Gray County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Gray County sits in the southwest corner of Kansas with a total population of 3,253 spread across four incorporated places. The county earns an eviction risk score of 2/10, placing it 80th out of 105 Kansas counties where rank 1 is the highest-risk jurisdiction. That position means 79 Kansas counties carry more landlord-tenant friction than Gray County does, and only 25 statewide are calmer - putting this county firmly in the lower-risk third of the state.

The dominant city is Cimarron (pop. 1,949, score 2/10), which accounts for the majority of the county's rental activity. Montezuma (pop. 864) scores the highest of the four cities at 2.2/10, while Ingalls (pop. 315) is the calmest at 1.5/10 and Ensign (pop. 125) sits at 1.9/10. The narrow score band - 1.5 to 2.2 across all four cities - signals unusually consistent low-risk conditions throughout the county rather than isolated pockets of calm. Average rent across the county is $885/month, and the average rent burden lands at 25.9% of household income, both of which track well below the thresholds that typically drive elevated eviction filings. Renters make up 28.5% of occupied housing units, and the average poverty rate is 11.2%.

Kansas landlord-tenant law is governed statewide by K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. (the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). For non-payment of rent, landlords must serve a 3-day notice before filing; lease-violation cure notices require 14 days; and no-cause end-of-term terminations require 30 days. Uncontested eviction cases in Kansas typically resolve in 21 to 45 days, with contested matters running 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees range from $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees from $40 to $150, and attorney costs from $500 to $2,500 depending on case complexity. Kansas does not require just cause for termination and the state preempts local rent control, so no city within Gray County can impose rent stabilization or supplemental eviction protections beyond the state floor.

Gray County's low eviction risk reflects a combination of modest average rents, a below-average rent burden, and a sparse rental market where most tenants are long-term residents in an agricultural community - conditions that historically suppress eviction filing rates relative to more urbanized Kansas eviction laws counties.