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Kincaid, Illinois eviction risk overview
City brief · 1,278 residents

Kincaid, IL Eviction Risk: LOW

Christian County · Population 1,278

In 2026
Risk score
3.9
LOW

36th percentile, Illinois.

50-yr Eviction Risk Score history

1976 to 2026 · climbing fast since 2010

Min1.9 Average3.1 Now3.9
5.5 1.9 1976 · score 1.9 1977 · score 1.9 1978 · score 1.9 1979 · score 1.9 1980 · score 2.0 1981 · score 2.1 1982 · score 2.1 1983 · score 2.1 1984 · score 2.1 1985 · score 2.1 1986 · score 2.1 1987 · score 2.0 1988 · score 2.0 1989 · score 2.0 1990 · score 2.1 1991 · score 2.1 1992 · score 2.6 1993 · score 2.6 1994 · score 2.6 1995 · score 2.6 1996 · score 2.7 1997 · score 2.5 1998 · score 2.5 1999 · score 2.5 2000 · score 2.9 2001 · score 3.1 2002 · score 3.2 2003 · score 3.2 2004 · score 3.2 2005 · score 3.1 2006 · score 3.1 2007 · score 3.2 2008 · score 3.9 2009 · score 4.2 2010 · score 4.3 2011 · score 4.3 2012 · score 4.2 2013 · score 4.2 2014 · score 4.1 2015 · score 4.0 2016 · score 3.9 2017 · score 3.9 2018 · score 3.8 2019 · score 4.1 2020 · score 5.5 2021 · score 5.5 2022 · score 4.4 2023 · score 4.1 2024 · score 4.1 2025 · score 4.0 2026 · score 3.9

Key metrics

Time machine

Scrub 50 years

2026
● LIVE · today ◀ REPLAY · historical

Nine-axis profile

9-axis profile · today

Shape of the risk surface

1 landlord · 10 tenant
Local 3.5 Regional 3.5 State 5.2 Economic 6.2 Supply 4.0 Rent Control 4.6 Eviction 5.2 Tenant 5.1 Housing 5.3 3.9 LOW
Sub-scores · with sparkline

Where the score comes from

1 → 10 scale
  1. Local political climate
    GOP margin +46.7% (2024)
    3.5
  2. Regional political climate
    County-weighted neighbor mix
    3.5
  3. State political climate
    Illinois legislature & governorship
    5.2
  4. Economic stress
    12.6% poverty · 4.5% unemp.
    6.2
  5. Supply constraint
    $725 average · 24.6% renters
    4.0
  6. Rent Control risk
    24.7% of income on rent
    4.6
  7. Eviction process difficulty
    130 days filing → judgment
    5.2
  8. Tenant organizing strength
    24.6% renters
    5.1
  9. Housing court bias
    County bench composition
    5.3
Geographic context

Risk heat across Kincaid and the region

Click any city to see its score

How Kincaid compares

Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Christian County
Elevated
#5 of 15 cities
Rank in county, 71st percentileLowHigh
#5 of 15 cities in Christian County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Illinois
Low
#991 of 1,456 cities
Rank in state, 32nd percentileLowHigh
#991 of 1,456 cities in Illinois for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Kincaid risk score vs. county / state / U.S.Kincaid: 3.93.9KincaidThis cityCounty: 3.93.9Countyavg in countyState: 4.74.7Stateavg in stateU.S.: 4.74.7U.S.national avg
Score story

Six-stop tour of the risk profile

  1. 3.9
    / 10 · LOW
    The verdict

    A Low-tier market.

    Composite 3.9/10. 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

  2. 130d
    Typical timeline
    The money

    What renting (and evicting) looks like.

    Rent published at $725/mo. A contested eviction takes 130 days and costs $5,494–$14,099 per case.

    50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
    197620012026

    Court-clerk data lands in the next release.

  3. 24.6%
    Renters
    The renters

    Who you'll be renting to.

    Out of 1,278 residents, 24.6% rent. 25% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 12.6% below the poverty line.

    50-yr trendRenter share rising
    197620012026

    ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.

  4. 3.5
    Local + regional
    The politics

    Light-statute interior market.

    Local & regional political climate score 3.5 and 3.5 (GOP margin +46.7% (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. 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 5.2, housing court bias 5.3, rent-control risk 4.6. Standard process speed for the state.

    50-yr trendProcess difficulty +0.2 since '00
    197620012026

    Court-clerk data lands in the next release.

  6. 6.2
    Economic stress
    The stress

    Economic pressure is the background risk.

    Economic stress: 6.2. Supply constraint: 4. The numbers behind those: 12.6% poverty, 4.5% unemployment, 25% of income on rent.

    50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
    197620012026

    Mirrors BLS unemployment series.

