Lincoln Parish, Louisiana Eviction Risk: Low
6 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Ruston (2.7) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #41 of 64 LA counties
31k residents · 6 cities · 12 tracts
Lincoln Parish eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord20.1%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Lincoln Parish, LA, tenants prevail in roughly 20.1% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline46dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Lincoln Parish, LA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 46 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$1.6–4.0klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Lincoln Parish, LA costs landlords $1,611 to $4,001 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$80346% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Lincoln Parish, LA is $803 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 46% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters61.8%of households61.8% of occupied housing units in Lincoln Parish, LA are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty38.0%3.5% unemp.38.0% of Lincoln Parish, LA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 3.5%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Lincoln Parish averages 2.7/10 across its 6 cities, with the highest-risk city, Ruston, at 2.7/10 and the lowest-risk cities at 3.7/10. Ranked 3rd of 64 Louisiana parishes by eviction risk, only 2 parishes statewide score higher.
How Lincoln Parish ranks in Louisiana
Landlord guides for Louisiana
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Ruston | 22,284 | 2.7 | 46.3% | $816 | Rep |
| 002 | Grambling | 5,287 | 2.7 | 51.0% | $709 | Rep |
| 003 | Choudrant | 1,319 | 2.2 | 36.1% | $943 | Rep |
| 004 | Simsboro | 851 | 2.5 | 34.9% | $934 | Rep |
| 005 | Dubach | 709 | 2.6 | 22.1% | $867 | Rep |
| 006 | Vienna | 587 | 2.3 | 44.8% | $592 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Lincoln Parish carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.7/10 (Low) across its 6 incorporated places, yet that headline number comes with a meaningful asterisk: the parish ranks 3rd out of 64 Louisiana parishes, meaning only 2 parishes statewide post a higher risk profile. Landlords operating here are not in a sleepy, low-pressure market, they are in the higher-risk third of Louisiana eviction laws, a distinction that matters when underwriting vacancy assumptions or evaluating tenant screening standards.
The practical picture is a parish where renter demand is strong, with 61.8% of households renting and an average rent of $803, but where a 38% poverty rate puts genuine pressure on rent collections. A rent-burden rate of 45.8% confirms that a large share of tenants are already stretched thin relative to income. Investors accustomed to markets with thinner renter populations or lower poverty concentrations should calibrate their underwriting accordingly before placing capital in Lincoln Parish.
The cities inside Lincoln Parish
The intra-county spread runs from 3.7/10 to 2.7/10, a narrow band that nevertheless separates two distinct tiers. At the higher end, Ruston (population 22,284), Grambling (population 5,287), and Choudrant (population 1,319) all score 2.2/10. Ruston eviction risk dominates the parish's rental market by sheer scale, and its university-adjacent renter base creates concentration risk that smaller landlords may underestimate.
The lower-risk tier, each scoring 3.7/10, includes Simsboro (population 851), Dubach (population 709), and Vienna (population 587). These smaller communities offer modestly better operating conditions on the model's inputs, but their limited inventory and thin liquidity make them less practical for investors seeking scale. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: the same parish that contains a mid-sized university city also contains rural communities with fundamentally different tenant pools and turnover dynamics.
State-level laws that apply here
Every landlord in Lincoln Parish operates under Louisiana eviction laws state law, which is notably landlord-favorable in structure. For non-payment of rent or a lease violation, state law requires only a 5-day notice before the eviction process can proceed; ending a tenancy at expiration requires a 30-day notice. Understanding the full Louisiana eviction laws eviction process matters here because even a straightforward case carries real costs: court filing fees run $170 to $300, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney fees range from $500 to $3,000 depending on complexity and whether the case is contested. Uncontested cases resolve in roughly 14 to 30 days; contested matters can stretch to 30 to 90 days.
Louisiana eviction costs are a concrete line item landlords should model before assuming a quick turnaround. On the regulatory side, Louisiana eviction laws does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no Louisiana eviction laws municipality, including those in Lincoln Parish, can impose rent caps or additional just-cause requirements beyond state statute. Landlords should also review Louisiana tenant protections and Louisiana security deposit limits to confirm current compliance obligations under La. R.S. § 9:3251 et seq.
With a 38% poverty rate and 61.8% of residents renting, Lincoln Parish's operating fundamentals reward disciplined tenant screening; use the city grid above to compare risk scores across Ruston eviction risk, Grambling, Simsboro, and the parish's other communities before committing to a specific submarket.
How Lincoln Parish compares
Among its peer parishes, Lincoln Parish (2.7/10) scores higher than Caddo Parish (3.85/10), Terrebonne Parish (3.76/10), Iberia Parish (3.75/10), St. John the Baptist Parish (3.58/10), and Acadia Parish (3.38/10), placing it at the riskier end of that comparison group.
Within Louisiana, Lincoln Parish ranks 3rd out of 64 parishes by eviction risk, meaning only 2 parishes statewide carry a higher risk score. Investors comparing markets across northern Louisiana eviction laws should account for the parish's above-average poverty rate and rent burden relative to these peers.