Grainger County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Grainger County sits in the northeastern corner of Tennessee, wedged between the Clinch River and the Appalachian ridgelines, with a population of roughly 7,905 renters and owners spread across a handful of small incorporated places and wide stretches of unincorporated farmland. The county carries an overall eviction risk score of 3.6/10 (Low), placing it 69th of 95 Tennessee counties, where rank 1 represents the highest risk to landlords. That position puts Grainger squarely in the lower-risk of the state -- a county that is neither a hotspot nor a standout safe harbor, but one where straightforward landlord-tenant law and a modest renter population combine to keep pressure relatively contained. Scores across the county's tracked communities range from 3.2 to 4, a tight band that reflects how uniform conditions are from one end of Grainger to the other.

The county's three incorporated communities each tell a slightly different story. Blaine (population 3,213) is the largest city and posts a score of 3.7/10 -- the upper end of what the county produces, driven in part by a slightly higher share of cost-burdened renters within its borders. Bean Station (population 3,016), situated along Clinch Mountain Lake on the county's southern edge, scores 3.2/10, the lowest of the three, reflecting a rental market where average rents of roughly $771 per month align more comfortably with local incomes. Rutledge (population 1,676), the county seat, matches Blaine at 4/10 despite its smaller size, a product of a poverty rate hovering around 14.2% that nudges renter financial stress upward relative to the countywide average. Compared to the Tennessee statewide average of 3.7/10, Grainger tracks below the state line, meaning the landlord operating environment here is measurably calmer than what the typical Tennessee county presents.

On the legal side, Grainger County's small population -- well under the 75,000-resident threshold established in TCA Title 29 Chapter 18 -- means it operates outside the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) framework that governs larger Tennessee metros. That distinction matters in practice: non-URLTA counties use a 30-day eviction notice period for most terminations rather than the 7-day nonpayment or 14-day material-breach timelines that apply in URLTA jurisdictions. An uncontested eviction from filing to writ runs roughly 21 to 45 days; contested cases stretch to 45-120 days. Court filing fees run $200-$300, sheriff lockout fees add $40-$150, and attorney costs for a contested matter typically land between $500 and $2,500. There is no rent control in Grainger County, and Tennessee state law (T.C.A. § 66-28) expressly preempts any local government from enacting it. Just-cause eviction requirements do not apply, and source-of-income protections are absent under Tennessee statute. Landlords screening applicants operate under broad discretion as a result, though federal Fair Housing Act protections remain in force and are administered at the state level by the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.

With 25.2% of occupied housing units renter-occupied and an average rent burden of 29%, Grainger County sits in a zone where most renters are managing -- but the 14.2% poverty rate means a meaningful share of households have little cushion against a missed paycheck. That financial fragility shows up in the score spread (3.2-4) more than in any single dramatic outlier, making steady lease enforcement practices and clear payment terms more valuable here than aggressive market-rate increases.