Griggs County, North Dakota Eviction Risk: Low

Griggs County sits in the agricultural heartland of east-central North Dakota, a sparsely settled county of roughly 1,408 residents spread across seven communities and several townships. The county carries an eviction risk score of 3.2/10 (Low), placing it 38th out of 53 North Dakota counties - squarely in the lower-risk band of the state. Seventeen counties register higher risk than Griggs; 35 fall below it. By any measure, this is one of the more landlord-accessible operating environments in the state, and its scores reflect that: across all seven incorporated places, individual city scores range from a low of 3.2 to a high of 4.6/10.

Cooperstown, the county seat and by far the largest community at 918 residents, sets the practical baseline for most landlord activity in the county. Its score of 3.2/10 is among the lower readings here, which matters because most of the county's rental stock - and the only local courthouse - sits within Cooperstown's limits. Filing an eviction in Griggs County means filing in Cooperstown, and under North Dakota law (N.D.C.C. § 47-16) landlords can serve a 3-day pay-or-quit notice for non-payment and a 3-day cure-or-quit for lease violations. No-cause terminations require a 30-day written notice. The two smaller cities that push the county average higher are Binford (3.4/10, pop. 168) and Wimbledon (3.2/10, pop. 159). Jessie, the county's smallest incorporated community at just 8 residents, carries the highest individual reading at 4.6/10, though its tiny rental market means it has little weight on the county average. Hannaford scores 3.2/10 and Dazey 3.2/10 - both comfortably in the low-risk band - while Sutton comes in at 3.2/10, the lowest reading in the county.

The financial picture for landlords in Griggs County is straightforward by North Dakota standards. Average rent runs $547 per month, and renters here spend an average of 22.9% of income on housing - well below the 30% cost-burden threshold. The renter share of occupied units is 23.1%, meaning most households own their homes. The poverty rate sits at 13.4%, which is a relevant underwriting signal but not an outlier for rural Great Plains counties. When eviction becomes necessary, court filing fees in North Dakota range from $75 to $150, sheriff's lockout fees from $40 to $125, and attorney costs typically fall between $500 and $2,500 for straightforward cases. An uncontested matter can close in as few as 21 days from filing; contested proceedings can stretch to 100 days depending on scheduling and tenant response. North Dakota has no statewide rent control and explicitly preempts local rent ordinances under state law, so there is no patchwork of local caps to navigate here - what the statute says is what applies in every Griggs County community.

Griggs County's Low risk designation reflects a combination of low average rents ($547/month), limited tenant-protection statutes under N.D.C.C. § 47-16, and a small, stable rental market where the vast majority of households are owner-occupied. The county's 38th-of-53 state rank puts it in the lower-risk of North Dakota, and its score of 3.2/10 sits modestly above the state average of 3.4/10 - a difference largely explained by the county's above-average poverty rate relative to its peer rural counties.