Itasca County, Minnesota Eviction Risk: Moderate
19 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Grand Rapids (6.8) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #6 of 87 MN counties
23k residents · 19 cities · 21 tracts
Itasca County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
-
Tenant beats landlord37.4%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Itasca County, MN, tenants prevail in roughly 37.4% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
-
Timeline98dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Itasca County, MN until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 98 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
-
Cost range$3.8–10.6klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Itasca County, MN costs landlords $3,770 to $10,628 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
-
Average rent$1,02437% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Itasca County, MN is $1,024 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 37% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
-
Renters27.2%of households27.2% of occupied housing units in Itasca County, MN are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
-
Poverty16.8%5.9% unemp.16.8% of Itasca County, MN residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 5.9%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Itasca County averages 4.7/10 across 19 cities, ranging from a low of 3.8 to a high of 5.2, with Keewatin carrying the greatest eviction risk in the county. Ranked 27th of 87 Minnesota counties, Itasca falls in the higher-risk third of the state.
How Itasca County ranks in Minnesota
Landlord guides for Minnesota
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Grand Rapids | 11,207 | 5.4 | 34.6% | $1,090 | Rep |
| 002 | Cohasset | 2,703 | 3.5 | 43.4% | $827 | Rep |
| 003 | Coleraine | 2,150 | 4.0 | 51.0% | $1,167 | Rep |
| 004 | Keewatin | 1,215 | 4.1 | 40.9% | $932 | Rep |
| 005 | Nashwauk | 926 | 4.0 | 34.9% | $688 | Rep |
| 006 | Deer River | 889 | 4.2 | 28.3% | $816 | Rep |
| 007 | Marble | 669 | 4.0 | 28.3% | $658 | Rep |
| 008 | Bovey | 646 | 4.0 | 23.8% | $948 | Rep |
| 009 | La Prairie | 592 | 3.4 | 30.6% | $725 | Rep |
| 010 | Taconite | 468 | 4.0 | 33.4% | $2,625 | Rep |
| 011 | Bigfork | 375 | 5.6 | 35.0% | $1,000 | Rep |
| 012 | Calumet | 279 | 4.5 | 31.0% | $645 | Rep |
| 013 | Warba | 146 | 4.6 | 38.0% | $1,143 | Rep |
| 014 | Ball Club | 127 | 4.0 | 24.6% | $681 | Rep |
| 015 | Squaw Lake | 104 | 4.0 | 11.7% | $675 | Rep |
| 016 | Inger | 88 | 6.8 | 36.6% | $1,026 | Rep |
| 017 | Effie | 77 | 4.4 | 42.9% | $1,042 | Rep |
| 018 | Zemple | 49 | 3.2 | 36.6% | $1,026 | Rep |
| 019 | Goodland | 24 | 3.2 | 36.6% | $1,026 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Itasca County, Minnesota eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.7/10 (Moderate) across its 19 tracked cities, placing it in the higher-risk third of the state. Of Minnesota eviction laws's 87 counties, 28 score riskier than Itasca, and 58 are measurably more landlord-friendly. For an investor scanning northern Minnesota eviction laws, that ranking signals real but manageable headwinds: rent collection pressure is present, but the county is not at the extreme end of the state's risk spectrum.
The on-the-ground picture is more varied than any single number suggests. City-level scores span from 3.2 to 6.8, a 1.4-point spread that matters enormously when choosing a specific acquisition target. Average rent countywide runs $1,024 per month, with renters allocating an average of 36.5% of income to housing costs, a burden rate that correlates directly with payment-default risk when income shocks occur.
The cities inside Itasca County
The highest-risk pocket in the county is Inger, scoring 6.8/10 with a population of 1,215. Just below it sits Warba at 4.6/10. Both communities show elevated risk relative to the county average, meaning landlords there should budget for higher tenant-turnover costs and maintain tighter screening protocols.
Grand Rapids, the county seat and by far the largest city at 11,207 residents, scores 5.4/10, squarely at the county's upper boundary. Its size means it concentrates the most total rental units in Itasca County, so its score deserves particular attention from anyone building a portfolio here. On the lower end, Cohasset and Coleraine both score 4/10, offering modestly friendlier conditions for landlords while still sitting within commuting range of Grand Rapids. Risk in Itasca County is hyper-local: a city-by-city review, rather than a county average, should drive any site-selection decision.
State-level laws that apply here
Under Minnesota state law (Minn. Stat. § 504B, Landlord and Tenant), landlords must serve a 14-day notice for nonpayment of rent before filing for eviction. A 30-day notice is required for material lease violations and for terminating a month-to-month tenancy. Once a case is filed, an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested case can run 60 to 150 days. Understanding the full Minnesota eviction laws eviction process before signing a lease here is essential to projecting worst-case vacancy exposure.
Direct costs of a full eviction in Minnesota eviction laws run from a court filing fee of $310 to $410, a sheriff lockout fee of $55 to $150, and attorney fees of $750 to $3,000, depending on complexity. Minnesota eviction costs can therefore reach well over $3,500 on a contested case, before factoring in lost rent during the proceeding. On the regulatory side, Minnesota eviction laws does not require just cause to end a tenancy and does not preempt local rent-control ordinances at the state level, so investors should verify municipal rules in any specific city they target.
With a poverty rate averaging 16.8% across Itasca County's cities and only 27.2% of residents renting, the rental pool here is relatively small and economically stressed; the city-by-city grid above is the most direct tool for identifying where in the county conditions are least likely to erode returns.
Eviction filings in Minnesota
The Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System covers Minnesota statewide (no county-level tracker available for Itasca County). In the past month, 2,011 statewide filings were recorded, 1.03× the historical baseline (near baseline).
- 2,011Past month (state)
- 26,070Past 12 months
- 1.07×vs baseline (12 mo)
Eviction filings in Itasca County
In September 2025, 2 eviction filings were recorded in Itasca County, 29.6% of the historical average (below average).2
- 2Sep 2025
- 29.6%of historical avg
- 3,342Renter households
- 12.7%Poverty rate
Historical eviction filings in Itasca County
From 2009 to 2018, eviction filings in Itasca County increased 5%. The peak was 83 filings in 2017.3
- 592009
- 83Peak (2017)
- 622018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Itasca County compares
Itasca County's eviction-risk score of 4.7/10 places it above most of its closest peer counties: Carlton County scores 4.7/10, Mower County 4.7/10, McLeod County 4.7/10, and Le Sueur County 4.7/10, with Freeborn County at 4.7/10 edging slightly higher. Within Minnesota's 87 counties, Itasca ranks 27th, meaning only 26 counties carry greater eviction risk, placing Itasca squarely in the higher-risk third of the state.
Landlords comparing outstate Minnesota eviction laws markets should note that Itasca's average rent of $1,024 and rent burden of 36.5% are consistent with the economic profile that drives its Moderate rating, and its intra-county spread from 3.2 to 6.8 means submarket selection within the county matters significantly.