Perry County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Moderate

Perry County, Illinois eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.2/10 (Moderate), placing it at rank 54 of 102 Illinois counties, meaning 53 counties in the state are riskier and 48 are less risky. For landlords and investors, that middle-of-the-pack position translates to a county that is neither a standout safe harbor nor a high-friction market, one where baseline operating conditions are manageable but where local variables still matter. With a total population of 12,715 spread across 8 cities and an average rent of $611, this is a low-cost, low-density rural market, the kind where thin margins reward landlords who keep vacancy low and screening tight.

The intra-county spread is narrow, running from 3.6 to 4.5 on a 10-point scale, which signals that risk is fairly consistent across the county rather than concentrated in one problem city. That said, a poverty rate of 20.2% and a rent-burden rate of 31.1% indicate that a meaningful share of tenants here spend a disproportionate fraction of income on housing, a dynamic that raises the probability of late payment stress even in a formally low-risk county. Investors should weigh those underlying tenant financials carefully when underwriting any Perry County acquisition.

The cities inside Perry County

The highest-risk cities in the county are Du Quoin (4.5/10) and Cutler (3.9/10). Du Quoin is by far the largest city in the county at a population of 5,726, making it the dominant rental market here. Its slightly elevated score relative to the county average reflects the combination of scale, poverty exposure, and rent burden that tends to accompany larger rural Illinois eviction laws municipalities. Cutler, with a population of just 302, sits at the same score but on a much smaller pool of rental units, so individual vacancies or problem tenancies carry outsized weight there.

The county seat, Pinckneyville (population 5,018, score 3.8/10), along with Tamaroa (3.9/10) and Willisville (4.4/10), cluster in the middle of the county range. At the lower end, Dowell, St. Johns, and Du Bois each score 3.7/10, the most landlord-favorable positions in the county. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: even within a narrow 0.3-point band, the difference between a Du Quoin portfolio and a Dowell single-family is meaningful when it compounds over years of tenancy turnover.

State-level laws that apply here

All Perry County landlords operate under the Illinois eviction laws eviction process governed by 735 ILCS 5/9 (Forcible Entry and Detainer). The required notice periods are 5 days for nonpayment of rent, 10 days for a material lease violation, and 30 days for a month-to-month holdover. An uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested matter can stretch to 60 to 150 days. Filing fees run $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees $60 to $200, and attorney fees commonly range from $750 to $3,500, so a contested eviction can realistically cost more than $4,000 in combined fees before lost rent is counted. Illinois eviction laws does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, which are both meaningful landlord-side protections. Reviewing the full Illinois eviction costs guide and the Illinois tenant protections overview will give investors a complete picture of statewide obligations before they close on a Perry County deal.

With 24.8% of residents renting and a poverty rate of 20.2%, Perry County's rental pool is small but financially stretched, making city-level scores in the grid above the most actionable data point for any acquisition decision.