Yuma County, Colorado Eviction Risk: Moderate

Yuma County sits in the high plains of northeastern Colorado with a population of 6,037 and an eviction risk score of 4.2/10 (Moderate). That places it 46th out of 64 Colorado eviction laws counties - meaning 45 counties carry higher risk and only 18 are more landlord-friendly. For landlords managing rentals in a rural market, that positioning reflects a real but manageable exposure: the county is not in Colorado eviction laws's high-tension urban corridor, but state law still imposes meaningful procedural obligations that directly affect how quickly and at what cost a landlord can recover a unit.

The City of Yuma is both the county seat and the single highest-risk market at 4.4/10, with a population of 3,459 - more than half the county total. Wray, the second-largest city at 2,114 residents, scores 4/10. Smaller communities including Eckley (332 residents, 4/10), Vernon (38 residents, 3.9/10), and Idalia (90 residents, 3/10) round out the county. The gap between the City of Yuma at the top and Idalia at the bottom reflects how localized tenant concentrations and rental market tightness push scores upward in the county seat. Average rent across the county is $950/month, and 40.3% of residents rent rather than own - a notably high renter share for a rural agricultural county. With an average rent burden of 33.9% and an average poverty rate of 20.4%, the underlying financial stress on tenants is real and elevates the probability of nonpayment events for landlords holding multiple units.

Colorado state law under C.R.S. § 38-12 governs the landlord-tenant relationship across all 64 counties, and Yuma County landlords are fully subject to it. Several provisions carry direct cost implications. Nonpayment of rent requires a 10-day notice under C.R.S. 13-40-104(1)(d) before a landlord may file, and a material lease violation similarly requires 10 days under C.R.S. 13-40-104(1)(e). A substantial violation compresses that to a 3-day notice under C.R.S. 13-40-107.5. The more consequential change for no-fault situations is HB24-1098, which requires a 90-day notice for owner move-in or renovation terminations. Court filing fees run $105 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $200, and attorney fees in contested matters commonly reach $750 to $3,500. An uncontested eviction resolves in roughly 21 to 45 days; a contested case can stretch to 60 to 120 days. Colorado also requires 48 hours of advance notice before a landlord may enter a unit, and source-of-income discrimination is prohibited statewide under the Colorado Civil Rights Division. Just-cause eviction protections are required, which means landlords cannot terminate a tenancy without a qualifying reason - a restriction that does not exist in many other states and is a primary driver of the county's Moderate score rather than a Low one.

Yuma County's 4.2/10 score reflects moderate procedural exposure driven by Colorado eviction laws's statewide just-cause and extended no-fault notice requirements, set against a rural rental market with $950/month average rents and a 20.4% average poverty rate that elevates tenant financial stress.