Clatsop County, Oregon Eviction Risk: Elevated

Clatsop County carries an average eviction-risk score of 6.7/10 (High) across its 9 tracked cities, placing it 4th of 36 Oregon counties by risk. Only 3 counties in the state score higher, meaning 32 are less risky and more landlord-friendly than this coastal market. That positioning reflects real structural pressure: the county-wide average rent of $1,203 strains renters who already devote an average of 31.6% of income to housing, and just-cause eviction protections and a statewide rent cap limit landlord flexibility at every turn. Investors evaluating Oregon's north coast should treat Clatsop as a high-scrutiny market, not a permissive one.

The countywide band runs from 6.3 to 8.1, a swing wide enough to matter. That 1.8-point spread means a landlord choosing the wrong city faces meaningfully worse odds than one a few miles away. About 41.9% of county residents rent rather than own, so the tenant pool is large, but so is the legal and financial exposure when a tenancy unravels.

The cities inside Clatsop County

Seaside is the county's highest-risk city at 8.1/10, a score that reflects concentrated cost-burden and regulatory friction. With a population of 7,192, it is the county's second-largest city and sees a high enough rental turnover to make eviction risk a recurring concern for landlords. Gearhart and Knappa each score 7.6/10, and Astoria, the county seat and largest city at 10,109 residents, sits at 6.7/10, exactly matching the county average. Risk is hyper-local here: even within a small geographic footprint, the difference between operating in Seaside versus Cannon Beach is nearly two full points on the risk scale.

Cannon Beach, at the low end of the range, scores 6.3/10, making it the most landlord-friendly market in the county. Warrenton (7.2/10, pop. 6,327) and River Point (6.8/10) represent a middle tier that is still above what most landlords would consider a comfortable baseline. In every city, the same statewide legal framework applies, but local demographic and economic conditions drive the actual probability of a troubled tenancy.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Oregon's ORS § 90 (Residential Landlord and Tenant), eviction procedure is governed by fixed notice schedules that leave little room to accelerate. A nonpayment-of-rent case requires a 14-day notice before filing. No-cause termination is permitted only during a tenant's first year of occupancy and requires 30 days; after the first year, landlords must have just cause and serve at least 90 days notice for landlord-based no-fault terminations. Just cause is required statewide. Rent increases are capped at 7% plus CPI, with a maximum of 10% per year. Landlords considering the Oregon eviction process should budget realistically: court filing fees run $165 to $275, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney fees range from $750 to $3,500 depending on whether the case is contested. An uncontested eviction resolves in roughly 30 to 60 days; a contested matter can stretch to 150 days. Oregon eviction costs are not trivial even in straightforward cases, and a contested proceeding can consume months of lost rent on top of direct legal expenses. Source-of-income discrimination is also prohibited under state law, adding another layer of compliance for screening decisions.

With a poverty rate of 12.8% and nearly 42% of residents renting, the risk profile in Clatsop County is not uniform, and the city grid above shows exactly where that pressure concentrates across all 9 tracked communities.