Ford County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Ford County, Kansas eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 2.1/10 (Low) across its 8 cities, placing it at rank 96 of 105 Kansas counties. That ranking means 95 counties carry more eviction risk, and only 9 sit lower, putting Ford County firmly in the lower-risk third of the state. For landlords and investors, that translates to a market where tenant default and prolonged disputes are relatively uncommon compared to most of Kansas eviction laws, though the county is far from uniform.

The intra-county spread runs from 1.6/10 at the low end to 2.4/10 at the high end, a range that matters when you are choosing specific submarkets. With an average rent of $1,011 and a rent-burden rate of just 21.8%, renters here are not being squeezed particularly hard relative to their incomes, which supports stable tenancy. Roughly 40.8% of households rent, giving the county a healthy rental base relative to its total population of 31,480.

The cities inside Ford County

The highest-risk location in the county is Wilroads Gardens at 2.9/10, though its population of just 93 makes it a thin market. Behind it, Minneola (2.1/10, pop. 835) and Bucklin (2.2/10, pop. 652) represent the most elevated risk among meaningfully sized communities. Spearville scores 2.1/10 with a population of 998, and the city of Ford also comes in at 2.1/10.

The most landlord-favorable markets in the county are Wright at 1.8/10 and the county seat, Dodge City, at 2.2/10. Dodge City is by far the largest market, with a population of 27,613, meaning it dominates the county's rental economy. Wilroads Gardens also scores 2.9/10. The spread here reinforces that risk in Ford County is hyper-local: two communities at 2.1 sit alongside the largest city at 1.7, so asset selection within the county matters considerably.

State-level laws that apply here

All Ford County landlords operate under the Kansas eviction laws Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. Notice requirements under Kansas eviction laws state law are short by national standards: 3 days for non-payment of rent, 14 days for a lease violation with an opportunity to cure, and 30 days for an end-of-term or no-cause termination. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested cases can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Understanding the full Kansas eviction laws eviction process before your first filing will help you avoid procedural delays that add time and cost.

Total out-of-pocket costs for a Kansas eviction laws eviction depend on how contested the case becomes. Court filing fees run $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney fees range from $500 to $2,500. Reviewing Kansas eviction costs in detail before acquisition will give you a realistic floor and ceiling. On the regulatory side, Kansas eviction laws does not require just cause for lease non-renewal, imposes no rent-control formula, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so Ford County cannot impose caps that conflict with state policy.

With a poverty rate of 15.6% and 40.8% of households renting, Ford County carries some financial vulnerability at the tenant level; the city-by-city grid above shows where that pressure concentrates most and where conditions remain the most stable for landlords.