Concho County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Concho County sits in the heart of the Texas Hill Country fringe, a sparsely settled stretch of the Edwards Plateau where ranching far outpaces renting. With roughly 2,080 residents spread across more than 1,000 square miles, the rental market here is genuinely thin: only about 29.1% of households rent, compared to well above 40% in Texas eviction laws metros. The county carries an eviction risk score of 3.3/10 (Low), ranking 195th of 254 Texas counties - placing it in the middle third of the state, with 194 counties carrying higher risk and 59 carrying lower risk. That score reflects a legal environment built squarely around landlord rights: Texas imposes no rent caps, requires no just cause for terminating a month-to-month tenancy, and under TX Local Gov Code §214.902 actively preempts any city or county from enacting local rent control, so neither Eden nor Paint Rock can add regulatory layers above what state law already sets.

The county's two incorporated places bracket the score range. Eden - the county seat and by far the larger community at about 1,730 residents - scores 3.3/10, anchoring the upper end of local risk at 3.3. Paint Rock, the historic former county seat about 25 miles southeast with roughly 350 residents, scores 3.2/10, the lowest reading in the county at 3.2. The spread from 3.2 to 3.3 is narrow by Texas standards, which makes sense for a county this small: landlord-tenant dynamics here are shaped more by the personal nature of rural rental relationships than by organized tenant advocacy or competing housing markets. Average asking rent sits around $572 per month - well below the statewide average for small-town Texas - yet rent burden still runs at 38.1% of renter household income, a figure that reflects the county's 19.3% poverty rate rather than inflated rents. When a sizable share of renters are spending more than a third of their income on housing at $572, the underlying income constraint is the real driver.

For landlords operating here, Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 governs notice: a 3-day written notice to vacate is required for nonpayment of rent (whether the tenant is a first-time or habitual delinquent), lease violations, end-of-term holdovers, and most other causes. Unauthorized occupants and squatters may be addressed under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 (as amended by SB-38), which allows immediate action without advance notice. Filing an eviction petition in justice court runs $54 to $125 in filing fees; if a constable or sheriff must execute a writ of possession, expect lockout fees of $50 to $175. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 30 days; contested matters stretch to 45 to 90 days when tenants answer or appeal. Attorney fees for a straightforward eviction typically run $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity and whether the matter goes to county court on appeal. The relatively low 3.3/10 score does not mean zero legal exposure - poverty rates near 20% mean a meaningful share of Concho County renters have limited ability to pay and may delay proceedings even without formal tenant representation.

Concho County's 3.3/10 Low eviction risk score reflects a rural, landlord-favorable legal environment under state law, but the county's 38.1% rent burden and 19.3% poverty rate mean income-driven payment failures remain a realistic concern even in a market this small. The score sits at 195th of 254 Texas counties, in the lower-risk of the state.