Borden County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Borden County sits in the western reaches of the Texas Permian Basin, one of the least populated counties in the state with just 243 residents spread across 899 square miles. The county seat - and only incorporated place - is Gail, where the eviction risk score is 3.4/10. That puts the county's overall score at 3.4/10 (Low), placing it 162nd of 254 Texas counties by risk to landlords. Only 16 counties across Texas register a lower score; 237 rank riskier. This is firmly in the middle tier of Texas counties.

The low score reflects the landlord-favorable legal environment that Texas state law creates statewide, combined with the realities of a rural, thinly-traded rental market. Average rent in the county runs roughly $1,434 per month, with a rent burden of 31.3% - meaning the average renter household spends just over a third of income on housing. The renter population accounts for about 55.7% of occupied housing units, higher than many rural Texas counties of comparable size, though the raw numbers are small. Poverty stands at 7.4%, and with fewer than 250 people in the entire county, even a handful of delinquent tenants can look statistically significant. In practice, landlord-tenant disputes here are rare and court capacity is not strained.

Texas law (Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92) governs all residential tenancies statewide. Borden County has no local rent control, no just-cause eviction requirement, and cannot pass either - the state preempts local rent regulation under TX Local Gov Code §214.902. A landlord may raise rent to any amount between lease terms with proper notice, and may decline to renew any lease without stating a reason. The eviction process begins with a 3-day written notice for non-payment of rent (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)), lease violations, holdover tenants, and end-of-term situations alike. Squatters and unauthorized occupants face immediate removal with no cure period under SB-38 (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011). From notice delivery to a default judgment in an uncontested case, landlords in Borden County typically see resolution in 21 to 30 days. Contested cases run 45 to 90 days depending on docket scheduling in the local justice court. Court filing fees range from $54 to $125, and sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175 on top of that - among the lower total upfront costs in the state.

Borden County's 3.4/10 (Low) score and 162nd-of-254 ranking reflect a nearly friction-free legal environment for landlords: 3-day notices, no rent cap, no just-cause requirement, and state preemption of any local tenant protections. The practical constraint here is market depth - with only one city and under 250 residents, tenant screening and vacancy management matter more than legal strategy.