Cook County, Georgia Eviction Risk: Low

Cook County, Georgia earns a Low eviction risk score of 2.6/10, placing it 66th out of 159 Georgia counties - right in the middle third of the state. That ranking means 65 Georgia counties carry higher eviction risk, while 93 are less risky for landlords. With a total population of roughly 9,163 spread across five incorporated places, Cook County is a small rural market governed almost entirely by statewide Georgia landlord-tenant law under O.C.G.A. § 44-7. There is no local rent control here, and state law under O.C.G.A. §44-7-19 preempts any municipality from enacting it.

The county seat, Adel (population 5,641), accounts for the majority of the rental market and carries the highest city-level score at 2.7/10. Sparks, the second-largest community at 2,056 residents, scores 2.4/10. Smaller communities - Lenox at 2.3/10, Cecil at 2.2/10, and Ellenton at 2/10 - pull the overall average down slightly. Average rent across the county runs $952 per month, and the average renter devotes 35.9% of household income to housing costs - above the commonly cited 30% affordability threshold. That rent burden, combined with an average poverty rate of 25.8% and a renter share of 46.1%, signals that many Cook County tenants have thin financial cushions. When income shocks hit, the path to eviction can be short.

On the landlord cost side, Georgia keeps eviction a relatively streamlined process in Cook County. A nonpayment-of-rent or material lease violation notice requires just 3 days under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50. Court filing fees run $60 to $250, and an uncontested dispossessory typically resolves in 14 to 30 days. Contested cases stretch to 45 to 90 days. Sheriff lockout fees are low - $25 to $100 - though attorney costs of $500 to $3,000 are the dominant variable expense. For landlords who keep units habitable under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-13 and document lease violations promptly, Cook County presents a manageable operating environment. The retaliation protection statute at O.C.G.A. § 44-7-24 applies, so any adverse action taken after a tenant complaint must be well-documented and clearly grounded in lease enforcement rather than retaliation.

Cook County sits in south-central Georgia eviction laws and is primarily agricultural; the rental market is concentrated in Adel, with smaller demand in Sparks and Lenox. The low score reflects limited tenant-protection law at the local level and a state framework that does not require just cause for eviction.