9 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Mound City (2.7) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
In 2026
Risk score
2.1
VERY LOW
Ranked #112 of 115 MO counties
3k residents · 9 cities · 3 tracts
1976–2026 · pop-weighted from cities
Holt County eviction risk score history
Min1.9Average2.3Now2.1
197619861996200620162026
Key metrics
Tenant beats landlord
15.9%
/ 100 outcomes
In court-decided eviction outcomes for Holt County, MO, tenants prevail in roughly 15.9% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
Timeline
38d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Holt County, MO until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 38 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
Cost range
$1.2–3.5k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Holt County, MO costs landlords $1,228 to $3,518 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
Average rent
$576
21% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Holt County, MO is $576 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 21% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
Renters
23.9%
of households
23.9% of occupied housing units in Holt County, MO are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
Poverty
10.6%
3.0% unemp.
10.6% of Holt County, MO residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 3.0%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Holt County's average eviction risk score of 2.1/10 reflects affordable rents ($576/mo), a 21.5% rent burden, and a low renter share of 23.9% across its 9 cities. Ranked 112 of 115 Missouri counties - only 3 counties score lower.
How Holt County ranks in Missouri
Lower number means more extreme, where #1 is the most
Eviction Risk Score
Very Low
#112of 115 MO counties2.1 / 10
#112 of 115 counties in Missouri for landlord eviction risk.
Cost of living
Low
#39of 51 states (statewide)90.8 index
Missouri ranks #39 of 51 states on overall cost of living (9.2% cheaper than the U.S. avg).
Housing services cost
Very Low
#42of 51 states (statewide)69.9 index
Missouri ranks #42 of 51 states on housing services (30.1% cheaper than the U.S. avg).
Income spent on rent
Low
#81of 115 MO counties24.6% of income
#81 of 115 counties in Missouri on % of income spent on rent.
Holt County sits in the far northwest corner of Missouri eviction laws along the Missouri eviction laws River, and its eviction risk profile reflects a rural, low-density housing market where tenant-landlord conflicts are relatively rare. The county scores 2.1/10 on the Eviction Risk Map index - a Low rating - and ranks 112th out of 115 Missouri counties, meaning only 3 counties in the state show a lower-risk profile. With a total population of 2,863 spread across 9 incorporated places, Holt County operates in a fundamentally different housing environment than the denser urban and suburban counties that dominate the higher end of Missouri eviction laws's risk rankings.
The county seat, Mound City (population 1,066), scores 2.1/10 and anchors the local rental market alongside Oregon eviction laws (population 882, score 1.8/10) as the two most populous communities. The highest eviction risk in the county belongs to Maitland (score 2.7/10), a small community of 385 residents where a tighter rental supply relative to local demand pushes conditions slightly above the county average. At the other end of the range, Oregon, Big Lake, and Fortescue all score 1.8/10 - the floor for the county - reflecting extremely low renter-versus-owner tension. The spread from 1.8 to 2.7 across Holt County's cities is narrow by Missouri eviction laws standards, which speaks to the overall consistency of housing conditions here.
Average rent in Holt County is $576 per month, far below Missouri eviction laws's urban centers, and the average rent burden - the share of renter household income consumed by rent - is 21.5%. That figure sits well under the 30% threshold that housing economists generally use to define cost stress, suggesting most renters here retain meaningful financial cushion. Approximately 23.9% of households rent rather than own, and the average poverty rate across the county stands at 10.6%. Landlords operating in Holt County benefit from Missouri eviction laws's landlord-friendly statutory framework under RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant): there is no just-cause eviction requirement, no rent control (and the state preempts any local ordinance that might impose it), and nonpayment-of-rent cases can move forward without a formal notice period under RSMo § 535.010. Court filing fees run $70 to $180, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days.
Holt County's Low eviction risk score is driven by affordable rents, a modest renter share, and a state legal framework that keeps court timelines short and landlord costs predictable - factors that have remained stable across the county's small, slow-growth housing stock.
This page was researched and written by the Eviction Risk Map research team using county-level housing, income, and court data aggregated from Census, HUD, and Missouri eviction laws court records. Scores and statutory details are reviewed against current statutes - this page was last reviewed against Missouri law as of 2026-05-29. For the full methodology, see our scoring methodology.
Eviction filings in Missouri
Eviction Lab Tracking System · statewide · live through 2026-05-01
The Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System covers Missouri statewide (no county-level tracker available for Holt County). In the past month, 3,285 statewide filings were recorded, 0.88× the historical baseline (below baseline).
3,285Past month (state)
44,239Past 12 months
0.93×vs baseline (12 mo)
Missouri statewide, last 36 months2023-05-01 – 2026-04-01
Notice requirement: at least ten days notice (for nonpayment of rent cases, though in other cases more). Filing fee: minimum filing fee of $33.
From 2003 to 2017, eviction filings in Holt County increased 200%.
The peak was 12 filings in 2012.2
42003
12Peak (2012)
122017
Annual filings 2003–2017No filing data published after 2018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Holt County compares
Holt County's 2.1/10 score places it at the low-risk end of Missouri's spectrum alongside close peers such as Atchison County (2.11/10), Schuyler County (2.11/10), and Osage County (2.12/10) - all within a narrow band reflecting similarly rural, low-renter-density conditions across the state.
Peer counties in Missouri
Same state, closest by population and Eviction Risk Score
Rent-to-income ratio of 21.5% reflects the ratio of average gross rent to average household income across 9 cities in Holt County.
Q2
What court hears evictions in Holt County?
Missouri state court hears unlawful detainer or summary process actions in Holt County. See the Missouri eviction laws eviction-process guide for court name and procedure.