The intra-county score range of 1.6 to 2 is narrow, signaling that risk conditions are fairly consistent across Howard County's cities rather than concentrated in one hotspot. With a renter share of 38.3% of households and an average rent-burden rate of 30.3%, the rental base here is meaningful but not overleveraged. The poverty rate of 24.5% is worth noting: it is elevated, which means a portion of tenants operate with thin financial margins, and landlords should price and screen accordingly even in a low-risk environment.

The cities inside Howard County

Nashville is the county seat and by far the largest city, with a population of 4,063 and a risk score of 2/10. It sits at the top of the county's risk range, which in this context still qualifies as low. Nashville accounts for the majority of Howard County's total tracked population of 6,333, so most landlord activity here concentrates in a single small city with a manageable risk profile.

Mineral Springs (population 1,358, score 1.9/10) and Dierks (population 728, score 1.9/10) are the next-largest markets, both scoring slightly below Nashville. Smaller still, Newhope scores 1.7/10 and Center Point comes in at 1.6/10, the lowest-risk location in the county. Even a 0.4-point spread across five cities is enough to produce meaningfully different tenant profiles, so risk is hyper-local and landlords should evaluate each city individually rather than treating Howard County as a monolith.

State-level laws that apply here

All Howard County landlords operate under Ark. Code § 18-17 (Residential Landlord-Tenant Act). The Arkansas eviction process begins with written notice: 3 days for non-payment of rent, 14 days for a lease violation with an opportunity to cure, and 30 days for an end-of-term or no-cause termination. If the tenant does not comply and the matter goes to court, an uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested case can run 90 to 150 days. Landlords should budget for court filing fees of $165 to $250, sheriff lockout fees of $40 to $120, and attorney fees ranging from $500 to $2,500 depending on case complexity.

Arkansas eviction laws state law does not require just cause for non-renewal or termination, and the state preempts any local rent control ordinance, so no city in Howard County can impose rent caps. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Arkansas law. For a full breakdown of what these rules mean in practice, see the Arkansas eviction costs guide and the Arkansas security deposit limits guide before setting lease terms.

With a poverty rate of 24.5% and a renter share of 38.3%, Howard County's fundamentals warrant careful tenant screening even at a 2/10 risk score; review the city-level scores in the grid above to identify where within the county your investment exposure is lowest.