Iron County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Low

Iron County, Missouri earns a Low eviction risk score of 3.5/10, placing it 75th out of 115 Missouri eviction laws counties - meaning 74 counties carry higher eviction pressure than Iron County does. The county sits in the middle third of the state by risk, a position that reflects its thin rental market, depressed rents, and limited tenant-protection infrastructure under RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant). For landlords operating small portfolios in rural Ozark terrain, the data points toward manageable exposure - but the county's poverty rate warrants attention before underwriting new units.

The six incorporated places in Iron County span a wide range even within this low-risk band. Annapolis tops the county at 4.5/10, followed by Ironton and Pilot Knob both at 3.8/10. Ironton is the county seat and largest community at 1,692 residents, making it the dominant rental market in the county. At the other end, Viburnum scores 3.2/10 - the lowest reading in the county - consistent with its smaller renter population and limited eviction filings. Iron Mountain Lake (3.2/10) and Arcadia (3.2/10) fall in between. The spread from 3.2 to 4.5 across all six cities is narrow, confirming that Iron County is consistently low-pressure from one end to the other rather than being pulled down by a single outlier community.

The broader economic profile adds important context. Iron County's average rent of $627/month is well below Missouri's urban benchmarks, yet renters here still carry a 27.5% rent burden - a figure that reflects how low household incomes are in this part of the state, not just how low rents are. The county's 23.2% poverty rate is a meaningful signal: it tells landlords that a non-trivial share of tenants is operating with very little margin, raising the probability of late payments even when rents are modest. The 28.2% renter share indicates that most Iron County households own their homes, leaving a relatively small pool of rental units - which historically keeps court dockets lighter in rural counties like this one. On the statutory side, Missouri's RSMo § 535.010 permits a landlord to file rent-and-possession the day after rent is due with no mandatory cure period, and RSMo § 441.060 requires only a 10-day notice for material lease violations. Court filing fees range from $70 to $180, and an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days. Those timelines and costs are among the more favorable in the region for landlords who need to move quickly on a nonpaying tenant.

Iron County's rental market is small - 4,942 total residents across 6 cities - and the county's low eviction pressure reflects both limited renter density and a rural economy where informal resolution often precedes formal court filings.