Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Eviction Risk: Very Low
10 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Central City (2.7) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #116 of 120 KY counties
13k residents · 10 cities · 10 tracts
Muhlenberg County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
-
Tenant beats landlord19.4%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Muhlenberg County, KY, tenants prevail in roughly 19.4% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
-
Timeline34dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Muhlenberg County, KY until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 34 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
-
Cost range$1.2–3.3klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Muhlenberg County, KY costs landlords $1,208 to $3,255 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
-
Average rent$66227% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Muhlenberg County, KY is $662 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 27% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
-
Renters32.5%of households32.5% of occupied housing units in Muhlenberg County, KY are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
-
Poverty20.5%2.5% unemp.20.5% of Muhlenberg County, KY residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 2.5%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Muhlenberg County averages 2.1/10 across 10 cities, with scores spanning 1.8 to 2.7; Dunmor anchors the high end at 2.1/10. Ranked 116 of 120 Kentucky counties by eviction risk (Low tier).
How Muhlenberg County ranks in Kentucky
Landlord guides for Kentucky
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Central City | 5,707 | 2.0 | 19.6% | $683 | Rep |
| 002 | Greenville | 4,410 | 2.2 | 31.7% | $602 | Rep |
| 003 | Powderly | 931 | 2.1 | 27.5% | $754 | Rep |
| 004 | Beechmont | 771 | 1.9 | 32.1% | $647 | Rep |
| 005 | Drakesboro | 320 | 2.4 | 51.0% | $964 | Rep |
| 006 | Bremen | 285 | 2.5 | 43.8% | $624 | Rep |
| 007 | Rockport | 233 | 2.7 | 32.1% | $647 | Rep |
| 008 | Dunmor | 209 | 2.1 | 26.2% | $612 | Rep |
| 009 | South Carrollton | 157 | 2.0 | 32.1% | $647 | Rep |
| 010 | Cleaton | 38 | 1.8 | 58.3% | $666 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Muhlenberg County carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.1/10 (Low), placing it among the four most landlord-friendly counties in all of Kentucky eviction laws, with 115 of the state's 120 counties scoring higher. Across the county's 10 tracked cities, individual scores range from 1.8 to 2.7, a one-point spread that reflects genuine variation in local market conditions despite the county-wide low-risk profile. For landlords and investors sizing up western Kentucky eviction laws, that overall posture signals manageable tenant turnover risk, a modest rent-burden environment, and a legal framework that does not stack unusual obstacles against property owners.
Average rent here runs $662 per month, and the average rent-burden rate sits at 26.9% of tenant income. Both figures suggest the local renter base is generally within affordable range, reducing the structural pressure that drives eviction filings in higher-cost markets. The renter share of households is 32.5%, a minority but still a meaningful slice of the county's roughly 13,000 residents. Landlords operating in Kentucky eviction laws generally benefit from a state landlord-tenant code that keeps timelines predictable, and Muhlenberg County's low aggregate score reflects that baseline.
The cities inside Muhlenberg County
Risk is decidedly hyper-local here. Rockport sits at the top of the county risk table with a score of 2.7/10, followed by Powderly at 2.1/10 (population 931) and Bremen at 2.5/10. These three communities represent the upper end of the county's range and warrant closer due-diligence on vacancy and collections history before acquiring rental units. Greenville and Drakesboro both score 2.2/10; Greenville, the second-largest city in the county with a population of 4,410, is a sizable rental market at that middle tier.
On the lower-risk end, Central City, the county's largest city at 5,707 residents, scores 1.7/10, and Beechmont comes in at 1.9/10. Those two cities offer the largest renter pool at the county's most favorable risk levels. Rockport scores 2.7/10. The county minimum of 1.5 sits well below the state average, confirming that the best-performing submarkets here are genuinely low-friction operating environments.
State-level laws that apply here
Under Kentucky eviction laws state law, specifically the Kentucky eviction laws Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, landlords must serve a 7-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for a lease violation with opportunity to cure, and a 30-day notice for end-of-term no-cause terminations. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters can stretch to 45 to 120 days. For a full walkthrough of those steps, the Kentucky eviction laws eviction process guide covers the sequence in detail. Court filing fees run $150 to $250, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney fees typically range from $500 to $2,500, meaning total case costs can vary substantially depending on whether the case is contested and whether counsel is retained.
Kentucky eviction laws imposes no rent control, and state law explicitly preempts any local jurisdiction from enacting rent caps. Just cause is not required to end a tenancy. Source of income is not a protected class under Kentucky eviction laws fair housing law. On the cost side, a full review of Kentucky eviction costs is useful for modeling worst-case scenarios, particularly for contested cases where attorney fees dominate the total. The Kentucky eviction laws Commission on Human Rights administers fair housing complaints at the state level.
With a poverty rate of 20.5% and a renter share of 32.5%, Muhlenberg County carries real economic stress at the household level despite its low aggregate risk score; investors should review the city-by-city grid above to identify which specific submarkets combine the county's favorable legal environment with the most stable tenant profiles.
Eviction filings in Muhlenberg County
In September 2025, 3 eviction filings were recorded in Muhlenberg County, 50.0% of the historical average (below average).1
- 3Sep 2025
- 50.0%of historical avg
- 2,156Renter households
- 17.8%Poverty rate
Historical eviction filings in Muhlenberg County
From 2000 to 2016, eviction filings in Muhlenberg County increased 10%. The peak was 75 filings in 2013.2
- 392000
- 75Peak (2013)
- 432016
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Muhlenberg County compares
Muhlenberg County's average eviction-risk score of 2.1/10 (Low) sits below all five of its closest peer counties: Rockcastle County (2.1/10, rounded from 1.86), Spencer County (2.1/10, rounded from 1.88), Harlan County (2.2/10), Marshall County (2.2/10), and Whitley County (2.3/10). The last two peers score roughly 0.3 to 0.4 points higher, reflecting meaningfully greater renter financial stress.
Within Kentucky's 120 counties, Muhlenberg County ranks 116 of 120 for eviction risk, meaning only 4 counties present a less risky operating environment for landlords, and 115 are riskier. That positions it firmly in the lower-risk third of the state.