Eviction Risk Score
Elevated
#41
of 115 MO counties
3.8 / 10
#41 of 115 counties in Missouri for landlord eviction risk.
County brief·Updated October 22, 2026
Ozark County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Low
6 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Gainesville (4) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
In 2026
Risk score
3.7
LOW
Ranked #41 of 115 MO counties
2k residents · 6 cities · 3 tracts
1976–2026 · pop-weighted from cities
Ozark County eviction risk score history
Min2.6
Average3.5
Now3.7
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord18.2%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Ozark County, MO, tenants prevail in roughly 18.2% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline41dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Ozark County, MO until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 41 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$1.3–3.6klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Ozark County, MO costs landlords $1,290 to $3,555 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$52725% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Ozark County, MO is $527 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 25% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters41.3%of households41.3% of occupied housing units in Ozark County, MO are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty26.8%9.7% unemp.26.8% of Ozark County, MO residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 9.7%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
Ozark County averages 3.7/10 across 6 tracked communities, with Bakersfield at the high end (3.7/10) and Pontiac at the low end (3.7/10). Ranked 11th out of 115 Missouri counties by eviction risk - in the higher-risk third of the state.
How Ozark County ranks in Missouri
Cost of living
Low
#39
of 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
#42
of 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
Very Low
#94
of 115 MO counties
23.0% of income
#94 of 115 counties in Missouri on % of income spent on rent.
Landlord guides for Missouri
Missouri Eviction Costs →
Filing fees, attorney fees, lost rent, sheriff lockout
Missouri Eviction Process →
Step-by-step timeline, notices, statute cites
Missouri Rent Control →
Statewide caps, local ordinances, just-cause
Missouri Tenant Screening →
Five-point protocol, legal rules, protected classes
Missouri Tenant Protections →
Just cause, retaliation, habitability, entry
Cities in Ozark County
Sorted by Eviction Risk Score · highest first
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Gainesville | 1,010 | 4.0 | 27.8% | $457 | Rep |
| 002 | Bakersfield | 188 | 4.0 | 13.7% | $950 | Rep |
| 003 | Theodosia | 178 | 3.1 | 12.9% | $592 | Rep |
| 004 | Sundown | 178 | 3.1 | 27.8% | $457 | Rep |
| 005 | Pontiac | 88 | 3.1 | 27.8% | $457 | Rep |
| 006 | Wasola | 34 | 3.4 | 27.8% | $457 | Rep |
County heatmap
Local landlord context
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Ozark County sits deep in the Missouri Ozarks with a total tracked population of 1,676 and an eviction risk score of 3.7/10 - rated Low. That score places it 11th out of 115 Missouri counties, meaning 10 counties in the state carry higher risk than Ozark, while 104 are less risky. The county falls in the higher-risk third of the state, a position driven not by tenant-protection ordinances but by a combination of concentrated poverty and a high renter share in a very rural, low-income market.
Average rent across Ozark County's six tracked communities is $527 per month - among the lowest in Missouri - yet average rent burden sits at 24.6% of income, reflecting how deeply poverty presses on even modest rents. The average poverty rate is 26.8%, and renters make up 41.3% of the housing market, an unusually high share for a rural county its size. Gainesville, the county seat and largest community at a population of 1,010, carries a score of 4/10. Bakersfield is the riskiest community in the county at 4/10, while Theodosia (3.1/10), Sundown (3.1/10), and Wasola (3.4/10) cluster in the lower range. Pontiac holds the lowest score at 3.1/10.
Missouri's landlord-tenant framework under RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant) governs all of Ozark County. There is no just-cause requirement for eviction and no rent control - and state law under RSMo § 441 preempts any local jurisdiction from enacting rent control. Nonpayment evictions can be filed immediately with no mandatory notice period under RSMo § 535.010. Lease-violation evictions require a 10-day notice under RSMo § 441.060, and month-to-month tenancies require 30 days. Court filing fees run $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and contested evictions can run 45 to 120 days from filing to resolution. Attorney costs typically range from $500 to $3,000 depending on complexity. The habitability obligation falls under RSMo § 441.500, and landlord retaliation protections are codified at RSMo § 441.020. Source of income is not a protected class under Missouri fair housing law, which is administered by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.
All risk scores, rent figures, and burden percentages for Ozark County are sourced from the Eviction Risk Map composite model, which draws on Census Bureau, HUD, and court-record data; the county's statutory data was last reviewed 2026-05-29.
Eviction filings in Missouri
The Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System covers Missouri statewide (no county-level tracker available for Ozark 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 months
2023-05-01 – 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.
1 Historical eviction filings in Ozark County
From 2003 to 2017, eviction filings in Ozark County increased 800%. The peak was 10 filings in 2007.2
- 12003
- 10Peak (2007)
- 92017
Annual filings 2003–2017
No filing data published after 2018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Ozark County compares
Ozark County's average score of 3.7/10 is comparable to nearby rural Missouri eviction laws peers - Reynolds County (2.57), Hickory County (2.56), Bollinger County (2.51), and Carter County (2.5) - all of which share similar low-rent, high-poverty profiles with no local tenant protections; Missouri eviction laws's statewide average puts Ozark eviction risk in the higher-risk third of the state despite its Low absolute rating.
Peer counties in Missouri
Peer county
Hickory County eviction risk
3.8
/ 10 · Low
Pop. 2.2K
Peer county
Bollinger County eviction risk
3.9
/ 10 · Low
Pop. 2.1K
Peer county
Maries County eviction risk
3.6
/ 10 · Low
Pop. 2.0K
Peer county
Douglas County eviction risk
3.8
/ 10 · Low
Pop. 3.0K
Where eviction risk concentrates in Ozark County
Top cities by population
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions about Ozark County
Q1
Is Ozark County landlord-friendly?
Yes, Ozark County is in the lower-risk tier at 3.7/10.
Q2
What is the average rent in Ozark County?
Average gross rent in Ozark County runs $526/month across 6 cities, per ACS 2023 5-year estimates.
Q3
Which city in Ozark County has the highest eviction risk?
The highest score in Ozark County is 4/10. Use the city grid above to identify the specific municipality.