Glasscock County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Glasscock County sits in the heart of West Texas oil country, roughly 50 miles south of Midland. With a total population of 109 renters and owner-occupants combined, it ranks among the smallest counties in the state - and that scale shapes almost everything about how landlord-tenant disputes play out here. The county's eviction risk score of 2.4/10 places it at 122nd of 254 Texas counties, firmly in the middle tier. Of the 254 counties across Texas, 121 score higher and 132 score lower, putting Glasscock in broadly average territory despite its remote, rural character.

The sole incorporated community is Garden City, the county seat, which carries a score of 2.4/10 - identical to the county average, since all scored rental units in the county are concentrated there. The Texas statewide average is 2.6/10, and Glasscock sits close to it. Rent burden here runs at 31.3%, meaning the typical renter household spends just over a third of gross income on housing - modestly elevated for a county where the average rent is $1,434 per month and the poverty rate is 8.5%. With renters making up 35.4% of occupied households, the rental market is present but thin, and vacancies tend to fill by word of mouth rather than formal listing services. That informality can cut both ways: lease documentation is often less detailed than in urban markets, which raises the stakes when a dispute does arise.

Texas law governs all landlord-tenant relationships here through Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92. There is no local rent control - Texas state law preempts it outright under TX Local Gov Code §214.902 - and no just-cause eviction requirement applies. Landlords may raise rent without a statutory cap and may decline to renew a lease for any non-discriminatory reason. For non-payment or lease violations, the required notice is 3 days under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a). Holdover tenants also receive a 3-day notice. Squatters and unauthorized occupants face immediate action under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 as added by SB-38 - no notice period is required before filing. If a tenant contests the eviction, the case moves to Glasscock County justice court, where uncontested proceedings typically resolve in 21 to 30 days and contested matters in 45 to 90 days. Court filing fees run $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney costs for a defended case can reach $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity. The Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division handles fair housing complaints; source-of-income discrimination (such as refusing Section 8 vouchers) is not a protected class under Texas law.

Glasscock County's Very Low risk profile reflects its combination of landlord-favorable state statutes, minimal local regulation, and a very small rental stock concentrated in Garden City. The county's score of 2.4/10 (122nd of 254) sits in the middle of the Texas eviction laws distribution, where oil-patch economics and a lean regulatory environment keep eviction exposure relatively contained compared to the state's larger metros.