Colfax County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Very Low
7 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Schuyler (2.6) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #81 of 93 NE counties
8k residents · 7 cities · 3 tracts
Colfax County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord15.5%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Colfax County, NE, tenants prevail in roughly 15.5% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline30dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Colfax County, NE until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 30 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$1.1–3.0klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Colfax County, NE costs landlords $1,068 to $3,018 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$96518% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Colfax County, NE is $965 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 18% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters25.3%of households25.3% of occupied housing units in Colfax County, NE are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty10.6%1.7% unemp.10.6% of Colfax County, NE residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 1.7%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Colfax County scores 2.4/10 (Very Low), with individual communities ranging from 2.1 to 2.6/10 across its 7 incorporated places. Ranked 81st of 93 Nebraska counties - in the lower-risk third of the state, with 80 counties carrying higher risk scores.
How Colfax County ranks in Nebraska
Landlord guides for Nebraska
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Schuyler | 6,578 | 2.4 | 18.3% | $1,049 | Rep |
| 002 | Clarkson | 600 | 2.5 | 22.0% | $488 | Rep |
| 003 | Howells | 517 | 2.1 | 9.0% | $588 | Rep |
| 004 | Leigh | 443 | 2.3 | 20.9% | $805 | Rep |
| 005 | Rogers | 99 | 2.6 | 18.1% | $965 | Rep |
| 006 | Linwood | 80 | 2.6 | 18.1% | $965 | Rep |
| 007 | Richland | 55 | 2.5 | 5.8% | $936 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Colfax County, Nebraska eviction laws carries an eviction risk score of 2.4/10 (Very Low), placing it 81st out of 93 Nebraska counties - firmly in the lower-risk third of the state. With 12 counties ranked less risky and 80 ranked higher, Colfax sits at the favorable end of Nebraska eviction laws's eviction-risk spectrum. The county's 7 incorporated communities spread across a tight band from 2.1 to 2.6/10, signaling consistent conditions countywide rather than sharp pockets of concentrated risk. Average rent runs $965 per month against a rent burden of just 18% - one of the more affordable rent-to-income ratios in Nebraska eviction laws - and renters make up only 25.3% of occupied housing units. Those structural factors, alongside a poverty rate of 10.6%, keep eviction pressure comparatively low.
Schuyler (population 6,578) anchors the county economically and demographically, accounting for roughly 79% of Colfax County's 8,372 residents. The city scores 2.4/10, tracking near the county average. Clarkson (pop. 600) and Richland (pop. 55) each score 2.5/10 and 2.5/10 respectively, sitting slightly above the county center. At the lower end, Howells (pop. 517) records the county's most landlord-friendly reading at 2.1/10 - reflecting its small, stable renter population and limited court activity. Leigh (pop. 443) comes in at 2.3/10. The two communities with the highest readings in the county are Rogers at 2.6/10 and Linwood at 2.6/10, though both remain comfortably within the Low-risk band and their combined population is under 200 residents.
Nebraska eviction laws's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq.) governs all residential tenancies in Colfax County. The state requires a 7-day pay-or-quit notice for nonpayment of rent, a 14-day cure-or-quit notice for lease violations, and a 30-day no-cause notice to end a month-to-month tenancy. Nebraska eviction laws does not require just cause for nonrenewal, does not protect source of income as a fair housing characteristic, and has enacted statewide preemption that bars any municipality - including Schuyler eviction risk - from adopting local rent control. No Nebraska eviction laws city in the Colfax market is subject to a rent cap formula. Court filing fees for an eviction action run $85 to $200 in Colfax County District Court; a sheriff lockout costs $40 to $150 on top of that. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters extend to 45 to 100 days. Attorney fees, when involved, generally range from $500 to $2,500 for a straightforward case.
Colfax County's low rent burden (18%), modest renter share (25.3%), and small overall renter population combine to produce limited eviction court volume. Schuyler eviction risk's meatpacking-driven economy creates some tenant turnover, but steady employment in the sector keeps delinquency rates contained. The county scores well below the Nebraska state average of 2.9/10, and landlords operating here face fewer procedural hurdles than in the state's urban corridors.
Historical eviction filings in Colfax County
From 2000 to 2016, eviction filings in Colfax County increased 25%. The peak was 13 filings in 2002.1
- 42000
- 13Peak (2002)
- 52016
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Colfax County compares
Colfax County's 2.4/10 sits noticeably below the Nebraska eviction laws state average of 2.9/10, reflecting the county's rural character, modest rent burden, and low renter share. Peer counties scoring in similar territory - including Cuming and Holt counties - share comparable agricultural economies and small-city demographics. Douglas County (Omaha eviction risk) and Lancaster County (Lincoln eviction risk) score considerably higher, driven by their larger renter populations and greater court filing volumes. Within the lower-risk cohort, Colfax's 18% rent burden is among the more favorable figures, giving landlords here a structural cushion that urban Nebraska eviction laws markets do not have.