Red Willow County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low

Red Willow County sits in the Republican River valley of southwest Nebraska, anchored by McCook -- a regional hub of roughly 7,300 residents that accounts for nearly 88 percent of the county's 8,281 people. For landlords, the county carries an overall eviction risk score of 2.7/10 (Low), placing it 30th out of 93 Nebraska counties when ranked from highest to lowest risk. That position puts Red Willow in the higher-risk third of the state, with 29 counties scoring above it and 63 scoring below -- a nuance worth understanding before reading the number as purely reassuring.

Within the county, scores run from 2.2 to 3.1/10, a spread that reflects the difference between smaller agricultural villages and the county seat. McCook eviction risk, the dominant rental market, scores 2.7/10 -- right at the county average and typical for a southwestern Nebraska service town where demand stays steady but tenant incomes are constrained. Indianola, nine miles to the east with about 512 residents, comes in at the lower end of the range at 2.2/10, reflecting a more stable, owner-dominated housing stock with limited rental turnover. Bartley, a community of around 352 people along US-6, matches McCook at 2.7/10. Danbury scores 2.5/10 across its 70-person population, while Lebanon -- the county's smallest incorporated place at 33 residents -- registers the highest individual score in the county at 3.1/10, driven largely by the statistical volatility that affects very small geographies where a handful of filings can swing percentile rankings significantly.

The practical landlord context here centers on three figures: an average rent of $822 per month, a rent burden rate of 30.8 percent, and a poverty rate of 15.2 percent. Rent burden above 30 percent signals that a meaningful share of Red Willow renters are already spending at or near their limit, which historically correlates with higher rates of late payment and, eventually, nonpayment filings. Nebraska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq.) governs the entire eviction process statewide -- there is no local overlay in Red Willow County or McCook that changes the timeline or adds tenant protections beyond the state floor. Landlords must serve a 7-day pay-or-quit notice for nonpayment, a 14-day notice to cure for lease violations, and a 30-day notice for end-of-term no-cause terminations. If a tenant does not comply, court filing costs run $85 to $200, an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days, and a contested matter can stretch to 100 days. Sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150 on top. Red Willow's relatively straightforward legal environment -- no rent caps, no just-cause requirement, and a state preemption that bars any municipality from enacting local rent control -- keeps procedural friction lower than in many larger Nebraska markets.

Red Willow County's Low risk designation reflects a landlord-favorable statutory environment combined with a small, stable rental market. The county's 31.9 percent renter share is well below Nebraska eviction laws's urban averages, and its rural character limits the tenant advocacy infrastructure that drives risk scores higher in Lincoln eviction risk and Omaha eviction risk. Still, a 15.2 percent poverty rate and rent burden near the 30 percent threshold mean payment stress is real -- landlords in McCook eviction risk in particular should price vacancy reserves accordingly.