Blaine County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low

Blaine County sits deep in Nebraska's Sand Hills, an area defined by grass-stabilized dunes, cattle ranches, and one of the lowest population densities in the contiguous United States. With roughly 111 residents spread across nearly 720 square miles, the county's rental market is about as thin as it gets anywhere in the Great Plains. The two incorporated places - Dunning, the county seat at 3.6/10, and Brewster to the north at 3.2/10 - together account for only 111 counted residents, most of them owner-occupiers. Renters make up just 28.6% of occupied housing, and that narrow renter pool is one reason Blaine County carries a 3.5/10 (Low) eviction-risk score, placing it 30th of 93 Nebraska counties - firmly in the lower-risk third of the state.

The county's score spreads narrowly, from 3.2 to 3.6, reflecting how little variation exists across two very small communities. Both Dunning and Brewster share essentially the same landlord-tenant environment: Nebraska's uniform statewide statute (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq.) applies everywhere in the county, landlords post a 7-day pay-or-quit notice for nonpayment, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days once filed. Court filing fees run $85 to $200, and sheriff lockout fees add another $40 to $150 - modest costs compared to metro-area jurisdictions, but meaningful in a county where average rent sits around $850 per month. Rent burden averages 51%, a figure that stands out against the low nominal rent and points to incomes that are themselves very low in this rural agricultural economy. Poverty sits at 9.3%, consistent with the broader pattern of economically thin rural Sand Hills counties.

Compared to the Nebraska average of 3.6/10, Blaine County's 3.5/10 represents meaningfully lower aggregate risk - 65 Nebraska counties carry higher risk scores, and only 27 are less risky than Blaine. Neighboring counties in the same Sand Hills corridor - Loup, Grant, Arthur, Thomas, and Keya Paha - cluster in a similar range, reflecting shared structural conditions: low renter density, no local rent control (Nebraska preempts any municipal ordinance), no just-cause eviction requirement, and landlords who tend to know their tenants personally. That familiarity cuts both ways: disputes are rare but, when they arise, can carry more interpersonal weight in a community where everyone knows everyone. The thin housing stock also means vacancy is not always an option - a landlord who moves to evict may wait months to find a replacement tenant, which creates an informal incentive to work problems out before filing.

Blaine County's 3.5/10 (Low) rating reflects a combination of very low tenant-protection density, a single-statute statewide legal framework, and an extremely small renter population - factors that collectively push eviction risk well below the Nebraska eviction laws average of 3.6/10.