Valley County, Montana Eviction Risk: Very Low

Valley County, Montana scores 1.8/10 on the eviction-risk index, placing it in the Low risk tier and ranking it 40th out of 56 Montana eviction laws counties, meaning 39 counties in the state carry higher risk and only 16 are considered more landlord-friendly. For landlords and investors operating across the county's 6 incorporated places, that overall figure reflects genuinely stable market conditions: an average rent of $788, a rent-burden rate of 26.9%, and a renter share of just 23.4% of households, all pointing toward a tenant pool that is mostly owner-occupying and not under acute financial pressure. The county falls in the lower-risk third of Montana, a meaningful distinction when comparing with peers like Beaverhead County (1.86) and Sanders County (1.88).

That said, the intra-county range from 1.3 to 2.3 across six communities is wide enough to matter when selecting specific assets. A score spread of a full point within a single county averages landlord exposure varies meaningfully depending on which town a rental property sits in, and investors should evaluate individual city-level data rather than rely solely on the county average.

The cities inside Valley County

At the top of the risk range, Hinsdale scores 2.3/10, the highest in the county, followed by Nashua at 2.0/10. Both are small communities, with Hinsdale home to 233 residents and Nashua at 279, so even modest changes in the local tenant mix or economic conditions can shift those scores noticeably. Landlords drawn to these towns for lower purchase prices should factor in that elevated relative risk when underwriting.

The county seat, Glasgow, is by far the largest community with a population of 3,190 and scores 1.8/10, exactly at the county average, making it the most liquid and predictable market for buy-and-hold investors. At the lower-risk end, St. Marie scores 1.3/10 and Fort Peck scores 1.4/10, both reflecting the kind of small, stable renter pools that rarely generate contested eviction proceedings. Opheim comes in at 1.6/10. The takeaway is that risk is genuinely hyper-local here: a landlord with units in Hinsdale and Glasgow eviction risk is effectively operating in two different risk environments.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Valley County operate under Montana's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, codified at MCA § 70-24. Montana state law does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and the state preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so there is no rent cap in force anywhere in the county. For non-payment of rent or a lease violation, the required notice period is 3 days. A no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days notice. Landlords are required to give tenants at least 24 hours notice before entry. Understanding the full Montana eviction process from notice through lockout is essential before the first filing, because timelines for uncontested cases run from 21 to 45 days and contested cases can stretch from 45 to 120 days.

On the cost side, Montana eviction costs include a court filing fee of $90 to $170, a sheriff lockout fee of $40 to $125, and attorney fees typically ranging from $500 to $2,500, depending on complexity. Montana security deposit limits and tenant protections are also governed at the state level, so county-specific ordinances do not add a layer of local compliance burden here. Reviewed under MCA § 70-24 as of 2026-05-29.

With an average poverty rate of 13.7% and only 23.4% of households renting, Valley County's tenant pool is comparatively small and stable; the city grid above breaks down exactly where within those six communities the risk concentrates.