Warren County, Tennessee Eviction Risk: Low

Warren County, Tennessee eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.8/10, placing it in the Low risk tier on paper, but that headline number masks meaningful variation across the county's 4 cities, where individual scores run from 1.8 to 2.8. Landlords should not mistake a low county average for uniformly smooth operating conditions: with an average renter share of 49.5% of households and an average poverty rate of 20.2%, the renter pool here carries real financial stress that can translate to delinquency pressure even in a relatively low-risk market. Tennessee's legal framework does give landlords workable tools, but the gap between the best and worst corners of this county is wide enough that market selection matters.

Within the state, Warren County ranks 29th of 95 counties, meaning 28 Tennessee counties carry higher eviction risk and 66 are considered more landlord-friendly. That places Warren County in the higher-risk third of the state overall, a positioning investors should factor into underwriting assumptions, particularly on affordable-rent product where rent burdens, averaging 29.5% of income on rents around $784 per month, leave limited cushion for tenants facing income disruption.

Peer counties at similar risk levels include Carroll County at 2.79/10, Dickson County at 2.77/10, and Unicoi County at 2.75/10, confirming that Warren County's profile is broadly consistent with rural Middle Tennessee but sits toward the less favorable end of that cohort.

The cities inside Warren County

McMinnville, the county seat and by far its largest city at 13,844 residents, posts the highest risk score in the county at 2.8/10, matching the county average. For investors, McMinnville eviction risk is where the bulk of rental supply lives and where delinquency exposure is most concentrated. Morrison, with a population of 850, follows at 2.7/10. These two cities account for the overwhelming majority of the county's 15,101 tracked residents and warrant the most rigorous tenant screening and lease underwriting.

Conditions improve further out from the urban core. Centertown scores 2.4/10 (population 263) and Viola scores 1.8/10 (population 144). Viola is the most landlord-favorable location in the county by a notable margin, nearly a full point below McMinnville. Risk is genuinely hyper-local in Warren County: a landlord operating in Viola faces a materially different environment than one operating a rental portfolio in McMinnville, even though both sit under the same county boundary and the same state statutes.

State-level laws that apply here

Tennessee state law governs the eviction process uniformly, but the specific notice timelines depend on which framework applies. Warren County's population falls under the Non-URLTA designation for smaller counties, meaning the applicable notice for termination defaults to 30 days under TCA Title 29 Chapter 18, rather than the shorter URLTA windows. In URLTA-covered areas for reference, the notice for nonpayment of rent is 7 days under TCA § 66-28-505, and a material breach notice runs 14 days, while a non-curable breach requires only 3 days under TCA § 66-28-517. Understanding which framework applies to your specific property type is essential before filing.

On direct costs, the Tennessee eviction process involves a court filing fee of $200 to $300, a sheriff lockout fee of $40 to $150, and attorney fees typically running $500 to $2,500 for residential evictions. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested matters can extend to 45 to 120 days. Tennessee imposes no just-cause eviction requirement and has a statewide preemption of local rent control ordinances, so landlords here operate without the additional regulatory layers found in many other states. A full breakdown of timing and fees is available in the Tennessee eviction costs guide, and investors new to the state should also review the Tennessee eviction process for procedural detail. Tennessee security deposit limits and Tennessee tenant protections are likewise governed at the state level with no local overrides in Warren County.

With 20.2% of residents below the poverty line and renters making up nearly half of all households, Warren County's low average score should be read against a financially stretched tenant base, so city-level scores in the grid above are the most actionable data point for site-specific investment decisions.