Burt County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low

Burt County, Nebraska eviction laws registers an eviction risk score of 3.5/10 (Low), placing it 29th of 93 counties statewide -- squarely in the higher-risk of Nebraska eviction laws by eviction pressure. Landlord costs here track the state's rural norm, and the legal framework under the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq.) is well-defined and consistently applied. With a county population of roughly 4,981 and an average renter share of 27.3%, the tenant pool is small, meaning individual vacancies carry proportionally more financial weight for landlords than in larger metro markets.

Within the county, risk is not uniform. Scores across the six tracked cities run from 3.1 to 4, a spread that reflects real differences in local demographics and rental market tightness. Decatur is the county's highest-risk city at 4/10 -- a function of its 17% poverty rate in a community of fewer than 500 residents, where a single contested eviction can tie up a unit for 45 to 100 days. Uehling follows at 3.4/10 and Lyons at 3.8/10. The two largest cities, Tekamah (pop. 1,690) and Oakland (pop. 1,552), sit near the lower end of the range at 3.4/10 and 3.3/10 respectively -- both below the county average -- which pulls the countywide figure down from what the smaller, higher-risk towns would otherwise suggest. Craig registers 3.1/10.

For landlords evaluating Burt County, the headline number is reassuring, but the sub-county spread matters. The county average of 3.5/10 against the Nebraska eviction laws average of 3.6/10 positions Burt among the higher-risk third of the state -- not because of extreme tenant protections (Nebraska eviction laws has none: no rent control, no just-cause requirement, no source-of-income protection) but because of economic fragility concentrated in the smaller communities. Average rent across the county runs $694/month, rent burden sits at 26.4%, and the poverty rate is 17% -- figures that elevate the probability of payment default even when legal processes are swift. Uncontested evictions resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested cases stretch to 45 to 100 days. Filing fees run $85 to $200, and sheriff lockout fees add another $40 to $150. Attorney costs, if retained, typically run $500 to $2,500 for a straightforward case.

Burt County's 3.5/10 risk score reflects a low-regulation environment offset by a fragile rural rental economy. Nebraska eviction laws state law preempts any local rent control ordinance, and neither just-cause eviction requirements nor source-of-income protections exist at the state level. The practical risk for landlords is concentrated in smaller towns like Decatur and Uehling, where poverty rates and thin rental demand make unit turnover costly relative to the low prevailing rents.