Wilkes County, North Carolina Eviction Risk: Low

Wilkes County, North Carolina scores 2.5/10 (Low) across its 9 tracked cities, placing it at rank 59 of 100 North Carolina counties, meaning 58 counties are riskier and 41 are less risky. For landlords, that middle-tier position reflects a market where tenant financial stress is real but the legal framework remains workable. Average rent sits at $689, rent burden averages 27.1% of income, and the renter share of households is 40.3%, figures that point to a tenant pool under modest but meaningful pressure.

The intra-county spread of 1.9 to 2.8 is wide enough to matter operationally. Where you hold property inside Wilkes County affects your risk profile considerably more than the county average alone suggests, so drilling to the city level before acquiring or managing here is essential.

The cities inside Wilkes County

Mulberry is the highest-risk address in the county, scoring 2.8/10 with a population of 4,421, the largest city in the county by the data. Wilkesboro (population 3,646) and Moravian Falls both follow at 2.2/10, forming a mid-risk cluster that accounts for a substantial share of county rental units. Cricket and Millers Creek each sit at 2.4/10, while Mulberry, Fairplains, and Ronda each score 2.8/10.

The most landlord-friendly city in the county is Hays, scoring 1.9/10 with a population of 1,053. That 1.4-point gap between North Wilkesboro and Hays is meaningful in practice: a landlord operating exclusively in North Wilkesboro faces materially different default, vacancy, and collections risk than one concentrated in Hays. Risk in Wilkes County is genuinely hyper-local.

State-level laws that apply here

Under N.C.G.S. § 42 (Landlord and Tenant), North Carolina gives landlords relatively straightforward eviction tools. For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 10 days under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3. A material breach of lease or a holdover after the lease ends requires no advance notice before filing (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-26). A month-to-month tenancy requires only a 7-day notice to terminate under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14. Once filed, an uncontested eviction runs 21 to 45 days; a contested case can extend to 45 to 100 days. Total out-of-pocket costs range from the court filing fee of $150 to $200 plus a sheriff lockout fee of $30 to $125, with attorney fees adding $500 to $2,500 depending on case complexity. Reviewing the full North Carolina eviction process before your first filing will help you plan for that range.

North Carolina does not require just cause to end a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent control ordinance, so landlords operating in Wilkes County face no local rent caps. Source-of-income is not a protected class under state law. For questions about deposit handling, the North Carolina security deposit limits and related statutes under N.C.G.S. § 42 set the parameters landlords must follow.

With a poverty rate of 18.2% and renters making up 40.3% of households, Wilkes County carries real affordability pressure, concentrated most sharply in North Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro. The city grid above breaks down individual scores so you can compare neighborhoods before committing capital.