Hall County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Hall County sits in the eastern Texas eviction laws Panhandle, a sparsely populated agricultural county with roughly 2,600 residents and a rental market that is unusually affordable even by rural Texas eviction laws standards. Average rent runs about $498 per month, and the average rent burden -- the share of income renters spend on housing -- is 23.6%, well below the national threshold of concern. About 26.6% of households rent, and the county's poverty rate of 16.7% is elevated relative to the state as a whole, a pattern typical of deep-rural Panhandle counties that lost population over several decades as the cotton and grain economy consolidated. That economic backdrop shapes who rents here, how long they tend to stay, and how often landlord-tenant disputes escalate to court.

The Eviction Risk Map research team scores Hall County at 3.2/10 (Low), placing it at 236th of 254 Texas eviction laws counties by eviction risk -- meaning 235 counties are riskier and 18 are less risky. That puts Hall County in the lower-risk of Texas counties. The score range across Hall County's four incorporated cities is tight, running from 3.1 to 3.2/10, which reflects how homogeneous local housing conditions are when a county has fewer than 50 rental units in most of its communities. Memphis, the county seat and home to roughly 2,174 of the county's 2,600 residents, carries the highest local score at 3.2/10 -- a predictable result since it holds the county's only Justice of the Peace court capable of processing eviction filings. Estelline, a small farming community to the south, scores 3.1/10. Turkey, best known outside the Panhandle as the birthplace of western-swing musician Bob Wills, scores 3.2/10, while Lakeview, the smallest incorporated place, comes in at 3.1/10.

Texas law, specifically Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, requires only a 3-day written notice before a landlord may file an eviction petition for non-payment of rent or a lease violation -- one of the shortest notice windows in the country. That compressed timeline is the primary driver of elevated risk scores in landlord-friendly Texas counties, even ones as rural and low-cost as Hall County. Once a landlord files, uncontested cases in Texas resolve in roughly 21 to 30 days; contested cases can stretch 45 to 90 days. Court filing fees in Texas JP courts run $54 to $125, and a constable or sheriff lockout typically costs an additional $50 to $175. There is no local rent control here -- Texas state law at TX Local Gov Code §214.902 expressly preempts any local rent ordinance -- and there is no just-cause requirement before a landlord terminates a tenancy. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Texas fair housing law, meaning landlords in Hall County may legally decline applicants on the basis of housing vouchers.

Hall County's Low score of 3.2/10 reflects a rural, low-cost rental market with minimal tenant protections at the state level. The 3-day eviction notice rule and absence of just-cause requirements under Texas eviction laws law are the primary risk factors; the county's low rents, low rent burden, and limited rental stock moderate the overall picture relative to larger Texas eviction laws metros.