Woodford County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Low

Woodford County scores 3.3/10 (Low) on the eviction-risk scale, landing at rank 58 of 102 Illinois eviction laws counties, with 57 counties carrying more risk and 44 carrying less. For landlords and investors, that middle-third position translates to a fundamentally stable operating environment: a county poverty rate of 8.8%, an average rent of $976, and a rent burden that sits at 29.2% of gross income on average, all point to a tenant base that is broadly capable of meeting rent obligations. The renter share across the county is just 17.2%, which keeps overall rental-market exposure modest compared with more urbanized Illinois eviction laws counties.

The aggregate 3.3/10 score covers 19 incorporated places spread across a total population of roughly 25,236. Individual scores range from 2.7 to 4.2, so not every address carries the same risk profile. Landlords choosing between communities inside the county need to evaluate at the city level, not the county average alone.

The cities inside Woodford County

At the higher end of the county's range, Spring Bay reaches 4.2/10 and Germantown Hills reaches 4.1/10, with Germantown Hills also being the third most populous city in the county at roughly 3,436 residents. Those two communities account for the widest departure from the county average and deserve closer due diligence from prospective investors. Both scores are still well below the statewide high-risk tier, but the gap relative to the county floor is meaningful.

At the lower end, El Paso and Washburn each score 3/10, the lowest in the dataset, making them among the most landlord-friendly operating environments in the county. Eureka, the largest city at about 5,007 residents, and Metamora, with roughly 4,159 residents, both score 3.3/10, matching the county average. Risk inside Woodford County is genuinely hyper-local: a score gap of 1.5 points separates the riskiest and least-risky cities, which is large enough to move a portfolio from one risk tier to another.

State-level laws that apply here

All Woodford County landlords operate under 735 ILCS 5/9 (Forcible Entry and Detainer), the statewide eviction statute. Illinois law requires a 5-day notice for nonpayment of rent, a 10-day notice for a material lease violation, and a 30-day notice for a holdover month-to-month tenancy. End of a fixed-term lease requires no advance notice under 735 ILCS 5/9-205. Understanding the full Illinois eviction process matters because even an uncontested case runs 30 to 60 days in court, and a contested one can extend to 60 to 150 days. Total out-of-pocket costs are not trivial: court filing fees run $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add another $60 to $200, and attorney fees typically fall in the $750 to $3,500 range. Landlords comparing Illinois eviction costs against other Midwest markets should factor those ranges into cash-flow projections before acquiring. Illinois does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts local rent-control ordinances, so Woodford County landlords face no local rent caps on top of state rules.

With a poverty rate of 8.8% and a renter share of just 17.2%, Woodford County's tenant pool skews toward working households in owner-occupied communities; review the city grid above to see which of the 19 cities carries the specific risk profile closest to your target acquisition.