Charlton County, Georgia Eviction Risk: Low

Charlton County sits in the far southeastern corner of Georgia, bordering the Okefenokee Swamp and the Florida state line. With a total population of roughly 5,386, it is one of Georgia's smallest and most rural counties. The Eviction Risk Map research team scores Charlton County at 2.7/10 -- a Low risk rating -- placing it 29th out of 159 Georgia counties. That ranking means 28 counties carry higher eviction risk than Charlton, while 130 are lower, putting the county in the higher-risk third of the state despite an otherwise modest score. The two tracked communities, Folkston and Homeland, anchor the county's rental market at scores of 2.8/10 and 2.2/10 respectively. Folkston, the county seat with a population of 4,631, concentrates the majority of rental housing and produces the higher risk reading; Homeland, at 755 residents, sits at the county's low end.

The economic backdrop matters here. Average rent is $544 per month, which is well below Georgia's statewide average, but average rent burden still reaches 26.2% of household income -- a signal that incomes in this area are correspondingly low. The average poverty rate is 31.6%, a figure that puts substantial financial pressure on the roughly 34% of households who rent rather than own. When nearly one in three residents lives below the poverty line and more than a third are renters, even a modest rent increase or an unexpected repair bill can push a household toward crisis. Landlords operating here should weigh that fragility carefully: collections timelines can stretch when tenants lack financial reserves, and contested evictions add cost on both sides.

Georgia's landlord-tenant law, codified under O.C.G.A. § 44-7 (Landlord and Tenant), controls the full spectrum of eviction procedure in Charlton County. There is no local ordinance to track -- O.C.G.A. §44-7-19 expressly preempts any local rent control, so the state framework is the only framework. For nonpayment of rent or a material lease violation, landlords must deliver a 3-day notice under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50 before filing a dispossessory action; a holdover or no-cause termination requires a longer 60-day notice under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7. Court filing fees run from $60 to $250; sheriff lockout fees add $25 to $100; and attorney representation, if needed, typically costs between $500 and $3,000. An uncontested case resolves in 14 to 30 days; a contested one can run 45 to 90 days. Neither just-cause eviction requirements nor source-of-income protections apply in Georgia, giving landlords wider procedural latitude than in many other states -- but that latitude does not eliminate timeline risk when tenants contest a filing.

Charlton County's Low score reflects Georgia eviction laws's landlord-favorable state statute and the absence of any local renter protections, but the county's high poverty rate and moderate rent burden mean eviction filings here carry meaningful financial and timeline risk for landlords, particularly in Folkston where the rental market is most concentrated.