Warren County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Moderate

Warren County, Illinois scores 3.3/10 (Low risk) across its 7 incorporated cities, placing it at rank 60 of 102 Illinois eviction laws counties, meaning 59 counties carry more risk and 42 are more landlord-friendly. That middle-of-the-pack position reflects a county where operating conditions are generally stable, but not uniformly so. With an average rent of $765 and a rent burden of 22%, tenants here are not especially financially strained relative to statewide norms, which tends to correlate with fewer payment disputes and lower eviction filing rates.

The intra-county score range runs from 2.9 to 3.9, a spread of a full point. That difference matters when sizing up individual acquisitions: a property in the lowest-risk pocket of the county carries meaningfully different risk than one in the highest-risk pocket, even though both fall under the same county average. With a total population of 11,535 and a renter share of 31.1%, the rental pool is modest, so individual property performance can diverge sharply from aggregate figures.

The cities inside Warren County

The highest-risk city in the county is Cameron at 3.9/10, followed by Kirkwood at 3.6/10. Cameron's population is just 280, so the rental market there is thin, and a handful of troubled tenancies can swing the city's risk profile noticeably. Kirkwood, with 754 residents, offers a slightly deeper pool but still sits above the county average, making it a market where landlords should underwrite more conservatively.

At the other end, Alexis scores 2.9/10, the lowest in the county, with a population of 814. Monmouth, the county seat and by far the largest city at 8,581 residents, lands exactly at the county average of 3.3/10. Because Monmouth accounts for the bulk of the county's rental inventory, its score effectively anchors the countywide figure. Investors targeting Warren County should treat city-level scores, not the county average, as their primary underwriting input.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords operating in Warren County are subject to Illinois eviction laws state eviction law under 735 ILCS 5/9 (Forcible Entry and Detainer). The required notice period for nonpayment of rent is 5 days, material lease violations require a 10-day notice, and holdover month-to-month tenants require 30 days. Illinois eviction laws does not require just cause to end a tenancy, and the state preempts local rent control, so no Warren County municipality can impose rent caps. Understanding the full Illinois eviction laws eviction process is important because even an uncontested case runs 30 to 60 days, and a contested matter can stretch 60 to 150 days.

Illinois eviction costs range widely depending on whether a case is contested. Court filing fees run $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add $60 to $200, and attorney fees typically fall between $750 and $3,500. Landlords considering the full cost exposure should review Illinois eviction costs before acquiring property anywhere in the county. Source-of-income is a protected class under Illinois law, enforced by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, which affects how landlords may screen applicants.

Warren County's poverty rate of 14.5% and renter share of 31.1% suggest a modest but present pool of financially vulnerable tenants; the city-level scores in the grid above identify exactly where that pressure is most concentrated.