El Paso County, Colorado Eviction Risk: Moderate

El Paso County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.4/10 (Moderate) across its 19 cities, placing it 10th out of 64 Colorado counties, meaning only 9 counties statewide are riskier. With a total population of 658,511 and an average rent of $1,665, the county sits in the higher-risk third of Colorado. Landlords and investors operating here face real statutory friction, a rent-burdened renter base, and a wide band of city-level risk that demands local diligence before committing capital.

The intra-county spread, from a low of 3.5/10 to a high of 6.4/10, is nearly three full points, which means two properties separated by a few miles can represent materially different risk profiles. An average figure alone cannot guide underwriting decisions in a county this diverse. Average rent burden runs 32% of gross income for renters, a threshold where payment stress translates directly into delinquency exposure for landlords.

The cities inside El Paso County

The highest-risk market in the county is Cascade-Chipita Park, scoring 4.7/10, with a population of 18,019. Close behind are Peyton at 3.8/10 and a cluster at 6.1/10 that includes Fountain (population 29,300), Manitou Springs, and Calhan. Fountain eviction risk in particular draws attention as a growing bedroom community where renter demographics and income instability combine to push eviction risk above county average. Monument scores 4.5/10, and Cimarron Hills and Gleneagle each come in at 4.5/10, rounding out the higher-risk tier.

The lowest-risk corner of the county is anchored by Black Forest at 4.1/10 and Security-Widefield at 4.6/10 (population 37,345). Colorado Springs, the county seat and by far the largest city at 487,887 residents, scores exactly at the county average of 4.4/10, making it a reliable proxy for the overall market but not a substitute for neighborhood-level analysis. Risk in El Paso County is genuinely hyper-local: city scores diverge enough that investors cannot apply a single underwriting assumption across the portfolio.

State-level laws that apply here

Colorado statute governs every tenancy in the county. For nonpayment of rent or a material lease violation, landlords must serve a 10-day notice to cure or quit under C.R.S. 13-40-104. A substantial violation, such as criminal activity, compresses that to a 3-day notice under C.R.S. 13-40-107.5. No-fault terminations tied to owner move-in or renovation require a 90-day notice under HB24-1098, a meaningful lead time compared with many other states. Just cause is now required statewide to terminate a tenancy, which limits a landlord's flexibility to non-renew without a documented reason. Colorado does not preempt local rent control at the state level, though no active local ordinances apply in El Paso County at the time of this writing.

Understanding the full Colorado eviction process matters here because an uncontested case still takes 21 to 45 days, while a contested matter can run 60 to 120 days. Court filing fees range from $105 to $200, sheriff lockout fees from $50 to $200, and attorney fees from $750 to $3,500, so total out-of-pocket exposure on a single case can reach several thousand dollars before lost rent is counted. Colorado eviction costs are a concrete operating variable, not a theoretical risk. Landlords should also review Colorado security deposit limits and Colorado tenant protections, both of which carry specific compliance obligations under C.R.S. § 38-12 that affect screening, habitability, and retaliation claims.

El Paso County's average poverty rate of 9.1% and renter share of 37.2% of households provide the demographic backdrop for the city-by-city grid above; use those individual city scores, not the county average, to set market-specific underwriting thresholds.