McNairy County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Very Low
10 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Selmer (2.7) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #70 of 95 TN counties
11k residents · 10 cities · 8 tracts
McNairy County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord15.2%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for McNairy County, TN, tenants prevail in roughly 15.2% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline34dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in McNairy County, TN until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 34 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$1.1–3.0klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in McNairy County, TN costs landlords $1,060 to $3,042 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$71723% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in McNairy County, TN is $717 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 23% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters28.4%of households28.4% of occupied housing units in McNairy County, TN are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty18.9%5.0% unemp.18.9% of McNairy County, TN residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 5.0%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
McNairy County scores 2.2/10 (Very Low), with individual cities ranging from 1.9 to 2.7/10 across the county. Ranked 70th of 95 Tennessee counties - 69 counties carry higher risk scores.
How McNairy County ranks in Tennessee
Landlord guides for Tennessee
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Selmer | 4,488 | 2.0 | 25.2% | $674 | Rep |
| 002 | Adamsville | 2,278 | 2.6 | 23.1% | $740 | Rep |
| 003 | Eastview | 767 | 2.0 | 19.4% | $893 | Rep |
| 004 | Finger | 669 | 2.3 | 12.1% | $637 | Rep |
| 005 | Bethel Springs | 664 | 1.9 | 21.6% | $718 | Rep |
| 006 | Michie | 558 | 2.1 | 14.2% | $596 | Rep |
| 007 | Guys | 423 | 2.4 | 22.1% | $882 | Rep |
| 008 | Stantonville | 313 | 1.9 | 26.9% | $817 | Rep |
| 009 | Ramer | 243 | 2.7 | 42.5% | $805 | Rep |
| 010 | Chewalla | 150 | 1.9 | 23.7% | $722 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
McNairy County sits in the lower-risk of Tennessee eviction laws's 95 counties for eviction risk, scoring 2.2/10 (Very Low) and ranking 70th of 95. With 69 counties carrying higher risk scores statewide, McNairy's profile reflects a small, rural rental market where tenant protections stay close to the statutory floor and landlords face limited procedural friction compared to Tennessee eviction laws's urban cores. Average rent across the county runs $717 per month - well below the state's larger metros - and renters account for roughly 28.4% of occupied households, a share typical of southwest Tennessee eviction laws's smaller communities.
Scores across McNairy's 10 tracked cities span 1.9 to 2.7/10, a spread that captures real differences in local rental market pressure. The county seat, Selmer (population 4,488), scores 2/10. Adamsville, the second-largest city at 2,278 residents, comes in higher at 2.6/10 - the elevated score there reflects a tighter rental supply relative to its size. On the riskier end of the county, Ramer leads at 2.7/10 and Guys scores 2.4/10. The lower end of the range includes Bethel Springs at 1.9/10 and Stantonville at 1.9/10, both of which show comparatively thin eviction activity and relaxed market pressures.
McNairy County falls below the 75,000-population threshold that determines applicability of Tennessee eviction laws's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA). That distinction is consequential: landlords in McNairy operate under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18 rather than the URLTA framework, meaning standard lease terminations require a 30-day notice rather than the 7-day nonpayment or 14-day material breach notices that govern URLTA counties. Court filing fees for eviction actions run $200-$300, with sheriff lockout fees adding $40-$150 on top. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21-45 days; contested proceedings can extend to 120 days. The poverty rate stands at 18.9%, and the average rent burden of 23% suggests most working renters are not severely cost-strained - a factor that historically correlates with lower rates of nonpayment-driven filings.
McNairy County's 2.2/10 average sits below 2.4 for Tennessee overall. The county's non-URLTA status (population under 75,000) means landlords use the common-law 30-day notice process under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18 rather than the URLTA's shorter notice windows. Tennessee eviction laws also preempts local rent control statewide, so no city within McNairy can impose rent caps beyond what the state statute permits - a legally stable environment for long-term rental operations.
How McNairy County compares
At 2.2/10, McNairy County scores below the Tennessee average of 2.4/10, placing it in the lower-risk of the state's 95 counties. Peer counties in the same tier - including Rhea, Henry, Marion, Lincoln, and Claiborne - all cluster in a similar range, reflecting the shared characteristics of rural, low-density southwest and central Tennessee markets. McNairy's non-URLTA status adds a procedural advantage landlords do not enjoy in higher-population peer counties that fall under the URLTA framework.