Murray County, Oklahoma Eviction Risk: Very Low

Murray County, Oklahoma scores 2.4/10 (Low risk) averaged across its 5 incorporated cities, placing it at rank 32 of 77 Oklahoma eviction laws counties, meaning 31 counties carry higher eviction risk and 45 are more landlord-friendly. That middle-third position reflects a county where tenant payment stress is real, with an average rent burden of 24.4% of income and a poverty rate of 17.4%, but where state law tilts decisively toward landlords and local market conditions remain manageable for investors who price and screen carefully.

The intra-county score range runs from 1.3 to 2.4, a full point of spread across a combined population of roughly 8,281 residents. Average asking rent sits at $904 per month, and renters make up 37.5% of households, giving landlords a solid renter base without the concentrated demand pressure that pushes risk upward in larger metros. For buy-and-hold investors, those fundamentals point to steady occupancy rather than high-turnover churn.

The cities inside Murray County

The two largest cities, Sulphur (population 4,874) and Davis (population 2,814), both score 2.4/10, tying for the county's highest risk rating. That does not mean conditions are difficult; it means they carry the most exposure relative to other Murray County markets, primarily because they concentrate the bulk of the renter population. Investors acquiring rental property in Sulphur or Davis should budget for screening costs and lean on the state's landlord-friendly notice framework to keep vacancies short.

Moving down the risk ladder, Gene Autry scores 2.3/10, Dougherty comes in at 2.2/10, and Hickory sits at just 1.3/10, the county's lowest reading by a wide margin. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: a landlord operating in Hickory faces materially different conditions than one holding units in Sulphur, even though both properties fall under the same county jurisdiction and state law.

State-level laws that apply here

All rental activity in Murray County is governed by 41 O.S. § 101 et seq. (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). For non-payment of rent, landlords must serve a 5-day notice before filing; a lease-violation cure notice requires 10 days; ending a tenancy without cause requires 30 days. Once filed, an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days, while a contested case can run 45 to 100 days. The full cost of an eviction, combining court filing fees of $75 to $175, sheriff lockout fees of $40 to $125, and attorney fees of $500 to $2,500, ranges from roughly $615 to $2,800 depending on whether legal counsel is engaged and how the case proceeds. The Oklahoma eviction process contains no just-cause requirement, so landlords may end month-to-month tenancies without stating a reason, and the state preempts any local rent-control ordinance, meaning no Murray County municipality can impose a rent cap. For a full breakdown of what it costs to remove a non-paying tenant, see Oklahoma eviction costs. Landlords researching screening rights and deposit rules before leasing up should review Oklahoma security deposit limits alongside the process overview.

With a poverty rate of 17.4% and renters representing 37.5% of households, Murray County carries modest but real income-stress exposure; the city-by-city grid above shows exactly where that exposure is concentrated and where it is lowest.