Des Moines County, Iowa Eviction Risk: Low

Des Moines County carries a county-wide average eviction-risk score of 2.6/10 (Low), placing it 3rd of 99 counties in Iowa, meaning only 2 counties statewide present higher risk to landlords and investors. Across the county's 13 cities, scores range from 2.1 to 3, a span that signals meaningfully different operating conditions depending on exactly where a rental property sits. The average rent of $913 per month and a rent-burden rate of 31.3% suggest a tenant base stretched thin, a combination that historically correlates with elevated late-payment frequency and, downstream, eviction filings.

With roughly 28.1% of residents renting and a poverty rate of 16.3%, the county's rental market is smaller and more economically stressed than Iowa eviction laws's urban core. For buy-and-hold investors underwriting cash flow, those figures translate directly into collection risk and the likelihood of tenant turnover. Landlords active here should underwrite with conservative vacancy assumptions and keep their lease-enforcement protocols consistent from day one.

The cities inside Des Moines County

The highest eviction-risk concentration falls in Beaverdale (2.7/10), the county's top-scoring municipality, followed closely by Burlington (2.7/10), the county seat and by far the most populous city with 23,728 residents. Burlington eviction risk alone accounts for the bulk of the county's rental inventory, so its score effectively sets the floor for portfolio-level risk for most investors operating here. West Burlington (2.5/10, population 3,189) rounds out the upper tier of risk.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mediapolis scores just 2.5/10, the lowest in the county, and Oakville and Sperry fall in the 3.6 to 3.7 range. The nearly 1.4-point gap between the county's lowest and highest city scores is a strong reminder that risk is hyper-local: two properties ten miles apart can face substantially different odds of a problem tenancy.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Des Moines County operates under Iowa eviction laws Code § 562A (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law). Iowa eviction laws's notice requirements are among the more landlord-favorable in the Midwest: non-payment of rent triggers only a 3-day notice, a lease violation allows a 7-day cure notice, and a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. Once a notice expires without resolution, an uncontested case typically closes in 21 to 40 days, though contested matters can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees run $95 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees commonly range from $500 to $2,500, so a single contested eviction can cost well over $2,500 all-in before accounting for lost rent. The full Iowa eviction laws eviction process and a breakdown of Iowa eviction costs are covered in the statewide guides linked on this site. Iowa eviction laws state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no municipality in the county can cap rents, and no just-cause requirement exists, giving landlords straightforward exit rights at lease end.

A 16.3% poverty rate across Des Moines County underscores why proactive tenant screening matters here; review the city grid above to compare scores across all 13 cities before committing to a specific submarket.