US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost

Kincaid sits in the slow & expensive quadrant

Bubble size = population · color = risk score
QUICK BUT COSTLY fast docket · high all-in loss SLOW & EXPENSIVE long calendar · high all-in loss QUICK & CHEAP fast docket · low all-in loss SLOW BUT CHEAP long calendar · low all-in loss 30d 50d 75d 100d 150d 200d 300d 450d $2.0k $3.0k $5.0k $7.5k $10k $15k $20k $30k EVICTION TIMELINE (DAYS) → ↑ ALL-IN COST (LOG SCALE) Springfield, IL · 129d · ~$9.3k all-in ($72/day) · score 4.2 Springfield Decatur, IL · 117d · ~$8.7k all-in ($74/day) · score 4.6 Decatur Chicago, IL · 109d · ~$9.0k all-in ($82/day) · score 5.7 Chicago Aurora, IL · 120d · ~$10.2k all-in ($85/day) · score 4.2 Aurora Naperville, IL · 115d · ~$9.2k all-in ($80/day) · score 4.2 Naperville Joliet, IL · 114d · ~$8.4k all-in ($73/day) · score 4.1 Joliet Rockford, IL · 112d · ~$8.5k all-in ($76/day) · score 4.2 Rockford Elgin, IL · 129d · ~$9.9k all-in ($77/day) · score 4.2 Elgin Peoria, IL · 129d · ~$10.1k all-in ($79/day) · score 4.1 Peoria Champaign, IL · 118d · ~$8.9k all-in ($75/day) · score 4.5 Champaign Houston, TX · 24d · ~$2.5k all-in ($103/day) · score 2.8 Houston Phoenix, AZ · 38d · ~$3.3k all-in ($86/day) · score 2.8 Phoenix Memphis, TN · 31d · ~$2.0k all-in ($66/day) · score 3.1 Memphis Atlanta, GA · 40d · ~$2.8k all-in ($69/day) · score 3.4 Atlanta Boston, MA · 187d · ~$20.3k all-in ($109/day) · score 7.1 Boston New York, NY · 417d · ~$29.5k all-in ($71/day) · score 9.7 New York Seattle, WA · 162d · ~$12.7k all-in ($79/day) · score 7.9 Seattle Kincaid
Kincaid · 130d · ~$9.8k all-in ($75/day) · score 3.9 National average: 58d · $4.6k all-in Hover any bubble for stats · click to open Color: 0–4   4–7   7–10
00Overview

About eviction risk in Kincaid, IL

Landlording in Kincaid, Illinois, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3.9/10 (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.

Kincaid is a city of 1,278 residents where 24.6% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 24.7% of income on rent. At an average rent of $725/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 Kincaid eviction process actually works

Eviction process difficulty here reads 5.2/10, 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 Kincaid closes 130 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 Kincaid's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 5.3/10 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 Kincaid runs $5,494 to $14,099 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 130 days of typical timeline and $725/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.

03Operations

Security deposits, screening, and lease terms

Tenant organizing strength scores 5.1/10 in Kincaid, and the city has limited rent control exposure (4.6/10). 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 Kincaid: 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 $14,099 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.

04bPractical traps

Local traps to avoid in Kincaid

Trap · PRACTICAL TRAP
Cost-versus-timeline trade-off: at 130 days and roughly $14,099 on the high end, cash-for-keys at $5,639 to $8,459 typically beats the legal route for non-aggravated cases. Default judgment frequency is high under ILCS preemption + Chicago RLTO.
05FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Q1

What's the absolute fastest I can get a tenant out in Kincaid for not paying rent?

Even in a best-case scenario, where the tenant doesn't fight it and the courts are moving quickly, you're looking at a minimum of 30-45 days from serving the 5-day notice to getting a court order. Then you add sheriff lockout time. The typical 130-day timeline is more realistic. Don't expect a quick fix.
Q2

Can I evict a tenant in Kincaid without a reason?

For a month-to-month tenancy, yes, generally you can terminate with a 30-day notice without needing to state a "just cause," as Illinois doesn't have a statewide just-cause requirement. However, if there's a fixed-term lease, you can only evict for a lease violation (like non-payment) or if the lease term has expired.
Q3

Do I have to accept Section 8 tenants in Kincaid?

Yes. Illinois has statewide source-of-income protection. This means you cannot refuse to rent to a tenant solely because they use a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) or other lawful forms of income to pay rent. You must apply your standard screening criteria equally to all applicants. Learn more about Illinois tenant protections.
Q4

What if the tenant leaves stuff behind after an eviction?

Illinois law requires you to store a tenant's abandoned property for a reasonable time, usually 7-14 days, and attempt to notify them. After that, you can dispose of it. Document everything you do. Taking their property immediately can open you up to liability.
Q5

Should I offer cash for keys in Kincaid?

Often, yes. While it can feel counterintuitive, offering a tenant money to voluntarily vacate can save you significant time and money compared to a drawn-out eviction. It avoids court costs, attorney fees, lost rent, and potential property damage. Get a written agreement.
06Score

What this score means for landlords2

A 3.9/10 places Kincaid in the 36th 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.