Hickman County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Very Low

Hickman County sits in the western edge of Middle Tennessee, a rural county of roughly 25,000 residents anchored by the small city of Centerville along the Duck River. For landlords managing rental properties here, the county registers a 2.1/10 eviction-risk score (Very Low), placing it 89th out of 95 Tennessee counties - with 88 counties statewide carrying higher risk and only 6 rated lower. Scores across the county's tracked communities span a tight band, from 1.9 at the low end to 2.1 at the high end, reflecting a rental market that is relatively uniform in its risk profile.

The county seat, Centerville (population 3,535), scores 2.1/10 and accounts for the bulk of the county's rental inventory - the town's historically modest rents and limited tenant-advocacy infrastructure keep eviction proceedings straightforward by Tennessee standards. Bon Aqua Junction (population 1,586) also scores 2.1/10, matching Centerville's risk level despite its largely residential, bedroom-community character. Further out, the communities of Lyles (population 1,385) and Wrigley (population 50) come in at 1.9/10 and 1.9/10 respectively, representing the lowest-risk end of the local spectrum. The narrow 1.9-to-2.1 spread signals that landlords operating anywhere in Hickman County face a broadly consistent legal and economic environment.

Because Hickman County's population falls below 75,000, it sits outside the scope of Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA, T.C.A. § 66-28) for most procedural purposes. That means eviction notices for lease violations and non-payment default to the longer 30-day cure window under TCA Title 29, Chapter 18, rather than the 7-day nonpayment or 14-day material-breach timelines available in high-population URLTA counties like Shelby or Davidson. Landlords should confirm which notice timeline applies to their specific lease and court jurisdiction before serving process. Court filing fees run $200 to $300, and uncontested cases typically resolve within 21 to 45 days from filing. Contested cases can extend to 120 days, though Hickman County's relatively low renter share (33.5% of households) and modest rent levels - averaging $883 per month - mean contested proceedings are less common here than in denser urban markets. At 29.3%, average rent burden is below the 30% cost-burdened threshold, a factor that tends to correlate with lower rates of nonpayment eviction filings. Poverty stands at 15.9%, which warrants attention for landlords screening applicants, but it does not materially shift the county's overall low-risk standing relative to the state average of 2.4/10.

Hickman County has no local rent-control ordinance - and could not enact one even if it tried, since Tennessee eviction laws state law expressly preempts local rent regulation statewide. No just-cause eviction requirement applies, and source-of-income is not a protected class under Tennessee eviction laws fair-housing law, giving landlords here broader leeway than in many other states. The Tennessee eviction laws Human Rights Commission handles fair-housing complaints, and T.C.A. § 66-28-514 prohibits landlord retaliation against tenants who assert habitability rights under § 66-28-304.