Ogle County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Moderate

Ogle County, Illinois eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 4/10 (Moderate) across its 15 cities, placing it at rank 34 of 102 Illinois counties, meaning 33 counties are riskier and 68 are less risky. That puts the county firmly in the higher-risk third of the state, a position landlords and investors should weigh carefully before committing capital here. With a total county population of roughly 29,211 and an average rent of $933, the market is small but not trivially low-risk.

The intra-county range runs from 3.5 to 4.1, a spread that signals meaningfully different operating environments within the same county line. Rent burden averages 25.8% of household income across Ogle County, suggesting tenants are not severely squeezed on average, yet a 34.3% renter share and an 11.6% poverty rate indicate a tenant base with real financial fragility. Conditions here are manageable, but not permissive, and city-level selection matters greatly.

The cities inside Ogle County

The highest-risk city in the county is Rochelle, the largest at a population of 9,529, with a score of 4.1/10. As the commercial hub of Ogle County, Rochelle carries a proportionally larger tenant pool, and its score nudges above the county average. Oregon (population 3,851) and Mount Morris (population 2,726) both score 4/10, matching the county average exactly. Polo, with a population of 2,495, also scores 4/10. These four cities represent the higher end of local risk and deserve closer due diligence on vacancy, delinquency history, and local court backlogs before acquisition.

On the lower end, Byron (population 3,743) scores 3.9/10, and Hillcrest, Forreston, and Stillman Valley each score 3.8/10, the lowest in the county. Byron in particular offers a population base large enough for consistent rental demand while sitting below the county average on risk. The gap between Rochelle at 4.1 and Stillman Valley at 3.8 is narrow in absolute terms, but in a county where the overall floor is moderate, even fractional differences reflect real variation in tenant financial stability and local economic conditions. Risk here is hyper-local, and city-level scores should drive individual underwriting decisions.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Ogle County operate under 735 ILCS 5/9 (Forcible Entry and Detainer), Illinois's statewide eviction statute. For nonpayment of rent, the required notice is 5 days; a material lease violation triggers a 10-day notice; and a month-to-month holdover requires 30 days. An uncontested eviction resolves in 30 to 60 days, while a contested case can stretch to 60 to 150 days. The full cost of a contested eviction, combining court filing fees of $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees of $60 to $200, and attorney fees of $750 to $3,500, can reach well into four figures. Understanding the Illinois eviction process in detail before a vacancy dispute arises is essential; so is budgeting for Illinois eviction costs as a routine line item in your operating pro forma.

Illinois does not require just cause for eviction and, critically, state law preempts local rent control, so no municipality within Ogle County can impose its own rent cap. Source of income is a protected class under Illinois law, administered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, which affects how landlords screen applicants. There is no statewide mandatory landlord entry-notice period in the statute data available here, though written lease terms may establish one.

With a poverty rate of 11.6% and 34.3% of residents renting, Ogle County's tenant base carries moderate financial risk across all 15 cities listed in the grid above; investors should review individual city scores before targeting specific submarkets.