Dickey County, North Dakota Eviction Risk: Very Low

Dickey County sits in the south-central stretch of North Dakota eviction laws, a largely agricultural county of roughly 3,026 residents where the tenant population is proportionally small - about 26.6% of households rent - but where that small renter base carries a real cost burden. The county's overall eviction risk score is 1.9/10 (Very Low), placing it 14th of 53 counties in North Dakota. That ranking puts Dickey in the higher-risk of the state, with 13 counties carrying higher risk scores and 39 ranking below it. Scores across the county's six incorporated places span a relatively tight band from 1.5 to 2/10, meaning renters and landlords in the smaller communities face conditions that broadly track the county average, though Oakes eviction risk and Ellendale eviction risk account for most of the actual rental activity.

Oakes, the county seat and by far the largest community at 1,858 residents, posts the highest individual risk reading in the county at 2/10. That slight elevation above the county average reflects its concentration of rental stock - most of Dickey County's renters live here - and its proportionally higher exposure to the same cost pressures visible statewide. Ellendale, the second city at 1,033 residents and home to the University of Jamestown's former campus property, scores 1.9/10, essentially matching the county average. The remaining four communities - Forbes (1.6/10), Ludden (1.6/10), Fullerton (1.5/10), and Monango (1.5/10) - are very small places with limited dedicated rental inventory, and their lower scores reflect fewer acute financial-stress signals rather than a meaningfully different legal environment, since North Dakota eviction laws statute governs uniformly statewide.

Financially, the picture for Dickey County renters is tight but not crisis-level by national comparisons. Average rent runs $812 per month, and 26.2% of renter households spend more than 30% of income on housing - a share that clears the standard cost-burden threshold and signals genuine pressure, particularly given the 12% poverty rate. North Dakota eviction laws does not impose any rent cap, has no just-cause eviction requirement, and explicitly preempts local governments from enacting rent control under state law (N.D.C.C. § 47-16). Source-of-income discrimination is not a protected class in North Dakota eviction laws, meaning landlords may legally decline housing vouchers. Tenants behind on rent receive a 3-day notice to pay or vacate under N.D.C.C. § 47-16; lease violations also trigger a 3-day cure notice, while no-cause terminations require 30 days. Court filing fees to initiate an eviction run $75 to $150 in district court, with sheriff lockout fees adding another $40 to $125. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 40 days; contested proceedings can extend to 45 to 100 days when tenants exercise their right to a hearing.

Dickey County's 1.9/10 score reflects a legal environment that is fully landlord-permissive under North Dakota eviction laws's statewide statutory framework - no rent caps, no just-cause protections, and short notice windows - offset by a low-density rural rental market where eviction activity remains limited in absolute volume. The county's rent burden of 26.2% and poverty rate of 12% indicate genuine affordability strain that is the primary driver keeping the score above the state floor, even as the overall tier remains Very Low.