Cass County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Cass County sits in the Piney Woods of deep East Texas, bordering Arkansas along the state's northeastern edge. With a rental population of roughly 11,869 and an average rent of $832 per month, the county's housing market is modest but carries real financial strain: 31.2% of renter households spend more than 30% of income on rent, and the poverty rate among residents runs at 25.4%. About 34.2% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied, a share that tells landlords there is meaningful rental demand even in a county where most residents own their homes. The county's eviction risk score sits at 3.6/10 (Low), ranking it 93rd of 254 Texas counties by risk level - placing it in the middle of the state, with 92 counties carrying higher risk and 161 carrying lower risk.

Atlanta is the county seat and its largest rental market, with about 5,439 residents and a city-level risk score of 3.8/10 - the highest in the county. Linden, the next-largest community at roughly 1,932 residents, scores 3.9/10. Queen City, with 1,390 residents, comes in at 3.2/10. Hughes Springs at 1,781 residents scores 3.4/10. Smaller unincorporated communities like Bloomburg and Bivins anchor the lower end of the county's range, each scoring at or near 3.1/10. The spread from 3.1 to 4 across Cass County's 9 tracked cities reflects the difference between Atlanta's marginally more contested rental market and the quieter, lower-turnover communities to the south. Landlords managing properties in Atlanta or Linden should anticipate the county's higher-end risk profile, while those in rural communities near Bloomburg or Bivins operate under conditions that historically see fewer contested eviction proceedings.

Texas law governs landlord-tenant relations statewide under Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92, and Cass County courts operate entirely within that framework. The county has no local rent control, no source-of-income protections, and no just-cause eviction requirements - the state preempts local rent regulations under TX Local Gov Code §214.902. For non-payment of rent, landlords must serve a 3-day written notice to vacate (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005) before filing suit. Court filing fees at the local justice of the peace run $54 to $125, and an uncontested eviction typically concludes within 21 to 30 days of filing. When a tenant contests the proceeding, the timeline extends to 45 to 90 days, and attorney fees in contested matters commonly range from $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity. Sheriff lockout fees, assessed after judgment, run $50 to $175.

Cass County's 3.6/10 score reflects the combination of East Texas eviction laws's thin rental market depth, low average rents, and the straightforward pro-landlord framework Texas eviction laws maintains statewide. The county's 25.4% poverty rate elevates the underlying risk of non-payment relative to wealthier suburban Texas counties, which keeps the score above the state's lowest tier despite the county's rural, low-regulation character.