Peoria County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Moderate

Peoria County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.4/10 (Moderate) across its 21 tracked cities, placing it at rank 23 of 102 Illinois counties. That position means 22 counties in Illinois eviction laws are riskier and only 79 are more landlord-friendly, putting Peoria County firmly in the higher-risk third of the state. For landlords and investors, the county-level average signals a market where tenant financial strain is real: average rent runs $1,000 per month, the average rent burden sits at 28.9% of income, and the poverty rate is 17.5%. These are the conditions that push eviction filings up and collection timelines out.

The intra-county spread, from a low of 4.1 to a high of 5/10, is wide enough to matter. Where you buy inside Peoria County shapes your exposure more than the county average alone suggests. Investors accustomed to low-friction Midwest markets should treat the 4.4 figure as a floor for due diligence, not a ceiling.

The cities inside Peoria County

The highest-risk communities sit at 5/10: Peoria Heights (population 5,825), Bellevue (population 2,106), and Bay View Gardens. Elmwood scores 4.9/10, and Bartonville (population 5,841), Princeville, and Dunlap all land at 4.8/10. These smaller cities cluster at the top of the range precisely because their renter populations face steeper affordability pressure relative to local incomes.

By contrast, Peoria itself, the county seat and by far the largest city at 112,169 residents, scores 4.3/10, the lowest in the county and the primary reason the county average stays as low as it does. Chillicothe and Rome each come in at 4.6/10. The lesson is that risk is hyper-local here: a landlord operating in Peoria Heights faces meaningfully different eviction frequency and collection conditions than one operating in the city of Peoria just a few miles away.

State-level laws that apply here

Illinois state law governs every eviction in Peoria County under 735 ILCS 5/9 (Forcible Entry and Detainer). For nonpayment of rent, landlords must serve a 5-day notice before filing. A material lease violation requires a 10-day notice, and terminating a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days. Fixed-term leases require no additional notice beyond the lease end date. Illinois does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy and, under state preemption law, no local government in Illinois may impose rent control. Understanding the Illinois eviction process matters here because even an uncontested case typically runs 30 to 60 days from filing to possession; a contested one can stretch 60 to 150 days.

On costs, the Illinois eviction costs add up quickly. Court filing fees run $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add another $60 to $200, and attorney fees range from $750 to $3,500 depending on complexity and whether the case is contested. Landlords operating in the higher-risk pockets of Peoria County, where eviction filings are more likely, should budget for the upper end of those ranges. Knowing the Illinois security deposit limits and Illinois tenant protections before signing a lease helps avoid disputes that push cases toward the contested range.

With 37.1% of county residents renting and a poverty rate of 17.5%, the conditions driving Peoria County's Moderate risk score are structural, not cyclical; review the city grid above to identify which specific markets fall inside your acceptable risk threshold before committing capital.