Lewis County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Very Low

Lewis County sits in Missouri's northeastern corner with a population of 5,701 and an eviction risk score of 2.3/10 - placing it in the Low tier and at rank 69 of 115 Missouri counties. That ranking means 68 counties carry higher risk than Lewis County, while 46 are calmer. It puts Lewis County squarely in the middle third of the state, neither among the most landlord-friendly rural counties nor among the stressed urban and suburban markets further south and west.

The county's rental market is tight and affordable by Missouri standards. Average rent lands at $615 per month, and renters here spend an average of 22.4% of income on housing - a figure that sits comfortably below the standard 30% stress threshold. Even so, the county's 18.6% poverty rate means a meaningful share of renters have little cushion against a sudden job loss or rent increase. Roughly 31.8% of households rent rather than own, reflecting a rural community where homeownership remains the dominant tenure but a substantial renter population still depends on the local landlord-tenant system. Across the county's 7 tracked communities, individual scores range from 1.8/10 in Ewing to 2.6/10 in Canton, Missouri's largest city in Lewis County at a population of 2,752.

Missouri's landlord-tenant framework under RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant) applies uniformly across Lewis County. There is no local rent control and state law explicitly preempts any municipality from enacting it. Landlords face no just-cause requirement before ending a tenancy. For nonpayment of rent, Missouri allows an immediate rent-and-possession action under RSMo § 535.010 - no written notice period is mandated before filing. A material lease violation triggers a 10-day notice under RSMo § 441.060, and ending a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days' notice under the same section. Court filing fees run $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and contested cases can draw attorney fees of $500 to $3,000. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters stretch to 45 to 120 days. Tenant habitability protections exist under RSMo § 441.500, and retaliation against tenants who exercise legal rights is prohibited by RSMo § 441.020 - two provisions landlords should keep firmly in mind. The Missouri Commission on Human Rights handles fair housing complaints, though source-of-income discrimination is not a protected class under state law.

Lewis County's Low risk score reflects a combination of affordable rents, a below-average rent burden, and a landlord-friendly state statute with no rent cap and no just-cause eviction requirement - factors that together keep structural eviction pressure modest across this small northeastern Missouri eviction laws county.