McDonald County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Low

McDonald County sits in Missouri's far southwest corner, bordering Arkansas and Oklahoma, and carries a Low eviction risk score of 3.8/10 - placing it 45th out of 115 Missouri counties. That ranking puts 44 counties above it in risk and 70 below it, squarely in the state's middle third. With a total tracked population of 8,838 across 10 cities, the county is rural and small, but its rental market carries some characteristics that landlords and tenants alike should understand before signing a lease.

Average rent across McDonald County runs $702 per month, which is well below Missouri's urban markets. Even so, a 24.9% average rent burden - the share of income going to rent - and a 23.6% poverty rate signal that many renters are financially stretched. About 48.6% of households rent, a higher renter share than many rural Missouri counties, which concentrates eviction risk in a population that has limited cushion for income disruptions. The combination of low rents and high poverty is a pattern the Eviction Risk Map research team sees repeatedly in the Ozarks region: rents look affordable in dollar terms, but incomes are thin enough that the rent burden stays elevated.

Within the county, risk is not evenly distributed. Pineville (population 736) carries the highest local score at 4.3/10, followed by Jane at 3.4/10 and Noel - the county's second-largest city at 1,913 residents - at 4.1/10. Anderson, the largest city with 2,685 residents, sits at 3.9/10, in line with the county average. At the low end, Southwest City scores 3.2/10 and Lanagan 4/10. Even the county's riskiest city, Pineville, falls well within the low tier statewide - this is not a county where eviction filings are a dominant feature of the rental market. Missouri's eviction framework under RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant) governs the whole county. For nonpayment, landlords may file a rent-and-possession action under RSMo § 535.010 with no prior written notice required - one of the more landlord-accessible timelines in the region. Court filing fees run $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees range from $40 to $150, and attorney costs vary from $500 to $3,000 depending on complexity. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; contested matters can run 45 to 120 days. Missouri does not require just cause for eviction and state law preempts any local rent control ordinance, so no city within McDonald County can impose rent caps independently.

McDonald County's rental market is shaped by its rural economy and border-region demographics - average rent of $702/month looks accessible, but a 23.6% poverty rate and 24.9% rent burden mean renters here have less margin than the dollar figures suggest.