Castro County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Castro County sits on the southern edge of the Texas eviction laws Panhandle, a sparsely populated agricultural county of 5,299 residents where wheat, cotton, and cattle operations define the local economy far more than any residential rental market. The county's eviction risk score of 3.3/10 (Low) places it 180th out of 254 Texas counties - squarely in the lower-risk third of the state, with 179 counties carrying higher risk and only 74 showing lower risk. For landlords operating here, that ranking reflects the structural reality of a small rural market governed entirely by the state's landlord-friendly statutes, with no local tenant-protection ordinances layered on top.

The county's three incorporated cities span a tight score range of 3.1 to 3.4, meaning landlords face broadly consistent conditions across all three communities. Dimmitt - the county seat and by far the largest community, with 4,107 residents - scores 3.4/10. Hart, a smaller farming community of 919 residents to the north, scores 3.2/10. Nazareth, at just 273 residents, carries the county's highest individual score at 3.1/10, though even that figure remains well within the Low risk tier. The narrow spread between all three cities reflects Castro County's demographic and economic uniformity: a single-industry agricultural base, stable household formation, and very limited turnover in the rental stock. Average rent across the county runs $880 per month, and renters make up 39.1% of households - a notably high renter share for a rural Panhandle county of this size, likely tied to seasonal and migrant agricultural labor patterns rather than a conventional urban rental market.

Rent burden sits at 20.7%, below the 30% threshold that housing economists use to flag financial stress, and the poverty rate of 14.7% is elevated relative to statewide averages but not unusual for a small agricultural county this far from any major metro. Texas eviction laws law statewide preempts any local rent control under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, so there is no possibility of a city-level ordinance complicating operations in Dimmitt, Hart, or Nazareth. Just cause is not required for non-renewal under Texas eviction laws statute, and landlords may issue a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)) without a cure period for habitually delinquent tenants, or invoke a same-section 3-day notice for lease violations. Uncontested eviction proceedings in Texas eviction laws typically resolve in 21 to 30 days from filing, with court costs running $54 to $125 at filing plus a sheriff lockout fee of $50 to $175 - among the more straightforward and cost-predictable eviction processes in the country.

Castro County's Low eviction risk score of 3.3/10 is consistent with the broader pattern seen across rural Texas eviction laws Panhandle counties: thin rental markets, moderate rent burden, and an operating environment governed exclusively by state statute rather than local overlay. The county ranks 180th of 254 statewide, meaning the vast majority of Texas counties present more challenging conditions for landlords than Castro does.