St. Louis, Missouri Eviction Risk: Moderate

St. Louis city County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.2/10 (Moderate) across its 23 cities, placing it at rank 1 of 115 counties in Missouri, which means no other county in the state scores higher. That top-of-the-state position reflects a combination of factors that make this market meaningfully more demanding for landlords than the vast majority of Missouri. The county's average rent of $1,006 per month and a rent-burden rate of 28.4% indicate that a sizable share of the renter population is financially stretched, a condition that tends to elevate payment-default risk over time.

Within the county, conditions are far from uniform. Individual city scores range from 3.1 to 6.6 out of 10, a spread that matters considerably when selecting a submarket. With 53.6% of households being renters and an average poverty rate of 19.7%, the operating environment rewards landlords who understand the local dynamics of each municipality rather than treating the county as a single unit.

The cities inside St. Louis city County

The highest-risk municipalities cluster at 4.2/10, a tier that includes Marlborough (population 2,157), Lakeshire, Hillsdale, Norwood Court, and Kinloch. Flordell Hills and Beverly Hills score 5.6, while Hanley Hills (population 2,178) comes in at 5.5. These smaller municipalities share characteristics, such as elevated poverty concentrations and thin rental margins, that push their individual risk profiles to the top of the county range.

On the lower end of the intra-county spectrum, Green Park scores 3.2/10 and St. George scores 3.1/10, offering noticeably better operating conditions. St. Louis itself, by far the largest city in the county with a population of 288,512, anchors the county average at 5.4. The practical lesson here is that risk is hyper-local: two municipalities separated by a few blocks can differ by more than a full point on the scoring scale.

State-level laws that apply here

Missouri law governs all landlord-tenant relationships in the county under RSMo § 441 (Landlord and Tenant). For nonpayment of rent, Missouri requires no advance notice before filing a rent-and-possession action under RSMo § 535.010, which is one of the more landlord-accessible starting points in the region. A material lease violation (unlawful detainer) requires a 10-day notice under RSMo § 441.060, and terminating a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days notice under the same section. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested cases can run 45 to 120 days. Court filing fees range from $70 to $180, sheriff lockout fees from $40 to $150, and attorney fees from $500 to $3,000, meaning total out-of-pocket costs on a contested eviction can reach the high end of those combined ranges. A full breakdown of the Missouri eviction process and Missouri eviction costs is available in the statewide guides.

Missouri does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so rent caps are not a concern anywhere in the county. The Missouri Commission on Human Rights enforces fair-housing rules, and source-of-income is not a protected class under state statute, though landlords should verify any city-level ordinances independently.

With a poverty rate of 19.7% and more than half of all households renting, St. Louis city County's risk profile is driven by deep structural factors, and the city-level grid above is the most reliable way to identify which of the 23 municipalities fit your specific risk tolerance.