St. Francois County, Missouri Eviction Risk: Very Low

St. Francois County carries a county-wide eviction-risk score of 2.4/10, placing it in the Low risk tier, but that figure deserves context for landlords sizing up this market. With 13 cities tracked across the county and scores running from 1.8 to 2.9, conditions are meaningfully uneven depending on where exactly a rental property sits. The county ranks 12th of 115 counties in Missouri eviction laws, meaning only 11 counties statewide carry higher risk and 103 are more landlord-friendly. Investors accustomed to truly low-risk rural markets should note that this places St. Francois County in the higher-risk third of the state, even though the absolute score reads modest.

Average rent in the county is $783 per month, with an average rent burden of 27.9% of renter income. A 38.7% renter share and a 19.5% poverty rate indicate that a meaningful portion of renters are financially stretched, which in practice translates to elevated nonpayment risk relative to wealthier suburban markets. Landlords operating here should build underwriting assumptions around that economic reality rather than relying on the aggregate score alone.

The cities inside St. Francois County

The highest-risk locations in the county are Farmington (score 2.4/10, population 18,282) and Leadington (score 2.8/10, population 901), followed closely by Park Hills at 2.5/10 (population 8,678). Farmington eviction risk is by far the county seat and its largest rental market; investors concentrating units there face the highest localized risk of the cities measured. Bonne Terre, Bismarck, and Leadwood each score 2.4/10, essentially matching the county average, while Desloge comes in a bit lower at 2.4/10.

The clearest contrast is Terre du Lac, which scores 2.4/10, making it the most landlord-favorable location in the county by a notable margin. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: a landlord with units in Terre du Lac and Farmington at the same time is operating in environments that differ by a full point on the risk scale, driven by different tenant demographics, income levels, and eviction filing patterns. City-level scores are the more actionable number for any investor underwriting a specific address.

State-level laws that apply here

Every rental in St. Francois County operates under Missouri state law, specifically RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant). For nonpayment of rent, Missouri eviction laws imposes no mandatory pre-filing notice period under RSMo § 535.010 -- a landlord may file a rent-and-possession action immediately once rent is past due, which is one of the most creditor-friendly notice rules in the region. A material lease violation triggers a 10-day notice under RSMo § 441.060, and terminating a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days notice. Missouri eviction laws does not require just cause for nonrenewal, and state law preempts any local rent control, so no municipality within St. Francois County can impose a rent cap. Reviewing the full Missouri eviction laws eviction process is worthwhile before filing, since uncontested cases can resolve in as few as 21 days but contested ones extend to 45 to 120 days.

On the cost side, court filing fees run $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney fees for a litigated case typically fall in the $500 to $3,000 range, making Missouri eviction costs among the more predictable in the Midwest. Missouri security deposit limits and Missouri tenant protections are both worth reviewing before finalizing a lease, since retaliation protections under RSMo § 441.020 and habitability standards under RSMo § 441.500 create landlord obligations that run parallel to the eviction framework.

With a poverty rate of 19.5% and 38.7% of residents renting, the economic floor matters when assessing default exposure in this county; the city-level grid above breaks down exactly where that risk concentrates and where it stays contained.