Edmunds County, South Dakota Eviction Risk: Very Low

Edmunds County, South Dakota eviction laws posts a county-wide average eviction-risk score of 1/10, a Low rating, placing it at rank 66 of 66 counties statewide. That means all 65 other South Dakota eviction laws counties carry higher eviction risk, making Edmunds County the most landlord-friendly market in the state by this measure. For investors and landlords, the headline number reflects a small, stable rental population, a modest average rent of $999, and a rent-burden rate of just 15.5%, all of which point to tenants who are not financially stretched by housing costs.

The intra-county spread runs from a low of 0.7/10 to a high of 1.1/10 across 9 cities, a tight band that confirms risk is consistently low throughout the county rather than being pulled down by a handful of outliers. With a total population of only 2,383 and a renter share of 28%, the rental market here is genuinely thin, which cuts both ways: vacancy can sting, but tenant-pool problems that drive evictions in denser markets are largely absent.

The cities inside Edmunds County

Bowdle carries the highest risk score in the county at 1.1/10, with a population of 475, and Ipswich follows at 1/10 with the county's largest population at 1,048. Even at those scores, neither city approaches mid-range risk by any statewide or national standard. Roscoe scores 0.8/10 with 316 residents, putting it comfortably in the low tier alongside Hosmer, Deerfield Colony, and Plainview Colony, all of which also score 0.8/10.

The lowest scores in the county belong to Pembrook Colony and Long Lake Colony, both at 0.7/10, the floor of the county range. The practical takeaway for landlords is that even the riskiest address in Edmunds County, Bowdle, would be considered low-risk by the standards of most South Dakota markets. Risk is always hyper-local, so individual city pages are worth reviewing before committing to a specific address.

State-level laws that apply here

South Dakota eviction laws law governs every tenancy in Edmunds County under SDCL § 43-32 (Lease of Real Property). For nonpayment of rent or a lease violation, the landlord must give the tenant a 3-day notice. A no-cause termination at the end of a lease term requires a 30-day notice. An uncontested eviction resolves in 21 to 40 days; a contested case can run 45 to 100 days. A full walkthrough of the South Dakota eviction laws eviction process, including notice requirements and court procedures, is available in the statewide guide. Filing fees range from $95 to $180, sheriff lockout fees from $40 to $150, and attorney fees from $500 to $2,500. Detailed figures on South Dakota eviction costs are covered in the statewide cost guide. South Dakota eviction laws has no just-cause requirement and no rent-control statute, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so landlords here operate in a straightforward regulatory environment.

With a poverty rate of 10.8% and a renter share of 28% across the county, the tenant pool in Edmunds County is small but not unusually distressed. The city grid above breaks out individual scores for all 9 cities, including Ipswich, Bowdle, and Roscoe, where most of the county's rental activity is concentrated.