Winnebago County, Iowa Eviction Risk: Low

Winnebago County, Iowa eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 2.4/10 (Low) across its 8 incorporated cities, placing it at rank 70 of 99 Iowa counties by risk. That ranking means 69 counties carry higher risk, and only 29 are rated lower, putting Winnebago County comfortably in the lower-risk third of the state. For landlords and investors, that translates to a market where tenant-side pressure is modest relative to most of Iowa eviction laws, average rent runs $696 per month, and the average rent burden sits at 24.4% of renter income, a figure that rarely tips tenants into chronic delinquency on its own.

That said, the county is not monolithic. City-level scores range from 2.3 to 2.8, a half-point spread that matters when you are picking between submarkets for an acquisition. Operators who want the most predictable performance should map their targets against this intra-county range before assuming the county average applies everywhere.

The cities inside Winnebago County

The highest-risk address in the county is Buffalo Center, scoring 2.8/10 with a population of 911. Scarville follows at 2.7/10, and Thompson comes in at 2.6/10 with a population of 459. All three sit above the county average, and their smaller populations mean a handful of problem tenancies can move the local numbers meaningfully, so underwriting should lean on deal-specific due diligence rather than the countywide figure.

At the other end, Forest City, the county seat and largest city at 4,290 residents, scores 2.3/10, tied with Woden for the lowest risk in the county. Lake Mills (2.5/10, population 2,088) and Rake (2.5/10) sit in the middle. The gap between Forest City and Buffalo Center is real enough to affect portfolio strategy, reinforcing that risk is hyper-local even within a small rural county like this one.

State-level laws that apply here

Every tenancy in Winnebago County is governed by Iowa eviction laws Code § 562A (Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Law). For non-payment of rent, Iowa eviction laws gives landlords a 3-day notice to pay or quit. Lease violations that can be cured require a 7-day notice, while a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21 to 40 days; contested cases can extend to 45 to 100 days. Understanding the full Iowa eviction laws eviction process before your first filing matters, because even in a low-risk county an uncontested case still demands correct notice timing and proper documentation.

On the cost side, Iowa eviction costs include a court filing fee of $95 to $200, a sheriff lockout fee of $50 to $150, and attorney fees that commonly range from $500 to $2,500 depending on case complexity. Iowa eviction laws does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so investors face no patchwork of local caps here. Iowa security deposit limits and landlord entry rules (24-hour notice under Iowa eviction laws Code § 562A) round out the key statutory framework to know before operating in the county.

With an average poverty rate of 12.1% and a renter share of 31.9%, Winnebago County's rental pool is relatively small but stable by Iowa eviction laws standards; the city-by-city risk grid above is the most actionable tool for narrowing down which of the county's 8 markets best fits your investment criteria.