Parke County, Indiana Eviction Risk: Low

Parke County, Indiana scores 3.5/10 on the eviction-risk index, placing it in the low risk tier and ranking it 85th of 92 Indiana eviction laws counties, meaning 84 counties carry higher risk and only 7 are more landlord-friendly. For a buy-and-hold investor, that context matters: this is one of the quieter operating environments in the state, with an average rent of $739 and a rent-burden average of 26%, suggesting tenants are not systematically stretched thin. The county's total tracked population across 10 cities is roughly 6,300, so this is a small, rural market with correspondingly low transaction volume.

Across those 10 cities, the intra-county risk range runs from 3.5/10 at the low end to 3.5/10 at the high end, a 0.8-point spread that is modest in absolute terms but still meaningful when comparing individual neighborhoods. Landlords should not assume the county average tells the whole story for any one address.

The cities inside Parke County

The highest-risk city in the county is Marshall, scoring 3.2/10 with a population of 266. Just behind it are Mecca at 3.6/10 (population 607) and Rosedale at 3.2/10 (population 609). Even at the upper end of the county range, these figures remain well below statewide averages for high-risk markets, but the concentration of higher-risk readings in smaller, lower-income communities warrants extra due diligence on tenant screening and lease enforcement.

At the other end of the spectrum, Rockville, the county seat and largest city with a population of 2,559, carries the lowest score in the county at 3.8/10. Montezuma (population 881) and Bloomingdale (population 324) both score 3.2/10. The data reinforces a pattern common to rural Indiana eviction laws counties: risk is hyper-local, and even within a low-risk county the spread between the calmest and most challenging submarkets can shift a landlord's operating calculus.

State-level laws that apply here

Indiana eviction laws law governs all landlord-tenant relationships in Parke County under Ind. Code § 32-31 (Landlord-Tenant Relations). For nonpayment of rent, landlords must serve a 10-day notice (IC 32-31-1-6) before filing. Material lease violations require a 30-day notice (IC 32-31-1-8), and terminating a month-to-month tenancy also requires 30 days (IC 32-31-1-1). Once filed, an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested case can run 45 to 100 days. Understanding the full Indiana eviction laws eviction process before signing leases helps landlords plan cash flow during any vacancy caused by a dispute.

On the cost side, the Indiana eviction costs stack up as follows: court filing fees of $150 to $200, sheriff lockout fees of $50 to $200, and attorney fees typically ranging from $500 to $2,500. Indiana eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction, and state law preempts local rent-control ordinances, so no municipality in the county can impose a rent cap. Indiana security deposit limits and tenant protections at the state level are defined by the same § 32-31 framework, leaving landlords with a relatively uniform, predictable legal environment statewide.

With an average poverty rate of 21% and a renter share of 26.3% across the county, the rental pool is relatively small but economically stressed in pockets; landlords should consult the city-level grid above to identify which specific markets within Parke County carry elevated exposure before committing capital.