Nemaha County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low
7 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Auburn (3.3) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #10 of 93 NE counties
5k residents · 7 cities · 2 tracts
Nemaha County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord12.1%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Nemaha County, NE, tenants prevail in roughly 12.1% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline29dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Nemaha County, NE until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 29 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$1.0–3.0klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Nemaha County, NE costs landlords $1,019 to $2,985 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$76824% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Nemaha County, NE is $768 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 24% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters42.4%of households42.4% of occupied housing units in Nemaha 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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Poverty15.3%5.6% unemp.15.3% of Nemaha County, NE residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 5.6%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Nemaha County's composite eviction risk score of 2.8/10 (Low) reflects stable rural housing conditions, affordable average rents of $768/month, and Nebraska's preemption of local rent control. Ranked 10th of 93 Nebraska counties - 9 counties carry higher risk, 83 carry lower risk.
How Nemaha County ranks in Nebraska
Landlord guides for Nebraska
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Auburn | 3,470 | 2.7 | 24.1% | $797 | Rep |
| 002 | Peru | 653 | 3.2 | 23.8% | $478 | Rep |
| 003 | Johnson | 339 | 2.8 | 21.3% | $950 | Rep |
| 004 | Brock | 120 | 3.3 | 23.7% | $768 | Rep |
| 005 | Brownville | 102 | 3.2 | 23.7% | $950 | Rep |
| 006 | Nemaha | 64 | 2.9 | 12.5% | $900 | Rep |
| 007 | Julian | 42 | 3.1 | 23.7% | $768 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Nemaha County sits in the southeastern corner of Nebraska along the Missouri River, a rural county of roughly 4,790 residents spread across seven small communities. For landlords operating here, the eviction risk picture is relatively contained: the county carries a composite score of 2.8/10 (Low), placing it 10th out of 93 Nebraska counties - meaning 9 counties in the state carry higher risk. Scores across the county's cities run a tight band from 2.7 to 3.3, so no single community diverges dramatically from the county norm, though the smaller incorporated villages do read modestly above the county-seat baseline.
Auburn, the county seat and by far the largest community at about 3,470 residents, anchors the low end of the range at 2.7/10. Renters in Auburn eviction risk make up a meaningful share of households, and with average rents running around $768 per month and a rent burden rate of 23.7%, the market is affordable by most measures. That affordability cushion is one reason eviction pressure stays low - tenants who are not severely cost-burdened are less likely to fall into delinquency cycles that force a landlord's hand. Peru, home to Peru State College and roughly 653 residents, reads higher at 3.2/10, which reflects the student-population dynamics typical of small college towns: higher renter concentration, shorter lease durations, and somewhat less stable occupancy. Johnson (population 339) sits at 2.8/10, near the county average. The smaller villages of Brock, Brownville, and Julian all score modestly above mid-range at 3.3/10, 3.2/10, and 3.1/10 respectively, consistent with very small-town Nebraska patterns where the limited rental stock and thin local economies can concentrate risk even when absolute counts of evictions are low. The city of Nemaha itself (population 64) checks in at 2.9/10.
Nebraska's landlord-tenant law framework, codified at Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq., gives Nemaha County landlords a predictable statutory structure. Non-payment evictions require a 7-day pay-or-quit notice; lease violations carry a 14-day cure period; and no-cause terminations require 30 days. Court filing fees run $85 to $200, and an uncontested matter typically resolves in 21 to 45 days. The state preempts any local rent control ordinance, so no city in Nemaha County can impose rent caps - a consistent advantage for landlords throughout Nebraska. With poverty at 15.3% of residents and a renter share of 42.4%, the county is not without financial stress, but those figures combined with below-state-average risk scores point to a manageable operating environment for most property owners.
Nemaha County's 2.8/10 score and Low risk designation reflect a landlord environment shaped by stable, low-cost rural housing, Nebraska eviction laws's preemption of local rent control, and a predictable court process for the rare case that requires formal eviction. The county's position at 10th of 93 statewide puts it in the higher-risk of Nebraska - worth noting for landlords comparing portfolios across the state.
Historical eviction filings in Nemaha County
From 2000 to 2016, eviction filings in Nemaha County increased 150%. The peak was 13 filings in 2008.1
- 22000
- 13Peak (2008)
- 52016
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Nemaha County compares
Nemaha County's 2.8/10 sits near the Nebraska state average of 2.9/10. Neighboring peer counties like Butler, Burt, Knox, and Richardson all cluster in a similar low-risk range, while Thurston County - also a nearby peer - reads modestly higher due to its distinct demographic and housing-stock profile. Across the state, counties carry higher risk than Nemaha, and carry lower risk, confirming that while this is not the most landlord-favorable county in Nebraska eviction laws, it remains a relatively low-friction market.