Archer County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Archer County sits in north-central Texas, a rural ranch and agricultural community of roughly 5,550 residents anchored by the county seat of Archer City and the larger bedroom community of Holliday to the southwest. Renters make up only about 18.7% of households here - well below the Texas eviction laws statewide average - and the county's average rent of $1,086 per month keeps pace with the limited rental stock that does exist. With a poverty rate of 12.2% and an average rent burden of 27.5%, the economic fundamentals suggest a tenant population that is stretched but not critically distressed, which is one reason the county's eviction risk profile lands where it does.

The county's overall eviction risk score is 2.3/10 (Very Low), placing Archer County 147th of 254 Texas counties by risk - meaning 146 counties statewide carry a higher risk score. Across the county's six tracked communities, individual city scores span from 1.8 to 2.7/10, a spread that reflects real differences in local rental market tightness and demographic pressures rather than uniform conditions. At the lower end, Megargel scores 1.8/10, consistent with its very small and stable population of about 256. The county seat, Archer City (pop. 1,233), and neighboring Lakeside City (pop. 1,234) both score 2.2/10 and 2.2/10 respectively, reflecting modest but steady rental activity.

The highest individual scores in the county belong to Windthorst at 2.7/10 and Holliday - the county's most populous community at 1,661 residents - at 2.5/10. Holliday's position as a commuter hub for workers traveling to Wichita Falls eviction risk correlates with tighter rental demand and a faster-moving eviction caseload when non-payment situations arise. Windthorst, a small incorporated community of about 537, scores at the top of the county range at 2.7/10; its compact rental pool means individual delinquencies weigh more heavily in the rate. Scotland rounds out the middle at 2.3/10. Under Texas law (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005), landlords in every one of these communities can serve a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment of rent, and an uncontested eviction through the local Justice of the Peace court typically resolves in 21 to 30 days at a court filing cost of $54 to $125 - one of the more landlord-favorable procedural frameworks in the country.

Archer County's Very Low risk rating reflects a combination of low renter density, a structurally straightforward Texas eviction process, and limited tenant-protection ordinances at the local level. Texas eviction laws preempts municipal rent control statewide under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, so no city in Archer County can impose rent caps, and landlords are not required to establish just cause before terminating a month-to-month tenancy. The Texas eviction laws Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division, handles fair housing complaints, though source-of-income is not a protected class under state law. For landlords, this framework means eviction exposure here is driven primarily by tenant payment capacity - not by procedural obstacles or local ordinance risk.