Marion County, Mississippi Eviction Risk: Low

Marion County, Mississippi eviction laws carries a county-wide average eviction-risk score of 4.1/10, placing it in the Moderate tier across its 2 incorporated cities. With 29 Mississippi eviction laws counties rated riskier and 52 rated more landlord-friendly, Marion County sits squarely in the middle third of the state, meaning operators here face a balanced but real set of challenges rather than either an easy or a difficult environment by state standards.

The intra-county range runs from 3.7 to 4.1, a spread narrow enough that conditions are broadly consistent across the county. Roughly 36.9% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied, and the average rent runs $811 per month, with renters spending an average of 29.8% of income on housing. A poverty rate of 24.4% is worth factoring into tenant-screening assumptions, since it can correlate with elevated collection risk even when the eviction process itself moves efficiently.

The cities inside Marion County

Columbia is by far the dominant market in the county, accounting for 6,632 of the county's roughly 6,958 tracked residents and scoring 4.1/10, in line with the county average. Its size means most lease activity, collection issues, and court filings in Marion County are concentrated here, so investors underwriting county-level returns should treat Columbia eviction risk's numbers as the practical baseline.

Foxworth, the county's only other tracked city, scores a notably lower 3.7/10 with a population of just 326, suggesting a modestly more landlord-friendly operating environment, though the thin market limits the relevance of that advantage in practice. The gap between Columbia's 4.1 and Foxworth's 3.7 underscores why risk assessments should never stop at the county level; city-level scores can differ meaningfully even within a compact, low-population county like this one.

State-level laws that apply here

Landlords in Marion County operate under Mississippi state law, specifically Miss. Code § 89-8 (Landlord and Tenant). Notice requirements are straightforward: non-payment of rent triggers a 3-day notice, a lease violation requiring cure carries a 14-day notice, and a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. Once a case is filed, uncontested matters typically resolve in 30 to 60 days; a contested eviction can run 60 to 120 days. Court filing fees range from $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees from $30 to $120, and attorney fees from $500 to $2,500 if counsel is retained, so total out-of-pocket costs can vary substantially depending on whether the tenant contests. For a full breakdown of what to budget, the Mississippi eviction costs guide covers each component in detail.

Mississippi eviction laws imposes no rent control and does not require just cause for non-renewal; state law actively preempts any local jurisdiction from enacting rent caps. Source of income is not a protected class under state fair housing rules. Landlords who want a deeper look at tenant rights and notice requirements should review the Mississippi eviction laws eviction process guide, which also covers the habitability obligations codified at Miss. Code § 89-8-23. These structural advantages make the legal framework comparatively predictable, which partially explains why the county's moderate score is driven more by socioeconomic indicators than by procedural complexity.

With a 24.4% poverty rate, tenant financial fragility is the primary driver of collection risk in Marion County; the city grid above breaks down how that pressure plays out differently in Columbia eviction risk versus Foxworth, and is the right starting point for any site-level underwriting.