Kittson County, Minnesota Eviction Risk: Moderate

Kittson County sits in the far northwest corner of Minnesota, bordering Canada along the Red River valley, with a total population of 3,359 spread across 12 small cities and townships. The county carries a Moderate eviction risk score of 4.7/10, placing it 50th out of 87 Minnesota counties - meaning 49 counties in the state present higher risk to landlords than Kittson does, while 37 are less risky. That middle-third position reflects a county where Minnesota's statewide tenant protections apply in full but local rental market conditions remain relatively modest: average rent sits at $859 per month, and the average rent burden of 28.4% of income is meaningful without reaching the acute levels seen in the Twin Cities metro.

Risk is not uniform across the county. Karlstad, the second-largest city at 622 residents, scores the lowest at 4.2/10 - a comparatively landlord-favorable position. At the other end, Humboldt leads the riskiest cities list at 5.4/10, followed by Kennedy at 5.2/10 and both Alvarado and Lake Bronson at 5.1/10. The county seat of Hallock (population 829, the largest city) lands at 4.9/10. The 1.2-point spread between the low (4.2 in Karlstad) and high (5.4 in Humboldt) is meaningful at a county this size - a landlord operating in Humboldt faces materially different risk exposure than one in Lancaster or Oslo, both of which score 4.4/10. An average poverty rate of 10.6% and a renter share of 21.5% of households round out the picture: roughly one in five households rents, and poverty levels are moderate relative to the state, which affects both the likelihood of rent payment disruption and tenants' ability to mount legal defenses in eviction proceedings.

Minnesota's eviction framework under Minn. Stat. § 504B (Landlord and Tenant) governs every property in Kittson County. Landlords must provide 14 days' written notice for nonpayment of rent under Minn. Stat. § 504B.291, and 30 days' notice for material lease violations or month-to-month terminations under Minn. Stat. § 504B.135. Court filing fees run $310 to $410, sheriff lockout fees add $55 to $150, and attorney costs can range from $750 to $3,000 depending on whether the case is contested. Uncontested matters typically resolve in 30 to 60 days; contested cases stretch to 60 to 150 days. Minnesota does not require just cause for eviction statewide, and Kittson County has no local rent control ordinance - nor does the state preempt one. Source-of-income discrimination is protected under state law, meaning landlords cannot reject applicants solely because they use housing vouchers or public assistance, a factor the Eviction Risk Map methodology weights in tenant-protection scoring.

Scores for Kittson County's 12 cities are computed from court filing data, rent burden, poverty rates, local ordinances, and statewide statutes; the county average of 4.7/10 reflects conditions as of the most recent data refresh - see the methodology page for variable definitions and weighting.