Montgomery County, Mississippi Eviction Risk: Low

Montgomery County, Mississippi eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 3.7/10 (Low), placing it in the middle third of the state's 82 counties. Specifically, 45 Mississippi counties score higher (riskier), while 36 score lower, giving landlords a baseline picture of a county that is neither a standout safe haven nor a high-friction market. Across the county's 4 incorporated cities, scores range from 2.5 to 3.9, a spread that matters considerably on the ground: where you place a rental within Montgomery County can shift your risk profile by more than a full point on a 10-point scale. Average rents sit at $746 per month, and the rent-burden rate of 43.4% signals that a meaningful share of tenants are stretching to cover housing costs, which can translate into higher default sensitivity during income disruptions.

The county's total population of 5,651 and renter-share of 36% make this a small, tight-knit market. Investor volume is modest, which limits comparable-sale data but also means less competition for well-priced acquisitions. Operating conditions for landlords are generally workable, provided realistic due diligence is applied at the city level rather than relying on the county average alone.

The cities inside Montgomery County

Winona is the county seat and by far the largest city, with a population of 4,183 and the highest risk score at 3.9/10. As the economic hub of the county, Winona concentrates the bulk of the rental stock and accounts for most eviction activity. Investors weighing larger portfolios here should expect that the county average is being pulled toward its ceiling by Winona's numbers. Duck Hill, with 733 residents, comes in at 3.8/10, only a fraction behind Winona, and warrants similar caution despite its smaller footprint.

Risk drops noticeably moving to the smaller towns. Kilmichael scores 3/10 with a population of 467, and Stewart, the smallest city at 268 residents, returns the lowest score in the county at 2.5/10. That gap between Winona's 3.9 and Stewart's 2.5 reinforces a point that applies in virtually every rural Mississippi county: risk is genuinely hyper-local, and a county average can obscure meaningful differences across a short drive. Landlords should pull city-level scores before committing capital to any specific sub-market within Montgomery County.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Montgomery County operate under Mississippi state law, specifically Miss. Code § 89-8 (Landlord and Tenant). The Mississippi eviction process begins with statutory notice: 3 days for non-payment of rent, 14 days for a lease violation subject to cure, and 30 days for an end-of-term or no-cause termination. Once filed, an uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested case can run 60 to 120 days. Court filing fees range from $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees run $30 to $120, and attorney fees typically fall between $500 and $2,500, so a contested removal can cost a landlord well over two thousand dollars in direct fees before factoring in lost rent. For a detailed breakdown of what to budget, see Mississippi eviction costs.

Mississippi does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, meaning no city inside Montgomery County can impose rent caps independently. Source-of-income is not a protected class under state fair housing law. Landlords who want to understand the full sequence of required steps and paperwork should review the Mississippi eviction process guide before serving any notice. These statewide rules apply uniformly across all four cities in the county.

With a poverty rate of 34.4% and a renter share of 36%, Montgomery County's rental pool carries meaningful economic stress; the city-level scores in the grid above help pinpoint where that stress is most concentrated before you commit to a specific address.