Spencer County, Indiana Eviction Risk: Very Low

Spencer County, Indiana eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 2.1/10 (Low), placing it at rank 89 of 92 Indiana eviction laws counties, meaning 88 counties are riskier and only 3 are more landlord-friendly. For landlords and investors, that rank translates to genuinely favorable operating conditions: low eviction pressure, modest rent burden, and a tenant base that largely pays on time. The 24.3% renter share across the county's 11 cities keeps the rental market relatively tight, and an average poverty rate of 8.4% points to manageable income risk among renters.

Average rent sits at $906 per month, with a rent burden of 24.7%, comfortably below the distress threshold. Intra-county scores range from 1.4 to 2.5, a meaningful spread that rewards investors who select carefully within Spencer County rather than treating the whole market as uniform. The county's small total population of 9,596 means individual communities each have their own character, and risk levels reflect that.

The cities inside Spencer County

The highest-risk communities in Spencer County still read as low risk by statewide standards. Gentryville tops the list at 2.5/10, followed by Chrisney at 2.4/10 (population 442) and Dale at 2.3/10 (population 1,542). Santa Claus, the county's most populous city at 2,793 residents, scores 2.2/10, while Rockport at 1,958 residents comes in at a flat 2/10. These gaps are small in absolute terms but real enough that a landlord weighing two properties a few miles apart should factor local scores into the decision.

The most landlord-friendly community in the county is Hatfield, scoring just 1.4/10 with a population of 497. Reo follows at 1.8/10. Risk is clearly hyper-local here: Gentryville runs at nearly twice the score of Hatfield even though both sit within the same county lines. Granular city-level data matters far more than the county average when sizing up a specific acquisition.

State-level laws that apply here

Every Spencer County landlord operates under Indiana eviction laws state law, Ind. Code § 32-31 (Landlord-Tenant Relations). For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 10 days under IC 32-31-1-6, a relatively short cure window by national standards. Material lease violations require a 30-day notice (IC 32-31-1-8), and ending a month-to-month tenancy also requires 30 days (IC 32-31-1-1). Understanding the Indiana eviction laws eviction process up front prevents procedural errors that extend timelines. An uncontested eviction typically concludes in 21 to 45 days; contested matters stretch to 45 to 100 days.

Indiana eviction costs break down as follows: court filing fees of $150 to $200, sheriff lockout fees of $50 to $200, and attorney fees typically ranging $500 to $2,500, meaning a contested case could run close to $2,900 all in before ancillary costs. Indiana eviction laws has no just-cause eviction requirement and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so landlords face no rent caps at the county or city level. Indiana security deposit limits are governed by state statute, giving landlords consistent rules throughout Spencer County. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Indiana law, and there is no local screening agency applicable here.

With an average poverty rate of 8.4% and a renter share of 24.3%, Spencer County's rental pool is relatively stable, but the city grid above shows that even within this low-risk market, Gentryville and Chrisney carry meaningfully higher exposure than Hatfield or Reo, so reviewing individual city scores before committing to a specific asset is the most reliable step an investor can take.