Kimball County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low

Kimball County, Nebraska sits in the far western Panhandle, pressed against the Wyoming and Colorado borders where the High Plains give way to rangeland and wheat country. With a total population of around 2,609 and only about 23.8% of households renting, this is not the kind of market where tenant-advocacy infrastructure typically concentrates. The county carries an eviction risk score of 3.2/10 (Low), placing it 80th out of 93 Nebraska counties - with 79 counties recording higher risk scores and only 13 registering lower. That puts Kimball eviction risk squarely in the lower-risk of the state's eviction-risk distribution.

The county seat, Kimball eviction risk, accounts for the large majority of the rental stock and scores 3.2/10 on its own - the lowest reading in the county and consistent with a small, rural service town where the landlord-tenant dynamic is mostly week-to-week informal leases and long-term ag workers. Dix, a hamlet of around 224 residents northeast of the county seat along US-30, scores 3.2/10 - slightly above the county floor but still comfortably in Low territory. The highest reading belongs to Bushnell, the county's third incorporated place with roughly 160 residents, at 3.2/10. Scores across the county range from 3.2 to 3.2, a narrow spread that reflects the uniformly small scale and low renter density of all three communities rather than any meaningful variation in legal exposure or tenant-organizing capacity.

Compared to the Nebraska statewide average of 3.6/10, Kimball County reads noticeably below the norm. The county's 28.6% rent burden - the share of renter income going to housing costs - sits at a level that suggests rent affordability is not the acute pressure it is in larger Nebraska cities. Average asking rent runs around $828 per month, which reflects a market where supply constraints and investor competition are largely absent. The 12.4% poverty rate is real and should inform screening expectations, but it exists alongside a thin rental pool that keeps vacancy competition low and turnover manageable for landlords operating here.

Nebraska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq.) governs all residential leases in Kimball County. The state preempts local rent control, so no city or county ordinance can cap rents or add just-cause protections beyond what the statute provides. Source of income is not a protected class under Nebraska eviction laws fair housing law, giving landlords full discretion on housing voucher acceptance. Notice timelines are standard: 7 days for non-payment, 14 days to cure a lease violation, and 30 days for a no-cause end-of-term termination. Court filing fees run $85 to $200 depending on claim amount, with sheriff lockout fees between $40 and $150. An uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested case can extend to 45 to 100 days. Attorney costs, if retained, generally range from $500 to $2,500. Landlords must give 24 hours notice before entering a unit under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1419.