Chautauqua County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Chautauqua County sits in the southeastern corner of Kansas, a sparsely populated rural county of roughly 1,980 residents spread across six small communities. The county carries an eviction risk score of 2.3/10 - a Low rating that places it 18th of 105 Kansas eviction laws counties, meaning 17 counties in the state present higher eviction risk to landlords. While the Low score is relatively favorable, the county falls in the higher-risk third of the state, so landlords and renters here should understand local conditions carefully rather than assuming conditions mirror those in the less risky, more landlord-friendly counties further west.

The rental market in Chautauqua County reflects the economic pressures common to rural southeast Kansas eviction laws. Average rent runs $707 per month, but a meaningful share of renters - about 27.9% of all households rent rather than own - carry an average rent burden of 26.3% of income. With a poverty rate of 21.7%, the economic margin for renters is thin. Sedan is the county seat and its largest community at around 1,050 residents, scoring a 2.2/10. Cedar Vale (population 529) scores 2.4/10. The highest-scoring communities - those with relatively elevated eviction risk within the county - are Niotaze and Elgin, both at 2.7/10, followed by Peru at 2.5/10. The county-wide score range runs from 2.2/10 to 2.7/10, a tight band indicating conditions are fairly uniform across the six tracked cities rather than concentrated in one particularly stressed community.

Kansas eviction laws eviction law is governed by K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act), which sets clear timelines and notice requirements that apply uniformly across the state - including Chautauqua County. A landlord must issue a 3-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for lease violations with an opportunity to cure, and a 30-day notice for no-cause end-of-term terminations. Kansas eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction and state law - via preemption - prohibits local governments from enacting rent control ordinances, so there is no municipal overlay in Chautauqua County that would add further restrictions. Court filing fees run $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees range from $40 to $150, and attorney fees for an eviction case typically fall between $500 and $2,500. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters can take 45 to 100 days. Retaliation protections for tenants are anchored in K.S.A. § 58-2572 and habitability obligations are set by K.S.A. § 58-2553.

Chautauqua County's Low eviction risk score reflects its combination of modest rents, uniform small-town conditions, and a landlord-tilted legal framework under Kansas eviction laws law - but the 21.7% poverty rate and 26.3% average rent burden are signals that tenant financial stress is real, even if formal eviction activity remains low relative to the state.