Cochran County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Cochran County sits in the far west of the Texas Panhandle, a sparsely settled stretch of High Plains farmland where cotton, grain sorghum, and cattle define the local economy. With a total population of roughly 2,004 residents and about 35.8% of households renting, the rental market is tight in scale but not trivial in risk. The Eviction Risk Map research team scores Cochran County at 3.5/10 (Low), placing it 135th of 254 Texas counties when ranked from highest to lowest risk. That puts 53 counties in a higher-risk position and 200 in a lower-risk position, landing Cochran in the middle of the state overall. Compared with the Texas statewide average of 3.6/10, Cochran's profile reflects a market where modest rents and limited tenant-protection infrastructure combine to keep aggregate risk low without eliminating it entirely.

Three incorporated places account for virtually all of Cochran County's rental housing. Morton, the county seat and by far the largest community at 1,513 residents, scores 3.5/10 and represents the bulk of active lease activity. Whiteface, a smaller agricultural town of 361, carries the county's highest individual score at 3.5/10, a figure worth noting for landlords with properties there given its position at the top of the county's 3.5-to-3.5 score spread. Bledsoe, the smallest of the three at 130 residents, scores 3.5/10 and sits at the lower end of that range. The spread from 3.5 to 3.5 across all three cities is narrow by Texas standards, suggesting broadly consistent risk conditions rather than dramatic within-county variation. Average gross rent in Cochran County is $752 per month, well below the Texas urban norm, and rent burden averages 24.4% of household income - a level that, while not extreme, is noteworthy in a county where 27.9% of residents live below the federal poverty line.

Texas landlord law (Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92) governs residential tenancies statewide with no local override permitted. Texas Local Government Code § 214.902 preempts all local rent control ordinances, meaning no city or county in Texas - including Cochran - can cap rent increases, mandate just-cause eviction requirements, or extend notice periods beyond the statutory floor. Landlords in Morton, Whiteface, and Bledsoe operate under identical state-level rules: a 3-day written notice is required before filing for non-payment of rent (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)), lease violations, holdover tenants, and end-of-lease terminations. Squatter situations allow for immediate action under SB-38 additions to § 24.011 with no mandatory notice period. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21-30 days from filing, with court filing fees ranging from $54 to $125 and sheriff lockout fees of $50-$175. Even in a low-risk rural county, landlords should budget $500-$3,500 for legal representation if a case is contested and extends into the 45-90 day range.

Cochran County's Low risk score of 3.5/10 reflects a combination of low average rents ($752/month), a poverty rate of 27.9%, and a statewide legal framework that strongly favors landlord-initiated eviction procedures with minimal procedural delay. The absence of source-of-income protections, just-cause requirements, or any local rent control authority - all preempted by state law - means landlords face fewer regulatory barriers here than in most urban Texas eviction laws counties, though the high local poverty rate warrants careful tenant screening up front.