Benewah County, Idaho Eviction Risk: Very Low

Benewah County sits in the northern Idaho panhandle with a population of 4,627 and an overall eviction risk score of 2/10 - placing it in the Low risk tier. That score puts it at rank 28 of 44 Idaho eviction laws counties, meaning 27 counties carry higher eviction risk while 16 are more landlord-favorable. In practical terms, Benewah lands in the middle third of the state but trends distinctly toward the landlord-friendly end of that band.

The county's rental market is modest in scale and cost. Average rent runs $880 per month, and renters direct an average of 29.1% of their income toward housing - below the commonly cited 30% stress threshold, though the 16.5% poverty rate means that cushion is thinner for a meaningful share of households. About 38.6% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a relatively high share for a rural county of this size, which reflects the limited homeownership pipeline common in smaller Idaho communities. St. Maries, the county seat and largest community at roughly 2,915 residents, scores 1.9/10 - holding down risk at the county's low end. Plummer, the second-largest city at 1,162 residents, comes in slightly higher at 2.1/10. Smaller communities like Fernwood (1.8/10), Conkling Park (1.8/10), and Parkline (1.7/10) sit at the bottom of the county range. The outlier worth watching is Tensed, a community of 71 residents that scores 2.6/10 - the highest in the county - driven by a combination of constrained housing supply and elevated rent burden relative to its size.

Idaho's legal framework is the primary reason Benewah County's risk floor stays low. Under Idaho Code § 6-301 et seq. (Forcible Entry and Detainer), landlords can initiate eviction with a 3-day notice for non-payment or lease violations - one of the shortest cure windows in the region. No-cause terminations at end of term require a 30-day notice. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested proceedings run 45 to 120 days. Court filing fees range from $160 to $260, with sheriff lockout fees between $30 and $120. Idaho does not require just cause for eviction, does not protect source of income under fair housing law, and - critically - the state preempts local rent control, so no Benewah municipality can independently cap rent increases. Attorney fees for eviction proceedings typically fall in the $500 to $2,500 range depending on whether the case is contested. For landlords, that combination of short notice periods, fast court timelines, and a state preemption wall on rent control creates a predictable operating environment that the risk score reflects directly.

Scores across Benewah County's 7 tracked cities range from a low of 1.7/10 (Parkline) to a high of 2.6/10 (Tensed), with the county average of 2/10 sitting close to the lower bound - indicating that most of the population-weighted rental activity, concentrated in St. Maries eviction risk and Plummer, experiences conditions near the favorable end of that range.