Pemiscot County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Moderate

Pemiscot County sits at the southern tip of Missouri's Bootheel, a narrow peninsula of land bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and Arkansas to the south. With a total population of 10,624 and a renter share of 50.3% - one of the highest homeowner-renter splits in the state - the housing market here is predominantly tenant-occupied. Average rent across the county runs $734 per month, but that figure lands hard on local budgets: the average rent burden reaches 32.6% of household income, and the county's poverty rate stands at 30%. These pressures put Pemiscot in the higher-risk third of Missouri despite its Low aggregate score.

The county's eviction risk score of 4.1/10 places it 5th of 115 Missouri counties, meaning only 4 counties in the state carry more eviction risk. The score reflects a housing market where tenant turnover is structurally elevated by low incomes and high rent burden, not by aggressive landlord-side law. Missouri's governing statute, RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant), is landlord-friendly statewide: there is no rent cap, no just-cause-for-eviction requirement, and the state preempts any local municipality from enacting rent control. A nonpayment-of-rent action under RSMo § 535.010 requires zero days of advance notice before filing, so a landlord can move to court the day rent goes unpaid. Court filing fees run $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days - a fast timeline by most states' standards.

Within the county, Hayti (population 2,090) and Steele (population 1,493) carry the highest city-level scores at 4.6/10, followed by the county seat Caruthersville (population 5,326) at 4.2/10. Smaller communities like Hayti Heights and Wardell score 3.2/10, while Cooter comes in at 3.4/10 and Pascola at the county's floor of 3.2/10. Landlords operating across multiple Pemiscot municipalities will find that the legal framework is uniform statewide, but local economic conditions - poverty, vacancy, and rent-to-income ratios - vary enough from Caruthersville to Pascola to warrant city-level research before acquiring or managing property.

Pemiscot County's eviction risk profile is shaped primarily by economic vulnerability rather than tenant-protective law: a 30% poverty rate and 32.6% average rent burden create persistent payment stress that standard Missouri eviction laws landlord-tenant law - with no just-cause requirement and immediate-filing nonpayment actions - does little to absorb.