Estimated values: The U.S. Census suppresses field-level data for small places. Estimated from county average, pop-weighted from real underlying ACS data.
Tenant beats landlord
51.8%
/ 100 outcomes
In court-decided eviction outcomes for Canyon City, OR, tenants prevail in roughly 51.8% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
128d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Canyon City, OR until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 128 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$6.7–20.4k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Canyon City, OR costs landlords $6,697 to $20,412 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$804
14% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Canyon City, OR is $804 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 14% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
21.4%
of households
21.4% of occupied housing units in Canyon City, OR are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
16.1%
4.1% unemp.
16.1% of Canyon City, OR residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 4.1%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
GOP margin +60.4% (2024)
2.9
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
2.9
State political climate
Oregon legislature & governorship
7.2
Economic stress
16.1% poverty · 4.1% unemp.
4.2
Supply constraint
$804 average · 21.4% renters
3.2
Rent Control risk
14.2% of income on rent
5.5
Eviction process difficulty
128 days filing → judgment
7.0
Tenant organizing strength
21.4% renters
3.1
Housing court bias
County bench composition
5.3
Geographic context
Risk heat across Canyon City and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Canyon City compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Grant County
Very Low
#8of 9 cities
#8 of 9 cities in Grant County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Oregon
Very Low
#409of 425 cities
#409 of 425 cities in Oregon for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
5.5
/ 10 · ELEVATED
The verdict
A Elevated-tier market.
Composite 5.5/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+3.2 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
128d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $804/mo. A contested eviction takes 128 days and costs $6,697–$20,412 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
21.4%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 900 residents, 21.4% rent. 14% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 16.1% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
2.9
Local + regional
The politics
Light-statute interior market.
Local & regional political climate score 2.9 and 2.9 (GOP margin +60.4% (2024)). State climate at 7.2, a tenant-leaning legislature.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
7.2
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 7.2/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 7, housing court bias 5.3, rent-control risk 5.5. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +2.0 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
4.2
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 4.2. Supply constraint: 3.2. The numbers behind those: 16.1% poverty, 4.1% unemployment, 14% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Canyon City sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Canyon City · 128d · ~$13.6k all-in ($106/day) · score 5.5National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Canyon City, Oregon, presents an elevated-friction market where documented notices and proactive screening matter. The Eviction Risk Score is 5.5/10 (ELEVATED tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Elevated-friction market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Canyon City is a city of 900 residents where 21.4% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 14.2% of income on rent. At an average rent of $804/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Canyon City eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 7/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Canyon City closes 128 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Canyon City's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 5.3/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Canyon City runs $6,697 to $20,412 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 128 days of typical timeline and $804/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 3.1/10 in Canyon City, and the city has limited rent control exposure (5.5/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Oregon, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Canyon City: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a ELEVATED tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Oregon's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $20,412 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Canyon City
Trap · 5.5/10
and the rent-burden distribution skews the eviction-filings curve toward moderate volume in Grant County. Rent-control-risk sub-score: 5.5/10. Tenant organizing is most active in the rental concentration corridors.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant in Canyon City if their lease expires?
Not necessarily. Oregon is a "just-cause" state. For tenancies after the first year, you generally need a specific, legally defined reason to terminate a tenancy, even if a fixed-term lease is ending. Simply "lease expiration" isn't enough, unless it's for specific reasons like owner occupancy or sale to an owner-occupant, with proper 90-day notice.
Q2
What if my tenant pays part of the rent after I give them a 10-day notice?
Be very careful here. Accepting a partial payment after issuing a 10-day pay-or-quit notice can, in some cases, invalidate your notice and require you to start the eviction process over. If you're willing to accept a partial payment, get a written agreement with the tenant outlining the remaining balance and a new payment deadline. Better yet, consult with an attorney before accepting any partial payments once an eviction notice is served.
Q3
How long do I have to return a security deposit in Canyon City?
You have 31 days from the date the tenant vacates the property to return the security deposit or provide an itemized list of deductions. Failing to do so can result in you owing the tenant double the amount wrongfully withheld. Keep detailed records and photos of the property's condition.
Q4
Does Canyon City have rent control?
Oregon has statewide rent control, which applies to Canyon City. This limits how much you can increase rent annually. For 2024, the cap is 10% plus inflation. This applies to most residential properties older than 15 years. Always check the current year's cap before issuing rent increase notices. Learn more at Oregon rent control rules.
Q5
What are "source of income" protections in Oregon?
Oregon law prohibits discrimination against tenants based on their source of income. This means you cannot refuse to rent to someone solely because they use a housing voucher, Social Security, or other legal forms of income. You must apply your screening criteria (credit, rental history, criminal background) equally to all applicants, regardless of how they pay their rent. More on this can be found on our Oregon tenant protections page.
A 5.5/10 places Canyon City in the 4th percentile of Oregon cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Canyon City (5.5/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
