DeWitt County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low
2 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Cuero (2.4) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #121 of 254 TX counties
10k residents · 2 cities · 6 tracts
DeWitt County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord12.5%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for DeWitt County, TX, tenants prevail in roughly 12.5% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline25dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in DeWitt County, TX until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 25 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$0.9–3.4klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in DeWitt County, TX costs landlords $879 to $3,403 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$88121% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in DeWitt County, TX is $881 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 21% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters33.6%of households33.6% of occupied housing units in DeWitt County, TX are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty20.5%6.4% unemp.20.5% of DeWitt County, TX residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 6.4%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
DeWitt County's eviction risk score of 2.4/10 (Very Low) reflects a housing market with below-average tenant financial stress and a landlord-favorable legal environment. Scores range from 2.4 to 2.4 across the county's tracked cities. Ranked 121st of 254 Texas counties (rank 1 = highest risk). 120 counties carry more eviction risk; 133 post lower scores.
How DeWitt County ranks in Texas
Landlord guides for Texas
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Cuero | 8,165 | 2.4 | 22.3% | $903 | Rep |
| 002 | Yorktown | 1,720 | 2.4 | 14.7% | $775 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
DeWitt County sits in South Texas's Coastal Bend region, anchored by Cuero - a city of roughly 8,165 residents best known as the historic "Turkey Capital of the World" - and the smaller community of Yorktown with about 1,720 residents. The county registers an eviction risk score of 2.4/10 (Very Low), placing it 121st out of 254 Texas counties when ranked from highest to lowest risk. That position means 120 Texas counties carry more eviction risk than DeWitt, while 133 counties post lower scores - putting DeWitt squarely in the middle of the state.
Both of the county's tracked cities - Cuero at 2.4/10 and Yorktown at 2.4/10 - score identically to the county average, which reflects how uniformly the local housing market behaves. Scores range from 2.4 to 2.4 across the county, a tight spread that signals consistency rather than wide neighborhood-to-neighborhood swings. Against the Texas statewide average of 2.6/10, DeWitt County lands below the state average, meaning the eviction environment here is somewhat calmer than most of Texas. Renters make up about 33.6% of occupied housing units, and average gross rent runs $881 a month - well below what tenants pay in larger metros like San Antonio eviction risk or Austin eviction risk. The rent burden rate of 21% is notably low by Texas standards, where cities in the Rio Grande Valley or Houston eviction risk can see burden rates pushing 35% or higher. Poverty affects about 20.5% of residents, a figure that is above the statewide average and worth monitoring as a leading indicator of future rent delinquency.
On the landlord-law side, DeWitt County operates entirely under state statute - Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92 govern residential tenancies, and Texas law preempts any local rent control through TX Local Gov Code §214.902. There is no just-cause requirement for non-renewal, no source-of-income protection, and no local rent cap to navigate. Eviction notices run 3 days for non-payment (both first-time and habitually delinquent tenants under § 24.005) and 3 days for lease violations. Unauthorized occupants have no notice grace at all under SB-38. Justice-court filing fees fall between $54 and $125, with a sheriff's lockout running $50 to $175 - some of the lower carrying costs in the state. Uncontested cases typically conclude in 21 to 30 days; contested proceedings stretch to 45-90 days depending on docket load at the DeWitt County Justice of the Peace courts. Attorney fees for a straightforward eviction range from $500 on the low end to $3,500 for contested matters. The combination of a low eviction risk score, affordable rents relative to income, and a landlord-favorable legal framework makes DeWitt County one of the more stable rental markets in South Texas - though the 20.5% poverty rate is a reminder that tenant financial fragility remains a real operational variable for property managers here.
DeWitt County's 2.4/10 score reflects a rental market with below-average eviction pressure compared to the Texas eviction laws norm of 2.6/10. Low rent burdens (21%), modest average rents of $881, and a fully state-governed legal framework with no local rent control or just-cause rules combine to keep operational risk manageable for landlords - though the county's 20.5% poverty rate warrants close screening practices and documented lease enforcement.
Historical eviction filings in DeWitt County
From 2000 to 2018, eviction filings in DeWitt County increased 142%. The peak was 52 filings in 2014.1
- 192000
- 52Peak (2014)
- 462018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How DeWitt County compares
DeWitt County's 2.4/10 score sits below the Texas statewide average of 2.6/10, reflecting a calmer eviction environment than most of the state. Peer counties in a similar score band - including Bosque, Shelby, Eastland, Ward, and Fayette - cluster in the same lower-risk range, none diverging substantially from DeWitt. Within this peer group, the shared drivers are modest rent-to-income ratios, rural or small-town housing stock, and the same state-level landlord-law framework that applies uniformly across Texas eviction laws.