Swift County, Minnesota Eviction Risk: Moderate

Swift County sits in west-central Minnesota with a total population of 5,939 spread across seven incorporated cities. The county carries an average eviction risk score of 4.9/10 (Moderate), placing it 27th out of 87 Minnesota counties - meaning 26 counties present higher risk to landlords and 60 are more favorable. That puts Swift firmly in the higher-risk third of the state, a designation landlords should weigh carefully when pricing rents, setting lease terms, or evaluating new acquisitions here.

Benson, the county seat, is the dominant renter market at 3,441 residents and scores 4.8/10. Appleton (1,393 residents) and Kerkhoven (802 residents) follow in size, with Appleton scoring 5/10 and Kerkhoven at 4.9/10. The highest individual city score in the county belongs to Danvers at 5.1/10, despite a population of only 126. At the other end, Clontarf scores 4.4/10 and is the most landlord-favorable community in the county. Renter-occupied households make up 34.5% of the county's housing stock, a share that concentrates risk in Benson and Appleton where most of that inventory sits. Average rent across the county is $889/month, and renters here spend an average of 33.7% of income on housing costs - above the conventional 30% affordability threshold. Combined with a 12.4% poverty rate, that burden level raises the probability of nonpayment disputes and makes contested eviction proceedings more likely than the raw score alone suggests.

Under Minn. Stat. § 504B (Landlord and Tenant), landlords must serve a 14-day notice before filing for nonpayment of rent (Minn. Stat. § 504B.291) and a 30-day notice for lease violations or month-to-month terminations (Minn. Stat. § 504B.135). Court filing fees run $310 to $410 at the courthouse, and sheriff lockout fees add another $55 to $150. An uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested one can stretch 60 to 150 days and carry attorney fees of $750 to $3,000. Minnesota does not impose just-cause eviction requirements at the state level and has not preempted local rent control, though no local ordinance currently applies in Swift County. Source-of-income is a protected class under state fair housing rules enforced by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which affects tenant screening practices. Landlords must provide 24 hours notice before entry under Minn. Stat. § 504B.161, and retaliation against tenants for exercising legal rights is prohibited under Minn. Stat. § 504B.441. These procedural requirements are standard across Minnesota but matter more in a county where rent burden is elevated and disputes are more likely to be contested.

Swift County's 4.9/10 average reflects a small, rural rental market where a high rent burden relative to a modest average rent of $889/month and a 12.4% poverty rate combine to push risk above the statewide midpoint, even without the tenant-protection overlay found in Minnesota eviction laws's larger metro counties.