Fillmore County, Minnesota Eviction Risk: Moderate

Fillmore County sits in the bluff country of southeastern Minnesota with a total population of 11,135 spread across 10 incorporated communities. Renters make up 21.5% of households, paying an average of $780 per month - a figure that absorbs 30% of the average renter household's gross income. That rent-burden rate sits at the threshold many housing economists consider financially stressed, and it influences the county's overall Eviction Risk Map score of 4.8/10 (Moderate). With a poverty rate of 9.8%, the margin between a tenant staying current on rent and falling behind is narrow in ways that matter to landlords tracking collection risk.

Within the county, Spring Valley (population 2,307) carries the highest individual score at 5/10, driven by the combination of tenant-protective statutes that apply statewide and local rent-burden dynamics. Fountain and Canton follow at 4.9/10 each. Chatfield - the county's largest community at 2,559 residents - scores 4.8/10, matching the county average. Rushford (1,826), Preston (1,362), and Harmony (1,024) are also at 4.8/10. Lanesboro, a smaller tourism-oriented town of 744, posts the county's lowest score at 4.6/10. The tight range between 4.4 and 5.0 across all 10 cities reflects the largely uniform application of Minnesota eviction laws's statewide landlord-tenant framework - local variation is constrained more by economics than by city-level ordinance differences.

Statewide, Fillmore County ranks 34th out of 87 Minnesota counties, placing it in the middle third of the state. Thirty-three counties carry higher risk scores than Fillmore, while 53 are less risky. That positioning reflects the county's rural character - lower tenant-advocacy infrastructure than the Twin Cities metro, no local rent control (Minnesota does not preempt local control, but no Fillmore municipality has enacted it), and a renter population small enough that organized tenant pressure is limited. Landlords operating here work under Minn. Stat. § 504B, the state's consolidated landlord-tenant chapter. Court filing fees run $310 to $410, and an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 30 to 60 days. A contested case can stretch to 150 days, and attorney fees commonly range from $750 to $3,000. For nonpayment, the required notice period is 14 days under Minn. Stat. § 504B.291. Source-of-income discrimination is prohibited in Minnesota, meaning landlords cannot reject applicants solely on the basis of housing vouchers or public assistance - a factor that affects applicant pool composition in counties with measurable poverty rates like Fillmore's 9.8%.

Data reflects the 10 Fillmore County communities tracked by the Eviction Risk Map model, covering a combined population of 11,135. Scores incorporate rent burden, poverty rates, renter share, eviction law, and historical filing trends weighted under the current NGP-EvictStats methodology.