Graham County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Graham County, Kansas earns a Low eviction risk score of 2.3/10 on the Eviction Risk Map, placing it 25th out of 105 Kansas eviction laws counties - meaning 24 counties carry higher risk and 80 are more landlord-friendly. That position in the higher-risk third of the state is somewhat counterintuitive for such a small, rural market, but it reflects a combination of a meaningful rent burden relative to local incomes and a modest-but-present renter population spread across just 4 tracked cities.

The county's rental market is anchored almost entirely by Hill City, the county seat, which accounts for the large majority of the county's 1,812 residents and carries a score of 2.3/10. Beyond Hill City, Bogue is the only city to score higher, at 2.5/10, while Morland comes in at the low end with 1.7/10 and Nicodemus matches the county average at 2.3/10. Average rent across the county sits at $794, with renters dedicating an average of 31.9% of their income to housing costs - a burden rate that exceeds the commonly cited 30% threshold. Roughly 27.1% of households are renters, and the county's poverty rate stands at 10.4%, both of which factor into the overall risk picture.

On the legal side, Kansas eviction laws landlord-tenant law under K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. applies uniformly statewide. Graham County landlords can serve a 3-day notice for non-payment, a 14-day notice for lease violations, and a 30-day no-cause notice at end of term. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21 to 45 days, while contested cases can run 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees run $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add another $40 to $150, and attorney fees for a contested case can reach $2,500. Kansas eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction and, critically, state law preempts any local rent control, so no city within Graham County can impose a rent cap. Retaliation protections for tenants fall under K.S.A. § 58-2572, and habitability standards are set by K.S.A. § 58-2553. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Kansas eviction laws fair housing law.

Graham County is a sparsely populated northwest Kansas eviction laws county where Hill City serves as the only significant rental hub; the remaining three tracked cities (Bogue, Morland, and Nicodemus) contribute a combined population well under 300 residents, making county-wide averages highly sensitive to conditions in Hill City.