El Dorado County, California Eviction Risk: Elevated

El Dorado County carries an average eviction-risk score of 6.6/10 (Elevated), placing it 19th out of 58 California counties by risk, meaning only 18 counties are riskier and 39 are more landlord-friendly. For an investor comparing markets across California eviction laws, that ranking puts El Dorado squarely in the higher-risk third of the state, driven by a combination of state-mandated tenant protections, a rent burden rate of 31.6%, and the litigation exposure that comes with California eviction law. The county is not a regulatory outlier, but it demands the same discipline and documentation practices that serious landlords apply anywhere in the state.

Across 13 mapped cities, individual scores range from 5.8 to 7.5, a spread wide enough that a landlord choosing between the lower foothills and the Tahoe basin is effectively choosing between two different operating environments. Average rent sits at $1,973, and roughly 26% of residents are renters. That relatively thin renter share concentrates demand in a smaller pool of rental stock, which can be an advantage in stable periods and a cash-flow risk when vacancies pile up during economic softening.

The cities inside El Dorado County

The highest-risk markets in the county cluster in the mountain corridor. Meyers tops the list at 7.5/10, followed by Pollock Pines at 7.3/10 (population 6,212) and Georgetown at 7/10. South Lake Tahoe, the county's second-largest city with a population of 21,269, scores 6.8/10, reflecting the seasonal economy and higher share of cost-burdened renters that characterize lake-adjacent resort markets.

The lower end of the risk range belongs to communities in the western foothills. Auburn Lake Trails scores 6.1/10, and Placerville, with a population of 10,762, comes in at 6.4/10. The larger suburban communities, El Dorado Hills (6.5/10, population 51,026) and Cameron Park (6.5/10, population 18,315), sit at mid-range. Risk here is genuinely hyper-local: a landlord with units in El Dorado Hills faces a meaningfully different profile than one holding property in Meyers, even though both lie within the same county boundary. Given how much California procedural law bears on every eviction outcome, this is precisely why working with a professional property manager can keep a portfolio from absorbing costs that should have been avoidable.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in El Dorado County operates under California eviction law. Non-payment of rent, curable lease violations, and incurable violations (nuisance, illegal use, substantial damage) each require a 3-day notice under CCP § 1161. No-cause terminations require 30 days notice for tenancies under one year and 60 days for tenancies of one year or more under Civ. Code § 1946.1. Just-cause no-fault terminations, covering owner move-in, property withdrawal, and substantial remodel, also require 60 days. AB 1482 imposes statewide just-cause eviction requirements and caps annual rent increases at 5% plus CPI, with a 10% ceiling. Landlords should review the full California eviction process to understand how each notice type fits into the court timeline.

On costs, the California eviction costs picture matters: court filing fees run $240 to $435, sheriff lockout fees add $75 to $145, and attorney fees in contested matters typically fall between $1,500 and $4,500. An uncontested case resolves in 35 to 60 days; a contested case can stretch to 75 to 180 days. California also requires 24-hour advance notice for landlord entry under Cal. Civ. Code § 1941, protects source of income as a fair-housing category, and prohibits blanket criminal-history screening bans under FEHA. The fair housing enforcement body is the California Civil Rights Department.

El Dorado County's poverty rate of 8.2% is on the lower end for California counties at this risk tier, but the 26% renter share means the landlord market is narrower than in coastal metros. Review the city grid above to compare individual market scores before committing to a specific submarket.