Lewis County, New York Eviction Risk: High

Lewis County sits in the western Adirondack foothills -- a lightly populated stretch of northern New York where just 8,530 residents are spread across 12 tracked communities. Despite its rural character, the county carries a 8.4/10 eviction risk score (High), placing it 14th out of 60 New York counties, firmly in the higher-risk of the state. Statewide, 13 counties carry higher risk and 46 are lower. Landlords operating here face a legal landscape shaped by New York's 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which extended just-cause eviction protections statewide and lengthened required notice periods -- reforms that apply with full force in Lewis County even without the local rent-control overlays found in the five boroughs or Hudson Valley cities.

Within the county, scores run from 7.8 up to 8.9/10, a spread that tracks closely with each community's share of cost-burdened renters and poverty rates. Great Bend sits at the top of the local range at 8.9/10, driven by a small renter population with few alternatives and limited housing turnover. The county seat of Lowville -- home to roughly 3,404 residents and by far the largest community -- registers 8.5/10, reflecting its denser rental stock and the concentration of tenant-facing services in town. Port Leyden comes in at 8.4/10, Castorland at 8.4/10, and Turin at 8.4/10. Smaller hamlets like Croghan (8.3/10), Lyons Falls (8.3/10), and Copenhagen (8.1/10) cluster in the mid-range, while Deferiet records the lowest local score at 8/10.

Average asking rent across Lewis County is roughly $802 per month -- well below the New York eviction risk statewide average -- yet rent burden still touches 26.8% of renter households, meaning more than one in four renters is spending above the standard 30% affordability threshold. The poverty rate of 16.3% amplifies that pressure: when a missed paycheck triggers a 14-day nonpayment notice under RPAPL § 711(2), lower-income tenants in a thin rural rental market have fewer options than their urban counterparts, and landlords face the cost and delay of a court process that can stretch 30-90 days uncontested or 90-210 days in a contested proceeding. Court filing fees run $45-$210, sheriff lockout fees add another $50-$200, and attorney fees for a full contested case commonly range from $1,000 to $4,000 -- figures that weigh heavily against the low rent receipts typical of this market.

Lewis County's 8.4/10 score (High) reflects New York eviction laws's statewide tenant-protection framework -- just-cause eviction requirements, source-of-income protections through the NY State Division of Human Rights, and an implied warranty of habitability under RPL § 235-b -- applied to a rural housing stock where renter turnover is slow and court resources are limited. Landlords here should treat required notice periods as hard minimums: 14 days for nonpayment (RPAPL § 711(2)), 10 days for a material lease violation (RPAPL § 711(1)), and 30-90 days for holdover tenants depending on tenancy length under RPL § 226-c.