Kay County, Oklahoma Eviction Risk: Low

Kay County's average eviction-risk score of 3.3/10 (Low) places it among the most landlord-favorable markets in Oklahoma eviction laws. With 70 of the state's 77 counties scoring higher risk and only 6 scoring lower, Kay County sits in the lower-risk third of the state -- rank 71 of 77 -- meaning the structural conditions here (rent burden, tenant turnover, local economic stress) are less likely to generate eviction filings than almost anywhere else in the state. For investors underwriting a 12-city county with a total population of about 38,283 and an average rent of $812, that translates to a comparatively stable tenant base and predictable collections.

The county-wide intra-market spread runs from 1.2 to 2.1 out of 10 -- a gap that matters at the property level. An average rent burden of 25.3% keeps most households below the stress threshold, and a renter share of 33.4% means roughly one in three residents is a potential tenant. Operating conditions across Kay County are generally favorable, though specific communities carry meaningfully different risk profiles that investors should map before committing capital.

The cities inside Kay County

At the top of the risk range, White Eagle scores 4/10 -- the county's highest -- followed by Tonkawa Tribal Housing at 4.4/10. Both are small communities (populations of 331 and 276, respectively) where a handful of problem tenancies can move local statistics. McCord checks in at 3.2/10 with a population of 1,553. These three communities account for all scores above the county average and should be underwritten with tighter screening standards.

The county's largest city, Ponca City (population 24,326), scores exactly at the county average of 3.2/10, as do Blackwell (population 6,042) and Newkirk (population 2,043). Tonkawa (population 3,014) comes in at 3.6/10, and Kaw City registers the county's lowest risk at 3.1/10. The spread reinforces a basic principle: risk in Kay County is hyper-local, and a county average of 1.6 should not be applied uniformly across submarkets that range nearly a full point.

State-level laws that apply here

All residential landlord-tenant relationships in Kay County are governed by 41 O.S. Section 101 et seq. (Oklahoma eviction laws Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). For non-payment of rent, the required notice period is 5 days. A lease-violation cure notice requires 10 days, and a no-cause end-of-term notice requires 30 days. Oklahoma eviction laws does not require just cause for termination and, through state preemption, prohibits local jurisdictions from imposing rent control, so Kay County landlords face no rent caps or local just-cause requirements on top of the state baseline. Understanding the full Oklahoma eviction laws eviction process -- from notice through writ of execution -- is essential before serving any notice, because uncontested cases still typically run 21 to 45 days and contested cases can stretch to 45 to 100 days.

Direct out-of-pocket costs under Oklahoma eviction costs guidelines range from a court filing fee of $75 to $175, a sheriff lockout fee of $40 to $125, and attorney fees running $500 to $2,500 depending on complexity. Landlords who keep records tight, serve proper notice on day one, and avoid procedural errors consistently land at the lower end of those ranges.

With a poverty rate of 16.4% and roughly one-third of residents renting, Kay County carries real socioeconomic stress beneath its low aggregate risk score -- use the city grid above to identify which of the 12 cities account for the most concentrated exposure before placing capital.