Briscoe County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Briscoe County sits in the Texas Panhandle's caprock country, a sparsely settled ranching and farming community of roughly 845 residents. With only two incorporated places - Silverton (county seat, population 498) and Quitaque (population 347) - the rental market here is a fraction of the scale found elsewhere in Texas eviction laws, and the eviction dynamics that follow are equally compact. The county carries an eviction-risk score of 1.9/10 (Very Low), placing it 250th out of 254 Texas counties where rank 1 represents the highest risk to landlords. That means 249 Texas counties present greater eviction risk than Briscoe, and only 4 are more landlord-favorable. In practical terms, Briscoe is among the easiest operating environments in the state.

Scores across the county's two cities span a narrow band from 1.7 to 2.1, which itself signals a market with little internal variation. Silverton scores 1.7/10, the lower end of the range and a reflection of the town's extremely modest renter population. Quitaque scores 2.1/10, slightly higher but still firmly in Low territory. Neither city approaches the 2.6 statewide average, reinforcing Briscoe's position well below the typical Texas risk profile. Landlords operating in either community face the same statewide legal framework - Texas Property Code Title 8 (Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92) - with no local rent-control ordinances permitted under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, and no just-cause eviction requirement anywhere in the state.

Financially, the county's renter base is thin and economically stable relative to many Texas markets. The average asking rent is $603 per month, and renters spend roughly 18.7% of income on housing - well below the 30% threshold that signals stress. The renter share of households is 17.3%, meaning owner-occupants dominate the local housing stock. Poverty sits at 9.9%, low by rural Texas standards. These figures combine to produce a low-friction eviction environment: when problems do arise under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a 3-day notice is sufficient for non-payment or lease violations, and uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 30 days through the Briscoe County Justice of the Peace court. Court filing fees run $54 to $125, and sheriff lockout fees range from $50 to $175 - costs that are modest even relative to other rural Texas counties.

Briscoe County's Very Low risk rating reflects a market shaped by sparse renter demand, low rent burdens, and a landlord-favorable state legal code. With scores ranging from 1.7 to 2.1 across its two cities, internal variation is minimal. The county's position at 250th of 254 in Texas eviction laws places it among the handful of counties where landlord operating conditions are at their most stable statewide.