Gage County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low

Gage County carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.7/10, placing it in the Low-risk tier on a county-wide basis, but that headline figure deserves careful unpacking. Across the county's 12 cities, individual scores range from 2.1 to 2.8, a spread that reflects meaningfully different operating environments within a single county boundary. More importantly, Nebraska ranks Gage County 5th out of 93 counties statewide, where rank 1 signals the highest risk, meaning only 4 Nebraska counties are riskier for landlords. That places Gage County in the higher-risk third of the state, despite its Low county label, and investors should factor that context into acquisition decisions rather than relying on the average alone.

The rental market here is modest in scale, with average rents around $767 per month and a rent-burden rate of 25.5%. Roughly 31.1% of residents are renters, and the county's poverty rate stands at 17.6%. Those fundamentals, combined with the state ranking, suggest that while individual cities may be workable, the county as a whole carries more landlord-facing friction than its Low label implies.

The cities inside Gage County

Beatrice is by far the dominant city in Gage County, with a population of 12,225 and the highest risk score in the county at 3.2/10. Because Beatrice accounts for the majority of the county's total population of 16,081, its score heavily pulls the county average upward. Landlords concentrating their portfolios in Beatrice face conditions closer to the top of the county's risk band, not the middle. Clatonia follows with a score of 2.3/10, while Adams and Cortland each score 2.5/10 and Wymore scores 2.5/10 among a population of 1,320.

At the lower end, Blue Springs carries the county's most landlord-favorable score at 2.4/10, followed by Odell at 2.3/10 and Pickrell at 2.1/10. The practical lesson is that risk in Gage County is hyper-local: a landlord operating in Blue Springs faces a genuinely different environment than one with units in Beatrice, even though both sit inside the same county line.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Gage County operates under Nebraska state law, specifically the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act codified at Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq. For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 7 days. A lease-violation notice allowing the tenant to cure requires 14 days, and a no-cause end-of-term notice requires 30 days. Nebraska state law requires 24 hours notice before a landlord may enter an occupied unit. Nebraska does not require just cause for termination and has preempted local rent control, so no city in the county may impose its own rent cap, giving landlords flexibility that is increasingly rare in other states. Understanding the full Nebraska eviction process, including these notice requirements and court timelines, is essential before serving any notice.

On costs, court filing fees run $85 to $200, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney fees range from $500 to $2,500 depending on complexity. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested matter can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Landlords evaluating total exposure should review Nebraska eviction costs carefully before assuming a straightforward proceeding. Nebraska security deposit limits and Nebraska tenant protections round out the statutory picture, with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission handling fair-housing complaints statewide.

With a poverty rate of 17.6% and 31.1% of residents renting, the economic pressure on tenants in Gage County is real, and it varies further at the city level; the grid above breaks down each of the 12 cities so you can see exactly where risk concentrates before committing capital.