Washington County, Kansas Eviction Risk: Very Low
10 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Washington (2.3) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #97 of 105 KS counties
3k residents · 10 cities · 2 tracts
Washington County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
-
Tenant beats landlord16.2%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Washington County, KS, tenants prevail in roughly 16.2% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
-
Timeline38dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Washington County, KS until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 38 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
-
Cost range$1.3–3.4klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Washington County, KS costs landlords $1,290 to $3,403 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
-
Average rent$59220% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Washington County, KS is $592 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 20% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
-
Renters25.2%of households25.2% of occupied housing units in Washington County, KS are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
-
Poverty9.8%2.2% unemp.9.8% of Washington County, KS residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 2.2%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Washington County averages 1.9/10 across 10 cities, with a range of 1.7 (Linn, Barnes, Palmer) to 2.3 (Morrowville). All cities fall in the Low risk band. Ranked 97 of 105 Kansas counties - only 8 counties in the state show lower eviction risk.
How Washington County ranks in Kansas
Landlord guides for Kansas
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Washington | 1,155 | 1.9 | 18.7% | $553 | Rep |
| 002 | Hanover | 828 | 2.0 | 27.3% | $642 | Rep |
| 003 | Linn | 470 | 1.7 | 9.0% | $496 | Rep |
| 004 | Greenleaf | 320 | 2.0 | 30.6% | $638 | Rep |
| 005 | Barnes | 177 | 1.7 | 17.5% | $810 | Rep |
| 006 | Palmer | 149 | 1.7 | 11.0% | $555 | Rep |
| 007 | Haddam | 118 | 1.8 | 20.3% | $592 | Rep |
| 008 | Morrowville | 96 | 2.3 | 20.3% | $592 | Rep |
| 009 | Mahaska | 47 | 1.9 | 20.3% | $592 | Rep |
| 010 | Hollenberg | 9 | 1.9 | 20.3% | $592 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Washington eviction laws County sits in the far north-central corner of Kansas eviction laws with a population of 3,369 and a rental market that is, by most measures, low-pressure. The county earns a 1.9/10 eviction risk score - placing it 97th out of 105 Kansas eviction laws counties, meaning 96 counties carry higher eviction risk. For landlords, that ranking translates to a market where tenant turnover, court caseloads, and structural financial stress are all well below the Kansas eviction laws norm.
Rents here average $592/month and the average rent burden sits at 20.3% of household income - comfortably below the 30% threshold that housing researchers treat as a stress indicator. Only 25.2% of residents rent, consistent with the owner-dominated character of rural north-central Kansas, and the poverty rate of 9.8% is modest relative to peer rural counties. The county seat of Washington (pop. 1,155) anchors the rental market, with Hanover (pop. 828), Linn (pop. 470), and Greenleaf (pop. 320) representing the next tier of rental activity. Among the 10 cities tracked in the county, Morrowville carries the highest individual score at 2.3/10, and Hanover and Greenleaf both come in at 2/10 - still firmly in Low territory. Barnes, Linn, and Palmer each score 1.7/10, reflecting the quietest rental conditions in the county.
Kansas governs residential tenancies under K.S.A. § 58-2540 et seq. (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act), which gives landlords a relatively direct eviction pathway by national standards. Non-payment notices can be served in as few as 3 days; lease-violation cure notices run 14 days; and no-cause end-of-term notices require 30 days. Uncontested eviction cases in Kansas typically resolve in 21 to 45 days, with contested matters running 45 to 100 days. Filing fees at the district court level range from $120 to $200, sheriff lockout fees from $40 to $150, and attorney fees - if counsel is retained - typically fall between $500 and $2,500. Kansas state law preempts any local rent control ordinance, so no city or county in the state can impose a rent cap independent of the legislature. There is no just-cause-required eviction standard at the state level, and source-of-income protections are not mandated under Kansas law. Retaliation protections for tenants are codified at K.S.A. § 58-2572, and habitability obligations fall under K.S.A. § 58-2553. Fair housing complaints are handled by the Kansas Human Rights Commission. In practical terms, Washington eviction laws County's low risk score is a product of both the state's landlord-leaning statutory framework and the county's own limited financial stress indicators - low burden, low poverty, and modest rents that leave meaningful room for the market to absorb shocks without triggering eviction-level crises.
Washington eviction laws County's 1.9/10 score reflects 10 tracked cities, a total population of 3,369, and an average rent of $592/month - all evaluated against Kansas eviction laws eviction law as last reviewed on 2026-05-29.
How Washington County compares
Washington eviction laws County's 1.9/10 average sits below the scores of nearby peer counties including Republic County (1.96), Kearny County (1.93), Norton County (1.83), Meade County (1.82), and Rooks County (1.83) - making it one of the lower-risk rural counties in its cohort and reflective of north-central Kansas eviction laws's generally quiet rental market conditions.