Calhoun County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Low

Calhoun County scores 3.2/10 (Low risk) across its 5 tracked cities, placing it in the lower-risk third of Illinois, ranked 71 of 102 counties statewide. That rank means 70 Illinois eviction laws counties carry higher eviction risk than Calhoun, and only 31 are less risky, making this one of the more stable operating environments in the state. Average rent sits at $538, rent burden averages a manageable 14.1% of income, and the renter share of households is 26.6%, all figures that point toward a modestly sized, relatively stable tenant pool.

Even within a low-risk county, conditions are not uniform. Scores across Calhoun County's cities range from 2.7 to 3.5, a spread that matters when evaluating specific addresses. The county's small total tracked population of 1,446 means individual properties can shift local dynamics, so site-specific due diligence remains important despite the favorable county average.

The cities inside Calhoun County

Brussels carries the county's highest risk score at 3.5/10 with a population of 214, followed by Hardin at 3.3/10, the county's largest city at 663 residents. Those two cities account for the top of the risk range and represent the most active rental markets in the county. Hardin, as the county seat and largest community, is where most leasing activity is concentrated, and its score remains comfortably in the low-risk tier even as it leads locally.

Further down the scale, Batchtown and Hamburg both score 3.1/10, with populations of 237 and 68 respectively, while Kampsville posts the lowest score in the county at 2.7/10 and a population of 264. The takeaway for investors is that risk is genuinely hyper-local: a landlord operating in Kampsville faces meaningfully different conditions than one in Brussels, even though both sit within the same county average.

State-level laws that apply here

All Calhoun County landlords operate under Illinois state law, specifically the Forcible Entry and Detainer Act at 735 ILCS 5/9. For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 5 days; material lease violations require 10 days notice; month-to-month holdovers require 30 days; and no notice is required at the end of a fixed-term lease. Understanding the full Illinois eviction process is essential before serving any notice, as procedural errors restart timelines. An uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days, while a contested matter can run 60 to 150 days.

On the cost side, Illinois eviction costs include court filing fees of $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees of $60 to $200, and attorney fees typically ranging from $750 to $3,500, so even a routine uncontested case can run well into the hundreds before attorney time is factored in. Illinois does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts local rent control, so no municipality in the state may impose rent caps. Landlords should also review Illinois security deposit limits and Illinois tenant protections to ensure full compliance, particularly regarding the source-of-income protections administered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

With a poverty rate of 15.3% and a renter share of 26.6%, Calhoun County's rental market is small but present; review the city grid above to compare scores across all five tracked communities before committing to a specific submarket.