Ozark County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Low

Ozark County sits deep in the Missouri Ozarks with a total tracked population of 1,676 and an eviction risk score of 2.6/10 - 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 2.7/10. Bakersfield is the riskiest community in the county at 2.9/10, while Theodosia (2.4/10), Sundown (2.1/10), and Wasola (2.1/10) cluster in the lower range. Pontiac holds the lowest score at 1.7/10.

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.