Mineral County, Montana Eviction Risk: Very Low

Mineral County, Montana scores 2.4/10 (Low) on average eviction risk across its 7 cities, yet that county-wide figure masks a meaningful spread: individual city scores run from 1.9 to 2.7. With a total population of roughly 2,144 and an average rent of $803, this is a thin, rural rental market where tenant demand is limited but so is the investor competition that drives prices up. Despite the Low label, Mineral County sits at rank 13 of 56 Montana eviction laws counties, meaning 12 counties carry higher risk and 43 are actually more landlord-friendly, placing Mineral County in the higher-risk third of the state. Landlords should treat it as Low risk in absolute terms, but not as the easiest corner of Montana to operate in.

An average rent burden of 29% of income and a renter share of 28.7% of households describe a modest rental base where most tenants are financially stretched but not overwhelmed. That combination tends to produce infrequent evictions rather than chronic ones, which aligns with the low aggregate score. Still, the county's 14.2% poverty rate signals that when economic stress hits, it can arrive fast and without a financial cushion for either side of the lease.

The cities inside Mineral County

The highest-risk address in the county is Riverbend, scoring 2.7/10 with a population of 592. It is followed by Superior, the county seat and largest community at 896 residents, which scores 2.5/10. Both sit above the county average and represent the bulk of the county's rental inventory. Investors concentrating holdings in either of these towns are taking on relatively more exposure than the county headline suggests.

At the other end of the spectrum, Paradise scores 1.9/10, the lowest in the county, while St. Regis and De Borgia each score 2.0/10. These smaller communities, with populations of 406, 76, and 40 respectively, represent genuinely low-risk operating environments, though the thin tenant pools mean vacancy is the bigger operational challenge. Haugan (score 2.3, population 26) and Cyr (score 2.4, population 108) fall near the county average. The key takeaway is that risk is hyper-local here: a difference of 0.8 points separates the riskiest and safest cities, and that gap has real operational implications for a small-county portfolio.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Mineral County operates under Montana state law, specifically MCA § 70-24 (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). For non-payment of rent or a lease violation, Montana requires only a 3-day notice before filing; a no-cause termination requires 30 days. Montana does not require just cause for most evictions and the state preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so there are no city-level caps to navigate anywhere in the county. Understanding the full Montana eviction process is worthwhile before acquiring your first unit here, because while notices are short, uncontested cases typically take 21 to 45 days and contested cases can stretch to 45 to 120 days.

Montana eviction costs run from a court filing fee of $90 to $170, a sheriff lockout fee of $40 to $125, and attorney fees of $500 to $2,500 if legal representation is needed. Those ranges add up quickly on a contested case, which is the core reason diligent tenant screening matters more in thin rural markets where recovering carrying costs during a long vacancy is difficult. Montana security deposit limits and Montana tenant protections are worth reviewing before drafting your lease, particularly the 24-hour landlord entry-notice requirement under MCA § 70-24-303 and the anti-retaliation provision at MCA § 70-24-431.

With a poverty rate of 14.2% and renters making up 28.7% of households, Mineral County's rental market is small but not without risk concentration; the city-level scores in the grid above show exactly where that risk is highest.