Clarke County, Georgia Eviction Risk: Moderate

Clarke County scores 5.4 out of 10 (Moderate risk) on the EvictionRiskMap index, placing it 7th of 159 Georgia counties by risk, meaning only 6 counties across the state carry higher eviction risk for landlords. That ranking puts Clarke County firmly in the higher-risk third of Georgia, a fact that should weigh on any investor evaluating acquisition targets here. With 58.5% of residents renting and a poverty rate of 25.9%, the structural demand for rental housing is real, but so is the collection and compliance exposure. Average rent runs $1,216 per month, and the average rent burden sits at 35.8% of income, a combination that keeps non-payment risk elevated through any economic softening.

Scores within the county range from 4.6 to 5.4 across its 2 tracked cities, a narrow band that still represents a meaningful spread when you are underwriting a specific asset. The county total population of 129,568 is overwhelmingly concentrated in a single jurisdiction, so county-level averages here track closely with that dominant market rather than masking wide local variation the way larger, multi-city counties can.

The cities inside Clarke County

Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance) is the dominant jurisdiction, home to roughly 127,345 residents and carrying a risk score of 5.4 out of 10, equal to the county average. That score reflects a high renter-share environment anchored by a university population, which creates consistent demand but also brings turnover, habitability disputes, and the occasional contested eviction. Investors concentrating portfolios here should expect more lease-enforcement activity than in comparable suburban Georgia markets.

Winterville, the county's only other tracked city, scores 4.6 out of 10 with a population of 2,223. At nearly a full point below Athens-Clarke County, it represents a notably lower-risk operating environment, even though both cities sit within the same county boundary. This kind of hyper-local spread is exactly why county averages are only a starting point: two properties three miles apart can carry materially different risk profiles depending on which jurisdiction governs them.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Clarke County operate under Georgia state law, specifically O.C.G.A. § 44-7 (Landlord and Tenant). For nonpayment of rent or a material lease violation, Georgia requires only a 3-day notice before filing under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50. A holdover or no-cause termination requires a longer 60-day notice under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7, and the end of a lease term requires no notice period at all. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 14 to 30 days; contested matters can run 45 to 90 days. The Georgia eviction process is comparatively landlord-accessible at the front end, but attorney fees ranging from $500 to $3,000, court filing fees of $60 to $250, and sheriff lockout fees of $25 to $100 mean that a single contested proceeding can become expensive fast. Georgia eviction costs therefore deserve a line item in any underwriting model for this county.

Georgia does not require just cause for most non-renewals, and the state actively preempts local rent control under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19, so no rent caps apply in Clarke County regardless of local sentiment. Source of income is not a protected class under state law, giving landlords screening flexibility on that dimension. Fair housing complaints route through the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity.

With a poverty rate of 25.9% and renters making up 58.5% of Clarke County households, the city-level scores in the grid above are the sharpest tool available for pinpointing where within the county your risk exposure actually lands.