Pembina County, North Dakota Eviction Risk: Low

Pembina County sits in the far northeast corner of North Dakota along the Canadian border, a rural agricultural county of roughly 4,737 residents spread across 12 incorporated places. The county carries an eviction risk score of 3.4/10 (Low), placing it 17th of 53 counties statewide. That ranking puts Pembina in the higher-risk of North Dakota eviction laws by risk exposure -- only 16 counties register higher risk, while 36 are more landlord-friendly. Scores across the county's cities run from a low of 3.1 to a high of 3.7, a relatively tight band that reflects the area's consistent regulatory environment under N.D.C.C. § 47-16 and the absence of any local tenant-protection overlays.

The county seat, Cavalier (population 1,426), is the largest city and scores 3.7/10 -- near the upper end of the local range. Walhalla (population 865) matches that figure at 3.4/10, and St. Thomas (population 306) comes in at the same level with 3.1/10. At the top of the risk range, Mountain (population 100) and Bathgate both reach 3.4/10 and 3.4/10 respectively. On the lower end, Drayton (population 763) is the most landlord-favorable at 3.2/10, and the city of Pembina itself (population 625) sits at 3.2/10. Neche (population 398) falls in the middle of the local spread at 3.1/10. The differences within the county are modest -- no single city is an outlier by North Dakota standards -- but they can influence insurance underwriting, due-diligence thresholds, and portfolio-level risk management for landlords active across multiple addresses in the county.

North Dakota's landlord-tenant framework is broadly permissive relative to most states. There is no statewide rent control, no just-cause eviction requirement, and state law explicitly preempts local governments from enacting rent caps. The poverty rate in Pembina County averages 10.2%, renter households account for about 30.5% of occupied units, and the average gross rent of $694 per month produces an average rent burden of 21.9% -- well below the 30% threshold that economists flag as housing-stressed. Those fundamentals constrain the upper bound of eviction activity but do not eliminate it, and landlords in smaller rural communities face the same statutory process as their urban counterparts: a 3-day notice for nonpayment or lease violations, a 30-day no-cause notice for month-to-month tenancies, and a court filing fee of $75 to $150 once a case reaches the district level. Sheriff lockout costs typically run $40 to $125, and attorney fees for a straightforward eviction action range from $500 to $2,500 depending on whether the case is contested. Uncontested proceedings close in 21 to 40 days on average; contested matters can stretch 45 to 100 days. For a county where average rents are under $700, even a single contested month represents a meaningful carrying cost, making early lease screening and documented notice procedures the most cost-effective risk controls available to local landlords.

Pembina County's 3.2/10 score reflects a state legal environment with no rent control, no just-cause mandate, and short statutory notice periods, offset by the county's position as 17th of 53 statewide -- meaning its modest tenant-protection density and local rent-burden levels push it slightly higher than most North Dakota eviction laws peers, though still firmly in the Low tier.