Warren County, Kentucky Eviction Risk: Very Low

Warren County scores 2.4/10 overall, landing a Low eviction-risk rating and placing it 76th out of 120 Kentucky eviction laws counties, which means 75 counties carry more landlord risk and only 44 are more landlord-friendly. For investors and property owners sizing up this market, that middle-tier placement reflects a county where operating conditions are generally manageable but not uniformly calm across every community. With an average rent of $1,003 and a rent-burden rate of 30.2%, a meaningful share of the renter base is financially stretched, which is worth factoring into underwriting even when headline risk looks modest.

Across the county's 5 cities, individual scores span 2.1 to 2.5, a full point of variation that matters more than the county average in day-to-day operations. The 62.6% renter share is notably high, which can support strong rental demand but also concentrates the pool of potential eviction situations. Landlords working this market in Kentucky should understand where within the county they are acquiring, not just what the county-wide number says.

The cities inside Warren County

The highest-risk city in the county is Woodburn, scoring 2.5/10 with a population of 405. While the score remains in a moderate range in absolute terms, it sits a full point above the county floor and should prompt tighter tenant screening and lease enforcement discipline. Smiths Grove follows at 2.4/10 (population 786), and Woodburn comes in at 2.5/10 (population 319). These smaller communities carry modestly elevated risk relative to the county norm, partly because thinner rental markets leave landlords with less pricing power when vacancies arise.

By contrast, Bowling Green, the county seat and by far the largest city with a population of 75,388, scores 2.4/10, matching the county average. Plano also scores 2.4/10. The fact that the county's dominant population center sits at the low end of the local risk range is a meaningful signal: the bulk of Warren County's rental activity is concentrated in a city where eviction risk is at its most manageable. Risk in this county is genuinely hyper-local, and a landlord owning in Bowling Green eviction risk is operating in a materially different environment than one holding units in Plum Springs.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Kentucky eviction laws law, specifically the Kentucky eviction laws eviction process governed by KRS § 383.500 et seq., landlords must serve a 7-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for lease violations subject to cure, and a 30-day notice for end-of-term or no-cause terminations. Just cause is not required to end a tenancy, and Kentucky eviction laws state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, meaning no city within Warren County can impose rent caps. Uncontested evictions run 21 to 45 days, while a contested case can stretch 45 to 120 days.

On the cost side, court filing fees range from $150 to $250, sheriff lockout fees run $40 to $150, and attorney fees typically fall between $500 and $2,500, depending on complexity and whether the tenant contests the action. Landlords who want to understand the full cost exposure before a dispute arises should review Kentucky eviction costs carefully. For the broader statutory framework around deposits and tenant obligations, Kentucky security deposit limits are governed by the same Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and are worth reviewing before drafting leases.

With a poverty rate of 24.9% and more than six in ten residents renting, Warren County's risk profile varies considerably from one ZIP code to the next; the city-by-city grid above gives the clearest picture of where conditions are tightest and where landlords have the most room to operate with confidence.