Roane County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low
4 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Kingston (2.7) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #18 of 95 TN counties
19k residents · 4 cities · 16 tracts
Roane County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord17.3%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Roane County, TN, tenants prevail in roughly 17.3% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline36dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Roane County, TN until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 36 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$1.1–2.9klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Roane County, TN costs landlords $1,085 to $2,948 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$75332% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Roane County, TN is $753 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 32% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters35.4%of households35.4% of occupied housing units in Roane 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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Poverty15.3%6.6% unemp.15.3% of Roane County, TN residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 6.6%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Roane County averages 2.7/10 across its 4 cities, ranging from 2.5 in Kingston to a county-high 2.8 in Rockwood, the riskiest city in the county. Ranked 38th of 94 Tennessee counties by eviction risk (rank 1 = highest risk), Roane County sits in the state's middle third.
How Roane County ranks in Tennessee
Landlord guides for Tennessee
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Kingston | 6,224 | 2.5 | 34.8% | $716 | Rep |
| 002 | Harriman | 6,090 | 2.3 | 31.0% | $763 | Rep |
| 003 | Rockwood | 5,566 | 2.7 | 28.0% | $774 | Rep |
| 004 | Midtown | 1,369 | 2.6 | 36.9% | $786 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Roane County, Tennessee eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.5/10, placing it in the Low risk tier. Across the county's 4 tracked cities, individual scores range from 2.5 to 2.8, a narrow band that signals reasonably consistent operating conditions throughout the market. Tennessee eviction laws's state-level framework adds additional structure: no just-cause requirement and a blanket preemption of local rent control mean landlords here face fewer regulatory surprises than in many other states.
The county's position, ranked 38th of 95 Tennessee eviction laws counties, puts it squarely in the middle third of the state for landlord risk. Thirty-seven counties carry higher risk, and 57 are considered less risky or more landlord-friendly. Combined with an average rent of $753 and a renter share of 35.4%, the market is modest in scale but stable enough to support steady long-term returns for operators who manage tenant quality carefully.
The cities inside Roane County
Rockwood, with a population of 5,566 and a score of 2.8/10, is the highest-risk city in the county. That score is still firmly Low-tier, but landlords there should expect a slightly higher frequency of economic stress relative to their neighbors. Harriman (2.5/10, population 6,090) and Midtown (2.5/10, population 1,369) share the same score; Harriman is the more active rental market given its population.
Kingston, the county's most populous tracked city at 6,224 residents, scores the lowest at 2.5/10, making it the most landlord-favorable market in Roane County. That 0.3-point spread between Kingston and Rockwood may look small, but risk in any county is hyper-local. Tenant income stability, local employment anchors, and housing stock age can all shift outcomes block by block, which is why reviewing the individual city pages is worthwhile before committing to a purchase.
State-level laws that apply here
Tennessee eviction laws's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (T.C.A. § 66-28) governs most residential tenancies statewide. For nonpayment of rent in URLTA counties, landlords must serve a 7-day pay-or-quit notice under TCA § 66-28-505. Material lease breaches require a 14-day cure notice under the same section, while non-curable breaches carry a shorter 3-day notice under TCA § 66-28-517. Counties with a population under 75,000, which applies to Roane County, may fall under the non-URLTA track requiring a 30-day notice under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, so confirming which track applies to a given property is an important first step. Understanding the full Tennessee eviction laws eviction process before your first filing can prevent costly procedural missteps.
On the cost side, the Tennessee eviction costs a landlord can expect range from $200 to $300 for the court filing fee, $40 to $150 for the sheriff lockout, and $500 to $2,500 for attorney fees if counsel is retained. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested one can run 45 to 120 days. There is no rent control at any level, and just cause is not required to end a tenancy, both meaningful advantages for long-term portfolio management in this state.
With a poverty rate of 15.3% across tracked Roane County cities, tenant financial resilience is worth monitoring at the property level; the city-by-city breakdown in the grid above gives the most granular starting point for that assessment.
Eviction filings in Roane County
In February 2024, 12 eviction filings were recorded in Roane County, 65.8% of the historical average (below average).1
- 12Feb 2024
- 65.8%of historical avg
- 5,047Renter households
- 12.7%Poverty rate
How Roane County compares
Roane County's average eviction-risk score of 2.7/10 places it squarely among its Tennessee peer counties. Carroll County edges slightly higher at 2.79/10, while Monroe County comes in at 2.69/10 and Fayette, Lawrence, and Campbell counties each score 2.58/10, making Roane County marginally less landlord-favorable than those three but essentially on par with Monroe County.
Within Tennessee, Roane County ranks 38th of 94 counties by eviction risk (rank 1 = highest risk), placing it in the middle third of the state. Thirty-seven counties carry more eviction-side pressure, and 56 are less risky, giving landlords a reasonable middle-market profile relative to Tennessee as a whole.