Estimated values: The U.S. Census suppresses field-level data for small places. Estimated from county average, pop-weighted from real underlying ACS data.
Tenant beats landlord
36.9%
/ 100 outcomes
In court-decided eviction outcomes for Lawrence, IL, tenants prevail in roughly 36.9% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
119d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Lawrence, IL until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 119 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$5.0-15.8k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Lawrence, IL costs landlords $4,953 to $15,833 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$1,108
31% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Lawrence, IL is $1,108 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 31% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
21.9%
of households
21.9% of occupied housing units in Lawrence, IL are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
12.2%
6.5% unemp.
12.2% of Lawrence, IL residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 6.5%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
GOP margin +14.5% (2024)
4.9
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
4.9
State political climate
Illinois legislature & governorship
5.2
Economic stress
12.2% poverty · 6.5% unemp.
6.8
Supply constraint
$1,108 average · 21.9% renters
1.0
Rent Control risk
30.7% of income on rent
3.8
Eviction process difficulty
119 days filing → judgment
5.4
Tenant organizing strength
21.9% renters
1.0
Housing court bias
County bench composition
3.4
Geographic context
Risk heat across Lawrence and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Lawrence compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Boone County
Very Low
#10of 10 cities
#10 of 10 cities in Boone County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Illinois
Low
#990of 1,456 cities
#990 of 1,456 cities in Illinois for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
3.4
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 3.4/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+2.0 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
119d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $1,108/mo. A contested eviction takes 119 days and costs $4,953-$15,833 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
21.9%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 358 residents, 21.9% rent. 31% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 12.2% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
4.9
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 4.9 and 4.9 (GOP margin +14.5% (2024)). State climate at 5.2, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
5.2
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 5.2/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 5.4, housing court bias 3.4, rent-control risk 3.8. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +0.4 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
6.8
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 6.8. Supply constraint: 1. The numbers behind those: 12.2% poverty, 6.5% unemployment, 31% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Lawrence sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Lawrence · 119d · ~$10.4k all-in ($87/day) · score 3.4National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0-4 4-7 7-10
Landlording in Lawrence, Illinois, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3.4/10 (LOW tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Lawrence is a city of 358 residents where 21.9% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 30.7% of income on rent. At an average rent of $1,108/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Lawrence eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 5.4/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Lawrence closes 119 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Lawrence's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 3.4/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Lawrence runs $4,953 to $15,833 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1-2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 119 days of typical timeline and $1,108/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 1/10 in Lawrence, and the city has limited rent control exposure (3.8/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Illinois, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Lawrence: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a LOW tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Illinois's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $15,833 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Lawrence
Trap · ILLINOIS
Boone County court applies Illinois statute uniformly. Filing fee, notice period, and trial-to-writ timeline are set at the state level. At 4.4/10 local risk, default judgment frequency is typical.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
What if my tenant pays partial rent after I serve a 5-day notice?
Do not accept partial rent if you intend to proceed with the eviction. Accepting any payment, even a small amount, typically voids your 5-day notice, and you'll have to serve a new one and restart the clock. If you accept it, you're essentially agreeing to a new tenancy arrangement.
Q2
Can I evict a tenant in Lawrence without a reason?
Illinois does not have statewide "just cause" eviction requirements for month-to-month tenancies. This means for a month-to-month lease, you can terminate the tenancy with a 30-day notice without stating a specific reason, as long as it's not for a discriminatory or retaliatory purpose. For fixed-term leases, you generally need a lease violation to evict before the term ends.
Q3
How long does the sheriff take to evict after a court order?
Even after a judge grants you an order for possession, the sheriff won't show up immediately. There's typically a waiting period, often a week or two, for the tenant to voluntarily vacate. After that, you'll need to coordinate with the Boone County Sheriff's office to schedule the physical lockout. This timeframe can vary based on their caseload.
Q4
Is rent control a risk in Lawrence, IL?
No, not directly. Illinois has a statewide ban on rent control, meaning municipalities cannot implement rent control policies. Our rent-control-risk sub-score for Lawrence is 3.8/10, indicating a low but not zero risk of future legislative changes at the state level. For more information, see Illinois rent control rules.
Q5
What are the biggest tenant protections I need to know about?
The biggest one for landlords in Lawrence is statewide source-of-income protection. You cannot refuse to rent to someone solely because they use a housing voucher or other public assistance to pay rent. You must still apply your standard screening criteria (credit, criminal, rental history) equally to all applicants. Additionally, Illinois has strong anti-discrimination laws and rules against illegal self-help evictions. For a full breakdown, check our Illinois tenant protections page.
A 3.4/10 places Lawrence in the 34th percentile of Illinois cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Lawrence (3.4/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
