Macon County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Moderate

Macon County sits in north-central Tennessee eviction laws roughly 50 miles northeast of Nashville eviction risk, a rural stretch of rolling hills and small communities where the rental market is shaped more by local employment patterns and agricultural economics than by the tenant-protection legislation that drives risk scores in larger metros. The county's overall eviction risk reads 4.1/10 (Moderate), placing it 12th of 95 Tennessee counties by risk level - a position in the higher-risk tier statewide. With 11 counties carrying higher risk scores and 83 carrying lower ones, Macon sits in genuine middle ground, though its scores remain well below the statewide average of 3.7/10.

The county's two tracked cities illustrate a narrow but meaningful spread. Lafayette - the county seat and by far the largest community at 5,727 residents - scores 4/10. Red Boiling Springs, a historic mineral spa town of 1,262 residents, scores 4.3/10, the higher figure in the county. That gap between 4 and 4.3 reflects differing housing stock vintages and renter-income profiles more than any difference in local ordinances: neither city has enacted supplemental tenant protections beyond state law, and Tennessee eviction laws's statewide preemption statute bars local rent control outright. The practical implication for landlords is that rules are uniform countywide; the difference in scores traces to underlying economic indicators rather than legal environment.

The economic backdrop warrants attention. Average rent runs $876 per month, and 27.2% of renter households carry a rent burden above 30% of income - a figure that sits above the rural Tennessee eviction laws baseline and points to a tenant population under persistent financial pressure. The poverty rate of 22.1% is elevated, and roughly 51.8% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied, a share that is higher than many comparably-sized rural Tennessee eviction laws counties. That combination - high renter share, elevated poverty, constrained incomes - does not translate automatically into high eviction risk scores under our model, but it does mean that cash-flow disruptions are more likely to produce delinquency than in wealthier markets. Landlords operating here should factor faster-than-average payment stress into underwriting and budget accordingly for an eviction process that can cost $200-$300 in court filing fees alone before attorney and sheriff fees are added.

Macon County falls under Tennessee eviction laws's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (T.C.A. § 66-28) by virtue of its population, meaning the 7-day pay-or-quit notice applies to nonpayment cases rather than the 30-day notice used in smaller non-URLTA counties. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21-45 days from filing; contested matters extend to 45-120 days. The state does not require just cause for non-renewal, and no source-of-income protections apply, leaving landlords with relatively broad discretion on tenancy decisions within federal fair housing limits.