Gray County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Gray County, Texas eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 2/10, placing it in the Low risk tier across all 4 incorporated places. With 108 Texas counties scoring higher and 145 scoring lower, Gray County sits in the middle third of the state, though its low absolute score means landlords here face comparatively manageable operating conditions. The county's 25.2% renter share is modest, and average rent of $933 keeps tenancy accessible for most households.

The intra-county range runs from 1.4/10 to 2/10, a narrow band that reflects a broadly consistent risk environment. Still, even within a low-risk county, individual city dynamics matter. Investors sizing up specific submarkets should not assume county-level numbers apply uniformly to every address.

The cities inside Gray County

Pampa and Lefors both land at the county ceiling of 2/10. Pampa, with a population of 16,659, accounts for the overwhelming majority of the county's 18,030 total residents, so its score effectively anchors the county average. Lefors, at a population of 557, matches that score in a much smaller rental pool, which can make individual problem tenancies disproportionately impactful on a small portfolio.

McLean scores 1.5/10 at a population of 799, and Alanreed comes in at the county low of 1.4/10 with only 15 residents, making it effectively a rural outlier. This spread illustrates how risk remains hyper-local: a landlord operating in Pampa faces a meaningfully different tenant-market environment than one with units in Alanreed or McLean, even though all four cities fall within the same Low-risk county.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Gray County operates under Texas eviction laws state law, specifically Tex. Prop. Code §91 and §92 (Residential Tenancies). Texas requires only a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment of rent, lease violations, holdover situations, and even first-time delinquencies, one of the shorter notice periods in the country. Unauthorized occupants or squatters can be removed without any notice period under Tex. Prop. Code §24.011 as added by SB-38. Understanding the full Texas eviction process, from that 3-day notice through judgment, is essential before filing; an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days, while a contested hearing can stretch to 45 to 90 days.

On the cost side, court filing fees run $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees add another $50 to $175, and attorney fees range from $500 to $3,500 depending on case complexity. Texas eviction costs therefore vary widely based on whether the tenant contests and whether counsel is retained. Texas imposes no just-cause requirement and, under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no municipality inside Gray County can impose rent caps or additional eviction protections beyond state law. Landlords who want a detailed breakdown of tenant-side rights should also review Texas tenant protections before drafting lease terms.

With a poverty rate of 17.3% and a renter share of 25.2%, Gray County's rental market is small but carries real income-stress indicators worth monitoring; see the city grid above for score-level detail on each of the 4 incorporated places.