Jones County, Mississippi Eviction Risk: Low

Jones County, Mississippi eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.5/10 (Low) across its 8 tracked cities, placing it at rank 27 of 82 Mississippi counties. That position means 26 counties are riskier and 55 are more landlord-friendly, putting Jones County in the higher-risk third of the state. At an average rent of $865 per month and a rent-burden rate of 35.1%, a meaningful share of tenants are financially stretched, which elevates the probability of late or missed payments that trigger the eviction process.

The intra-county spread, from a low of 2.7 to a high of 4.5, is wide enough that asset selection within Jones County matters as much as the county-level number. Landlords operating in the lower-risk pockets of the county face materially different operating conditions than those concentrated in the higher-risk urban core, so city-level due diligence is essential before acquiring or managing rental property here.

The cities inside Jones County

Ellisville carries the highest risk score in the county at 2.8/10, with a population of 4,521. Its score sits at the county ceiling and warrants tighter tenant screening and reserve planning. Laurel, the county seat and by far the largest city with 17,679 residents, scores 4.2/10, also above the county average. Together, Ellisville and Laurel eviction risk account for the bulk of the county's rental inventory, so portfolio-level risk in Jones County is disproportionately shaped by conditions in those two cities.

Smaller communities tell a different story. Eastabuchie scores 2/10, the lowest in the county, and Moselle and Ovett come in at 2.9 and 2.8 respectively, all well below the county average. Sharon, with 1,910 residents, lands at 2.4/10. These figures confirm that risk is hyper-local inside Jones County: the difference between Ellisville and Eastabuchie spans nearly two full points on the same 10-point scale.

State-level laws that apply here

Mississippi eviction laws state law governs every eviction in Jones County. Under Miss. Code § 89-8 (Landlord and Tenant), landlords must serve a 3-day notice for non-payment of rent, a 14-day notice for a lease violation with opportunity to cure, and a 30-day notice for end-of-term or no-cause terminations. An uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested case can stretch to 60 to 120 days. Landlords should factor the full cost of an action into their underwriting: court filing fees run $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees add $30 to $120, and attorney fees commonly range from $500 to $2,500. Reviewing the Mississippi eviction costs guide before budgeting reserves is strongly recommended.

Mississippi eviction laws does not require just cause to end a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so landlords in Jones County face no rent caps. Source-of-income discrimination is not a protected class under state law. The Mississippi eviction laws eviction process is governed at the state level with no county-level procedural variations, making statewide guides directly applicable here. The habitability standard is codified at Miss. Code § 89-8-23, and fair-housing complaints are handled by the Mississippi eviction laws Attorney General, Consumer Protection division.

With a poverty rate of 30% and a renter share of 35.8% across the county, the risk profile varies sharply by city; use the city grid above to compare scores for Laurel, Ellisville, and the smaller communities before committing capital to any specific submarket.