Scott County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Very Low

Scott County, Missouri eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.3/10 (Very Low), but that headline figure requires some unpacking for landlords and investors. Spread across 17 cities and a total population of 29,497, the county lands at rank 31 of 115 Missouri eviction laws counties, meaning 30 counties in the state are riskier and 84 are more landlord-friendly. That places Scott County in the higher-risk third of Missouri, a meaningful distinction for anyone evaluating an income-property purchase here.

The intra-county spread runs from 1.9 to 2.7, which is a full 1.2-point swing across a relatively compact geography. Average rent sits at $839 per month, and the average rent-burden rate is 28.2%, both factors that inform how financially stretched the local renter pool is. Operating conditions are workable, but the county is not a uniform low-risk environment, and city selection matters considerably.

The cities inside Scott County

The highest-risk location in the county is Diehlstadt, scoring 2.7/10. Sikeston is a close second at 2.3/10 and, critically, is home to 16,320 residents, making it by far the county's largest city and the market most landlords will encounter first. Blodgett also scores 2.5/10, and Perkins comes in at 2.5/10. For investors underwriting deals in any of these four cities, modeling a contested eviction timeline rather than a best-case scenario is the more prudent approach.

At the other end of the range, Oran scores 2.4/10 and Scott City scores 2.2/10 (population 4,371), while Benton comes in at 2.2/10. These smaller markets represent materially lower operating risk on this dimension. The 1.2-point gap between the county floor and ceiling underscores that risk in Scott County is hyper-local, and an investor should score each city individually rather than relying on the county average alone.

State-level laws that apply here

Missouri eviction laws state law governs every lease in Scott County, and the framework is broadly landlord-accessible. For nonpayment of rent, Missouri eviction laws requires no advance notice before filing a rent-and-possession action under RSMo § 535.010. A material lease violation triggers a 10-day notice requirement under RSMo § 441.060, while terminating a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days notice under the same statute. Missouri eviction laws imposes no just-cause requirement for evictions and preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so Scott County landlords face no rent-cap restrictions. For a full walkthrough of what happens after the notice period ends, see the Missouri eviction laws eviction process guide. When budgeting for a potential action, the Missouri eviction costs guide is essential reading: court filing fees run $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees run $40 to $150, and attorney fees typically range from $500 to $3,000, with an uncontested case resolving in roughly 21 to 45 days and a contested one stretching to 45 to 120 days.

With a poverty rate of 15.1% and 35% of households renting, Scott County's renter base carries real financial fragility in several of its cities; the city-by-city grid above is the most reliable tool for identifying where that risk is concentrated before committing capital.