Cottle County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Cottle County sits in the Rolling Plains of northwest Texas, anchored by the small ranching community of Paducah (population 1,077). With only one incorporated city in the county, the rental market here is tightly concentrated: Paducah scores 2.7/10 on the Eviction Risk Map, which is the same as the county average of 2.7/10 (Low). That score places Cottle County at 31st of 254 Texas eviction laws counties, meaning 30 counties carry higher eviction risk and 223 are less risky from a landlord standpoint. Scores across the county range from 2.7 to 2.7, reflecting the uniformity of a single-market county with a narrow renter base.

Landlords operating in Cottle County benefit from Texas eviction laws's consistently landlord-favorable legal environment. The state has no rent control, no just-cause eviction requirement, and actively preempts local governments from enacting rent caps under TX Local Gov Code §214.902. The standard notice period for nonpayment of rent is just 3 days under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a), and an uncontested eviction typically wraps up in 21 to 30 days from filing. Court filing fees run $54 to $125, with sheriff lockout fees adding another $50 to $175 - among the lower cost structures in the state. Even a contested proceeding generally concludes within 45 to 90 days, which compares favorably against more urban Texas counties where docket congestion can stretch timelines.

The local rental market is lean but stable. Average rent sits at $256 per month - well below the Texas statewide average - and the average rent burden is just 18% of household income, indicating that most renters here are not financially stretched by housing costs alone. That said, the county's 31.2% poverty rate is a meaningful risk factor: when a tenant's income disruption occurs (job loss, medical expense, crop income shortfall), rent delinquency can follow quickly even where rents are low in absolute terms. Renter-occupied households make up roughly 19.4% of all occupied units, so the pool of rental properties is small and landlords here tend to know their tenants personally - a dynamic that often influences informal resolution before formal eviction proceedings begin. For landlords who do need to proceed to court, Texas's streamlined process under Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92 keeps the path clear.

Cottle County's Low risk score of 2.7/10 reflects the combined effect of Texas eviction laws's permissive eviction statutes, low local rent burden, and a small concentrated rental market. The county's rank of 31st out of 254 Texas eviction laws counties places it in the higher-risk of the state - landlord conditions here are more favorable than most of the state but still sit above the lowest-risk tier due to the elevated local poverty rate and limited economic diversification in this agricultural corner of the Rolling Plains.