Haskell County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Haskell County sits in northwest Texas's rolling plains roughly 200 miles west of Fort Worth, a sparsely settled agricultural county where cattle ranching and dryland farming have defined the local economy for more than a century. With a total population of about 4,233 and only five incorporated communities, the rental market here is narrow by any measure - just 31.2% of households rent, and the average rent of $828 per month is well below what urban Texas eviction laws renters pay. Against that backdrop, the county's eviction risk score of 2.5/10 (Low) places it 87th out of 254 Texas counties, meaning 86 counties carry higher risk and 167 are safer for landlords. For property owners operating in a small, relationship-driven market like Haskell, that Low rating reflects real structural advantages: statewide preemption bars any local rent control ordinance, Texas offers no just-cause eviction requirement, and the 3-day notice period for nonpayment of rent under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 is among the shortest in the nation.

Scores across Haskell County's five communities span a narrow band from 2.4 to 2.8, which signals that no single community carries dramatically elevated risk relative to its neighbors. The county seat of Haskell (population 2,817) scores 2.5/10 and accounts for roughly two-thirds of the county's total residents; Rule (population 823) comes in at 2.4/10, while the smaller communities of Weinert (population 235), Rochester (population 228), and O'Brien (population 130) register 2.5/10, 2.6/10, and 2.8/10, respectively. O'Brien is the county's highest-risk community at 2.8/10 - still well within the Low range - driven in part by its concentration of poverty and very small tenant pool, which historically produces more volatile eviction rates per capita even when absolute case counts stay low. Rochester, at 2.6/10, is the next riskiest, reflecting a similar dynamic in a community of fewer than 250 residents.

The broader economic context adds important texture. A poverty rate of 16.8% across Haskell County is noticeably above the Texas statewide average, and a rent burden of 30.3% - where renters spend nearly a third of household income on housing - sits at a level the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development classifies as cost-burdened. That combination (elevated poverty plus cost burden) is typically a leading indicator of eviction pressure, yet Haskell's very small rental universe and close-knit community norms tend to dampen formal filings: landlords and tenants often know each other personally, and informal resolution is common before a case reaches a justice of the peace court. Texas law keeps filing fees relatively low - between $54 and $125 to initiate a residential eviction - and an uncontested case can resolve in as few as 21 to 30 days, which makes the formal process accessible to landlords who do need to pursue it. Attorney costs typically run $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity, and a sheriff's lockout, if required, adds $50 to $175.

Haskell County's Low eviction risk rating (2.5/10, ranked 87th of 254 Texas eviction laws counties) reflects a small, agriculture-anchored rental market where statewide landlord-friendly statutes, a narrow renter pool, and informal community dispute resolution combine to keep formal eviction activity low - even as a 16.8% poverty rate and 30.3% rent burden signal meaningful underlying financial stress among tenants.