Bastrop County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Bastrop County carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.2/10 (Low), placing it 25th among Texas's 254 counties, meaning 24 counties in the state carry higher risk and 229 are less risky. For landlords and investors, that ranking puts the county solidly in the higher-risk third of Texas, not the comfortable middle, even though the absolute score looks modest. Across the county's 12 cities, conditions tilt toward a relatively small renter base: only 28.1% of households rent, average rent runs $1,426 per month, and average rent burden sits at 26.6% of income, all numbers that suggest renters here are not severely stretched as a group.

The county-wide average, however, masks a real spread. City scores run from 1.6 to 3.1, a range wide enough to put your best and worst acquisition targets in materially different risk tiers. Landlords who treat Bastrop County as a single market will miss that variation and may underprice or overprice screening and lease terms for specific locations.

The cities inside Bastrop County

The city of Bastrop carries the highest risk score in the county at 3.1/10, with a population of 11,156. Elgin follows at 2.9/10 (population 11,563), making it the county's most populous city and its second-riskiest. Camp Swift and Wyldwood each score 2.8/10, with populations of 8,239 and 4,934 respectively. These four communities sit above the county average and warrant closer tenant screening and tighter lease administration.

Cedar Creek scores exactly at the county average (2.2/10), while Mustang Ridge and McDade come in at 2.5/10. Circle D-KC Estates is slightly lower at 2.4/10. The sharpest contrast in the county is Smithville, which scores 1.7/10, making it one of the lowest-risk operating environments in Bastrop County by a clear margin. For investors comparing submarkets, the gap between Bastrop city (3.1) and Smithville (1.7) is not a rounding difference; it reflects genuinely different tenant-market dynamics at the city level.

State-level laws that apply here

Texas state law, under Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92 (Residential Tenancies), sets a short notice framework that landlords operating in Bastrop County benefit from directly. For non-payment of rent, a lease violation, or holdover tenancy, the required notice period is 3 days. For squatters or unauthorized occupants, no pre-filing notice period is required under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011, as added by SB-38. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21 to 30 days; contested cases extend to 45 to 90 days. The Texas eviction process is materially faster than most states, which is a meaningful operational advantage for landlords here.

Cost exposure is real but bounded. Court filing fees run $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney fees range $500 to $3,500 depending on case complexity. Texas does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts local rent control under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, meaning no city in Bastrop County can impose rent caps. For a full breakdown of what each step costs, see the Texas eviction costs guide. Landlords who want detail on notice rules and tenant defenses should review the Texas tenant protections guide as well.

With a county poverty rate of 12.5% and renters making up 28.1% of households, Bastrop County's overall risk profile is modest but uneven; the city-by-city grid above shows where within the county that risk concentrates.