Linn County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Linn County sits in the eastern edge of Kansas, a quiet rural county of 5,435 residents spread across eight incorporated places. The county's average eviction risk score of 2.3/10 puts it in the Low tier, though its ranking of 29th out of 105 Kansas counties places it in the higher-risk third of the state - meaning 76 Kansas counties are actually less risky for landlords. That gap matters for investors comparing markets: the score is low in absolute terms, but Linn County is not among Kansas's most landlord-favorable rural counties.

The rental market here is thin and affordable by any statewide measure. Average rent of $759 per month reflects the county's rural character and limited housing stock. Even at that modest level, renters carry an average rent burden of 24.3% of income, against a poverty rate of 16.9% - a combination that signals real financial fragility among a meaningful share of the renter base. When roughly 28.7% of households rent rather than own, and nearly one in six residents lives below the poverty line, a run of bad months for a tenant can translate quickly into a nonpayment situation. Landlords here should underwrite with that baseline stress in mind, even though the overall risk rating is Low. The county's biggest city by population is Pleasanton (1,516 residents, score 2.2/10), followed by La Cygne (1,327 residents, score 2.3/10) and Linn Valley (962 residents, score 2.4/10). Mound City (768 residents) and Parker (274 residents) both score the county's lowest at 2.1/10, suggesting the least tension between tenant stress and landlord exposure in those smaller communities.

On the legal side, Kansas governs residential tenancies under K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. (the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act), a landlord-friendly framework with no rent cap, no just-cause requirement for non-renewal, and state-level preemption of any local rent control ordinance a municipality might attempt. Notice timelines are short: 3 days for nonpayment of rent, 14 days for a curable lease violation, and 30 days for an end-of-term no-cause notice. An uncontested eviction resolves in 21 to 45 days from filing; a contested case stretches to 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees run $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees $40 to $150, and attorney fees typically $500 to $2,500 depending on complexity. The highest-scoring city in the county is Prescott at 2.7/10, followed by Linn Valley and Blue Mound both at 2.4/10 - still within the Low range, but worth noting if you are comparing specific acquisition targets within the county.

Scores across Linn County's 8 tracked cities range from 2.1/10 (Mound City, Parker) to 2.7/10 (Prescott), a narrow band that reflects consistent rural market conditions rather than any city-specific policy or demographic outlier.