Traill County, North Dakota Eviction Risk: Very Low

Traill County sits in the eastern Red River Valley, a stretch of some of the most productive farmland in the country, and its rental market reflects that agricultural character: small towns, modest rents, and a landlord legal environment that ranks among the more straightforward in North Dakota eviction laws. The county's composite eviction risk score is 1.9/10 (Very Low), placing it 22nd out of 53 North Dakota counties - squarely in the middle of the state. Of the 53 counties tracked, 21 carry higher risk scores and 31 score lower. With roughly 5,853 residents spread across 11 incorporated places, Traill is a compact rural county where a single Hillsboro eviction risk apartment building or a Mayville eviction risk student rental can meaningfully move the local numbers.

Scores across the county's cities span from 1.6 to 2.1/10 - a narrow range that reflects consistent legal exposure throughout the jurisdiction rather than pockets of outlier risk. Mayville and Blanchard sit at the high end of that band at 2.1/10 and 2.1/10 respectively; Mayville's numbers are partly shaped by its role as home to Mayville State University, which brings a rotating student tenant population and the occasional lease-abandonment scenario. Hillsboro, the county seat and second-largest city at 1,704 residents, scores 1.8/10 - right around the county average. Hatton (pop. 608) matches Hillsboro at 1.8/10, while smaller communities including Portland (1.6/10), Buxton (1.6/10), Reynolds (1.6/10), and Grandin (1.6/10) come in at the lower end of the county range. Caledonia, a village of 74, scores 1.7/10. The statewide average is 1.8/10, and Traill lands close to that figure.

North Dakota eviction laws's landlord-tenant framework under N.D.C.C. § 47-16 gives landlords relatively fast remedies. Nonpayment of rent and lease violations each require just a 3-day written notice before an eviction action can be filed; no-cause terminations for month-to-month tenancies require 30 days. Court filing fees in Traill County run $75 to $150, sheriff's service adds $40 to $125, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 40 days. Contested hearings extend to 45 to 100 days. North Dakota eviction laws does not require just cause for evictions, and the state legislature has preempted any local government from enacting rent control, so neither Hillsboro nor any other municipality in the county can layer on additional tenant protections beyond what state law provides. The average asking rent across Traill County is approximately $790 per month, and renters spend an average of 24% of income on housing - below the conventional 30% stress threshold - which helps keep eviction pressures relatively contained. About 33% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the poverty rate sits at 8%, both figures suggesting a stable, if modest, rental market.

Traill County's Very Low risk designation reflects North Dakota eviction laws's landlord-friendly statute combined with a small, economically stable tenant base. The 3-day cure window, absence of rent control, and a preemption ban on local ordinances keep the legal environment predictable, though landlords should account for the 21-to-100-day timeline variance between uncontested and contested proceedings when modeling cash-flow risk on a vacancy event.