Muscatine County, Iowa Eviction Risk: Low

Muscatine County, Iowa eviction laws carries a county-wide average eviction-risk score of 3.6/10 (Low), placing it 15th out of 99 Iowa counties, meaning only 14 counties in the state carry more risk for landlords. That ranking puts Muscatine County in the higher-risk third of Iowa, so while the Low label is accurate on a national scale, the county sits noticeably above most of its Iowa peers. Across all 10 incorporated places tracked here, the picture is broadly workable, but certain pockets demand sharper underwriting.

The intra-county range runs from 2.9/10 at the low end to 4.5/10 at the high end, a gap of 1.6 points that reflects real differences in local income stability, rental demand, and tenant-turnover patterns. Average rent countywide is $959, and renters make up 30.8% of households. A rent-burden rate of 28.3% suggests most tenants are managing their housing costs, though a poverty rate of 13.5% signals that a meaningful share of the renter pool operates with little financial cushion when income disruptions hit.

The cities inside Muscatine County

The highest-risk address in the county is Stockton, which scores 4.5/10, a full point above the county average and the only city here that approaches a moderate-risk classification. Muscatine, the county seat and by far the largest city at a population of 23,489, scores 3.9/10, making it the second-highest-risk market in the county. Investors targeting larger rental portfolios in the county seat should price Muscatine eviction risk's score into their vacancy and collections assumptions rather than relying on the aggregate county average.

On the lower end, Wilton and Nichols both score 2.9/10, and West Liberty, home to 3,776 residents, comes in at 3.1/10. These smaller communities show meaningfully better risk profiles, though their thinner rental markets also limit the supply of rentable units and prospective tenants. Risk in this county is genuinely hyper-local: Stockton and Wilton sit just miles apart but differ by 1.6 score points, which can translate to significantly different eviction frequencies over a multi-year hold.

State-level laws that apply here

Iowa state law governs every landlord-tenant relationship in Muscatine County under Iowa Code § 562A (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law). For non-payment of rent, landlords may serve a 3-day notice; a lease violation subject to cure requires a 7-day notice; and a no-cause end-of-term notice requires 30 days. Iowa does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no city within Muscatine County can impose caps on rent increases. Understanding the full Iowa eviction process is essential before purchasing rental property here, particularly because contested cases can run 45 to 100 days from filing to lockout.

On the cost side, court filing fees run $95 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add another $50 to $150, and attorney fees for a contested matter can range from $500 to $2,500 under typical Iowa eviction costs. Entry notice is set at 24 hours under Iowa Code § 562A.15. An uncontested eviction resolves in roughly 21 to 40 days, but any tenant response stretches that timeline considerably. Landlords should budget for the high end of each range when stress-testing cash flow on marginal tenants.

With a poverty rate of 13.5% and renters comprising 30.8% of households, Muscatine County's operating conditions are stable for most landlords, but city-level variation is significant, so the individual city scores in the grid above are more actionable than the county average alone.