Phillips County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Phillips County sits in the rolling plains of northwest Kansas, home to roughly 3,456 residents spread across 10 communities. The county's Eviction Risk Map score of 2.1/10 (Low) puts it at rank 58 of 105 Kansas eviction laws counties, meaning 57 counties carry higher risk and 47 are more landlord-favorable. That middle-third position reflects a rental market that is quiet by most measures but not entirely friction-free for landlords who need to act on a non-paying tenant.

The numbers behind that score tell a straightforward story. Average rent runs $689 per month, well below the statewide norm for even similarly sized rural counties, and renters spend an average of 23% of income on housing costs. That burden sits just above the 30% threshold only in individual households, not in the county aggregate, which limits the volume of financially distressed tenancies that tend to drive eviction filings. Renter households make up 23.1% of all occupied units, a compact base of roughly 795 renter households across the whole county. Poverty runs at 16.6%, an elevated figure for a rural area that bears watching, since poverty and rent burden together are the two variables most predictive of filing spikes in ERM's methodology. Phillipsburg, the county seat with 2,130 residents, accounts for the majority of the county's rental housing stock and posts a score of 2.1/10 that tracks exactly with the county average. Logan, the second-largest community at 598 residents, scores a slightly lower 2/10. At the other end of the range, Kirwin (63 residents) reaches the county's highest score at 2.6/10, followed by Prairie View at 2.5/10 and Agra and Glade each at 2.4/10. The spread from 1.8/10 in Long Island to 2.6/10 in Kirwin is narrow enough that no single community stands out as a problem area, but Kirwin's relatively higher burden warrants attention from landlords operating there.

Kansas eviction laws law governs Phillips County landlord-tenant relationships entirely through K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). The state preempts any local rent control ordinance, so no Phillips County municipality can cap rents independently. Landlords must serve a 3-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for a curable lease violation, or a 30-day notice for a no-cause end-of-term termination. Court filing fees run $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney costs typically fall in the $500 to $2,500 range. An uncontested case resolves in roughly 21 to 45 days; a contested case extends to 45 to 100 days. Retaliation protections for tenants are codified at K.S.A. § 58-2572 and habitability standards at K.S.A. § 58-2553 - both statutes that landlords should keep on hand before issuing any notice, since a retaliatory-eviction claim is the most common defense that converts an uncontested filing into a contested one.

Phillips County's Low risk score reflects a combination of below-average rents, a modest renter population, and a Kansas statutory framework that gives landlords a defined, if not fast, path to resolution when a tenancy fails.