LaSalle County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Moderate

LaSalle County scores 4.7/10 (Moderate) on eviction risk, averaged across 24 cities in this north-central Illinois county of roughly 78,687 residents. That mid-range figure reflects a rental market where most eviction proceedings move forward under reasonably predictable state rules, yet underlying economic pressure, a 14.7% average poverty rate and rents that consume an average of 26.6% of renter income, keeps collection risk higher than landlords operating in more affluent suburban markets would encounter. Ranking 19th of 102 Illinois counties, LaSalle County sits in the higher-risk third of the state: 18 counties carry more risk, and 83 are easier places to operate.

The intra-county score range, 4.1 to 4.9, tells a more nuanced story. Investors lumping the whole county together as a single market will misjudge individual locations significantly. Average rent runs $968 per month, and renters make up 29.7% of occupied housing units, a share large enough that portfolio concentration here is meaningful but not dominant.

The cities inside LaSalle County

The highest-risk location in the county is Harding, scoring 4.9/10. A cluster of cities scores 4.8/10, including Streator (population 12,330), the city of LaSalle (population 9,498), Marseilles, Earlville, and Serena. These communities share economic characteristics, including tighter household budgets and higher renter vulnerability, that push their scores to the upper end of the county range. Landlords entering Streator or LaSalle city should underwrite for somewhat slower collections and a higher likelihood of contested proceedings than the county average implies.

On the lower end, Lake Holiday registers 4.4/10, offering meaningfully less risk within the same county lines. Ottawa (population 18,447, score 4.7/10) and Peru (population 9,775, score 4.6/10) land near the county average, providing a middle-ground operating environment. The spread across these markets underscores that risk is hyper-local, and a building-by-building assessment of tenant income stability matters more than any county-wide headline score.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in LaSalle County operates under Illinois state law, specifically 735 ILCS 5/9 (Forcible Entry and Detainer). For nonpayment of rent, Illinois requires a 5-day written notice before filing; a material lease violation triggers a 10-day notice; ending a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days. Illinois does not require just cause for terminating a tenancy at the end of a fixed-term lease, and state law preempts any local attempt to impose rent control, so no Illinois county or city can cap rents above the state framework. The Illinois eviction process, from filing through lockout, takes 30 to 60 days on uncontested cases and 60 to 150 days when contested. Court filing fees run $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add $60 to $200, and attorney fees typically range $750 to $3,500 depending on case complexity. Understanding Illinois eviction costs before acquiring property here is essential to accurate underwriting, since a contested case can push total out-of-pocket expenses past the annual rent collected on a lower-priced unit.

Illinois tenant protections include retaliation protections under 765 ILCS 720/1 and habitability standards under 765 ILCS 742, both of which apply county-wide. Source-of-income discrimination is also protected under Illinois law, administered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, meaning landlords cannot decline applicants solely on the basis of housing vouchers or other lawful income sources.

With an average poverty rate of 14.7% and roughly 29.7% of households renting, economic fragility is real across LaSalle County, and individual city scores ranging from 4.1 to 4.9/10 show that choosing the right submarket is the most actionable risk lever a landlord holds; the city grid above breaks out each of the 24 tracked communities.