Webster County, Nebraska Eviction Risk: Low
6 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Red Cloud (3.4) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #48 of 93 NE counties
2k residents · 6 cities · 2 tracts
Webster County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord14.9%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Webster County, NE, tenants prevail in roughly 14.9% 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 Webster 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$1.1–2.8klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Webster County, NE costs landlords $1,076 to $2,752 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$68922% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Webster County, NE is $689 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 22% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters25.4%of households25.4% of occupied housing units in Webster 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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Poverty12.8%1.1% unemp.12.8% of Webster County, NE residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 1.1%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Webster County scores 3.3/10 (Low), below the Nebraska average of 3.6/10. Local scores range from 3.1 to 3.4/10 across 6 cities. Ranked 48th of 93 Nebraska counties by eviction risk - placing Webster County in the middle of the state.
How Webster County ranks in Nebraska
Landlord guides for Nebraska
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Red Cloud | 934 | 3.4 | 21.2% | $585 | Rep |
| 002 | Blue Hill | 782 | 3.4 | 22.5% | $814 | Rep |
| 003 | Guide Rock | 286 | 3.1 | 21.8% | $689 | Rep |
| 004 | Bladen | 166 | 3.1 | 21.8% | $689 | Rep |
| 005 | Inavale | 41 | 3.1 | 21.8% | $689 | Rep |
| 006 | Cowles | 8 | 3.2 | 21.8% | $689 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Webster County sits in the lower-risk third of Nebraska eviction laws's 93 counties, carrying an overall eviction risk of 3.3/10 (Low) and ranking 48th of 93 statewide - meaning 63 counties present a more challenging landlord environment and only 29 are less risky. With a total population of roughly 2,217 and an average asking rent around $689 per month, this is one of south-central Nebraska eviction laws's most sparsely settled counties: renters make up only about 25.4% of households, and the average rent burden sits at 21.8% of income - well below the 30% threshold that typically correlates with payment stress and eviction exposure.
Risk is not uniform across Webster County's six incorporated places. Guide Rock carries the highest local score at 3.1/10, a full spread above the county floor. Blue Hill, the county's second-largest community at 782 residents, scores 3.4/10 - matching the county average precisely. Red Cloud, the county seat at 934 people, scores 3.4/10, while the smaller communities of Inavale (41 residents) and Bladen (166 residents) come in at 3.1/10 and 3.1/10 respectively. Cowles, the county's smallest place with only 8 residents, scores 3.2/10 at the county floor. The spread from 3.1 to 3.4/10 is narrow by Nebraska eviction laws standards, reflecting the county's consistent low-density, low-rent character across communities of very different sizes.
Nebraska eviction laws's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1401 et seq.) governs all landlord-tenant relationships statewide, giving Webster County landlords a clear, landlord-lean statutory foundation. Non-payment of rent triggers a 7-day pay-or-quit notice; lease violations require a 14-day cure notice; and month-to-month tenancies end with 30 days written notice. Landlords must give at least 24 hours notice before entering a unit (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1419), except in genuine emergencies. Court filing fees run $85-$200 depending on the district court's schedule, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days - faster than the Nebraska eviction laws average in higher-density urban counties. Nebraska eviction laws preempts all local rent control ordinances, and no municipality in Webster County has enacted any tenant-protection measures beyond the state floor, so there is no patchwork of local rules to navigate.
Webster County's Low risk rating of 3.3/10 reflects a combination of low rent burden (21.8%), a modest renter share (25.4% of households), a sparse population base of 2,217 residents, and Nebraska eviction laws's landlord-favorable statutory framework - including no just-cause eviction requirement and no source-of-income protections. The county scores noticeably below the Nebraska eviction laws statewide average of 3.6/10, reinforcing its position as one of the state's more landlord-accessible rural markets.
Historical eviction filings in Webster County
From 2000 to 2016, eviction filings in Webster County increased. The peak was 6 filings in 2016.1
- 02000
- 6Peak (2016)
- 62016
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Webster County compares
Webster County's 3.3/10 Low rating lands it firmly below the Nebraska statewide average of 3.6/10, and the gap is consistent when measured against neighboring rural counties. Harlan County to the east, Hitchcock County to the south, and Furnas County to the northeast all score in a similar range - none of Webster County's peer counties show materially different risk profiles, which reflects the shared characteristics of south-central Nebraska eviction laws's rural rental market: low renter shares, low average rents, and minimal local tenant-protection ordinances layered on the same statewide statutory baseline.