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 2.5/10 (Low), ranking it 80th of 254 Texas counties by risk level - placing it in the higher-risk of the state, with 79 counties carrying higher risk and 174 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 2.7/10 - the highest in the county. Linden, the next-largest community at roughly 1,932 residents, scores 2.6/10. Queen City, with 1,390 residents, comes in at 2.5/10. Hughes Springs at 1,781 residents scores 2.2/10. Smaller unincorporated communities like Bloomburg and Bivins anchor the lower end of the county's range, each scoring at or near 1.8/10. The spread from 1.8 to 2.7 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 2.5/10 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.