Moultrie County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Low

Moultrie County, Illinois scores 2.8/10 on the eviction-risk index, placing it in the Low risk tier and ranking it 93rd of 102 Illinois eviction laws counties, meaning 92 counties carry more landlord risk and only 9 are more favorable. For investors and landlords evaluating small-market Illinois opportunities, that combination tells a clear story: a county with a below-average renter share of 28.8%, a modest average rent of $863, and a rent-burden rate of just 25.6% on average suggests tenants here are not financially squeezed in the way that drives eviction rates higher elsewhere.

Across the county's 11 cities, scores range narrowly from 2.7 to 3, a compressed band that reflects broadly stable operating conditions throughout the market rather than a few bright spots surrounded by troubled neighborhoods. That tight spread means landlords who diversify holdings across multiple Moultrie County communities are unlikely to encounter sharp performance differences from one town to the next, though the intra-county variation is still real and worth tracking at the city level.

The cities inside Moultrie County

The highest-risk cities in Moultrie County are Atwood (population 1,144, score 3/10), LaPlace (population 170, score 3/10), Gays (score 3/10), and Allenville (score 3/10). All four sit at the top of the county's range, though a 3/10 is still firmly in low-risk territory by any statewide measure. Bethany (population 1,176, score 2.9/10), Lovington (population 1,045, score 2.9/10), Dalton City (population 694, score 2.9/10), and Hammond (population 617, score 2.9/10) round out the next tier.

The lowest-risk communities are Sullivan, the county seat and largest city at 4,348 residents, scoring 2.7/10, and Arthur (population 2,083, score 2.7/10), which sits at the favorable end of the range. Even the county's most elevated scores are well below the Illinois statewide midpoint, confirming that risk here is hyper-local in its gradations but consistently landlord-favorable in absolute terms.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Moultrie County operates under Illinois state law. For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 5 days under 735 ILCS 5/9-209. A material lease violation calls for a 10-day cure-or-quit notice, while a month-to-month holdover requires 30 days. Illinois does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so there is no rent cap in effect here. Reviewing the full Illinois eviction process will give landlords a complete picture of the procedural steps from notice to lockout. Court filing fees run $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add another $60 to $200, and attorney fees for contested matters typically range from $750 to $3,500; an uncontested case resolves in roughly 30 to 60 days while a contested matter can stretch to 60 to 150 days. For a full breakdown of what you will actually spend, see the Illinois eviction costs guide.

With an average poverty rate of 12.9% and a renter share of 28.8% across Moultrie County, the tenant base here is relatively stable; review the city grid above to compare individual community scores before committing to a specific location.