Le Sueur County, Minnesota Eviction Risk: Moderate

Le Sueur County scores 4.8/10 (Moderate) across its 11 cities, placing it at rank 23 of 87 Minnesota counties, meaning 22 counties carry more risk and only 64 are more landlord-friendly. That puts Le Sueur County firmly in the higher-risk third of the state, a position landlords and investors should weigh against its relatively rural, low-density character. With a total population of roughly 23,821 and an average rent of $1,055, the market is modest in scale but not without exposure.

The county's rent burden sits at an average of 28.4% of income, and renter share averages 25.7%, both indicators of a tenant base that is financially stretched enough to generate friction at lease renewal or during economic downturns. Operating here is manageable, but landlords should go in clear-eyed: the intra-county score range of 4.5 to 5.1 means that city selection inside Le Sueur County matters almost as much as the county choice itself.

The cities inside Le Sueur County

The highest-risk cities in the county are New Prague and Madison Lake, both scoring 4.7/10. New Prague is by far the largest city, with a population of 8,237, making it the dominant rental market in the county. Madison Lake, at 1,322 residents, is smaller but carries the same risk profile. Montgomery comes in close behind at 4.7/10 with a population of 3,434. These three cities at the top of the risk range account for a substantial share of the county's rental inventory and deserve the most scrutiny in due diligence.

On the lower end, Elysian posts the county's best score at 4.5/10, a full 1.2 points below the county average, while the city of Le Sueur and Le Center both come in at 4.9/10. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: a landlord owning units in Elysian operates in meaningfully different conditions than one holding property in New Prague, even though both cities sit inside the same county lines.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Le Sueur County operates under Minnesota eviction laws state law, specifically Minn. Stat. § 504B (Landlord and Tenant). For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 14 days under Minn. Stat. § 504B.291. A material lease violation or an end-of-month-to-month tenancy each require 30 days notice under Minn. Stat. § 504B.135. Minnesota eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction at the state level, and there is no statewide rent cap. Understanding the full Minnesota eviction laws eviction process, from notice through writ of recovery, is essential before filing any action in Scott or Le Sueur County district court.

Once a case is filed, court filing fees range from $310 to $410, sheriff lockout fees from $55 to $150, and attorney fees typically run $750 to $3,000. An uncontested eviction resolves in roughly 30 to 60 days; a contested case can stretch to 60 to 150 days. Landlords should also budget for Minnesota eviction costs before any issue reaches the courthouse, as even a straightforward filing carries real out-of-pocket exposure at each stage.

With an average poverty rate of 7.9% and roughly one in four households renting, the individual city scores in the grid above tell a more precise story than the county average alone, and are the right starting point for any site-specific analysis.