Alachua County, Florida Eviction Risk: Low

Alachua County scores 3.6/10 (Low) on the eviction-risk index, averaged across 10 cities with a combined population of roughly 176,131 residents. That headline number sits in the higher-risk third of Florida's 67 counties, with only 6 counties statewide carrying more risk for landlords. For context, the county-wide rent burden averages 41.2% of income and the renter share of households is 55%, both figures that keep collections pressure elevated even when scores look moderate on paper.

The intra-county spread from 3.2 to 6.3 is meaningful. A landlord operating in a low-risk pocket of the county faces a substantially different environment than one concentrated near the top of that range. The 3.5 county average should be treated as a rough benchmark, not a guarantee, because individual city scores drive the day-to-day experience of vacancy, collections, and eviction frequency.

The cities inside Alachua County

The highest-risk municipalities in the county are Archer (4/10) and East Williston (6.3/10), both sitting at the county ceiling. Close behind are the city of Alachua (3.6/10, population 10,743) and Hawthorne (3.4/10). Gainesville, which accounts for the vast majority of the county's population at 145,702 residents, lands at exactly the county average of 3.9/10, meaning risk in the dominant rental market here is neither unusually high nor unusually low relative to the broader county.

At the lower end, High Springs scores 3.8/10 (population 6,544), Newberry scores 3.2/10 (population 7,865), and Waldo scores 3.6/10. The gap between a 2.6 in High Springs and a 3.9 in Archer illustrates how hyper-local risk is here. Investors evaluating multiple acquisitions across the county should weigh city-level scores individually rather than relying on the county average.

State-level laws that apply here

Every rental unit in Alachua County falls under Fla. Stat. § 83 Part II (Residential Tenancies). For non-payment of rent, Florida eviction laws requires only a 3-day notice before a landlord can file, one of the shorter cure windows in the country. Material lease violations carry a 7-day notice, whether curable or not. Month-to-month tenancies require 15 days notice to terminate. Under a 2024 update, squatters or unauthorized occupants with no rental agreement can be addressed immediately with no notice period under Fla. Stat. § 82.036. Florida eviction process timelines run roughly 20 to 30 days for uncontested cases and 45 to 110 days for contested matters once filed.

On the cost side, court filing fees run $185 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add $90 to $175, and attorney fees typically range $750 to $3,500 for a residential eviction action. Florida eviction costs can add up quickly in contested cases, so conservative underwriting should account for the upper end of that range. Importantly, Florida eviction laws has no just-cause eviction requirement, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance outside a declared housing emergency, giving landlords strong statutory footing statewide. For more on renter-side obligations, see Florida tenant protections and Florida security deposit limits.

With 25.5% of residents below the poverty line, Alachua County's collections environment will remain a practical concern regardless of low headline risk scores; review the city grid above to identify which specific markets within the county carry the most concentrated exposure.