Hockley County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Hockley County, Texas eviction laws posts a county-average eviction-risk score of 1.7/10 (Low), placing it in the middle third of all 254 Texas counties, ranked 144 of 254 statewide. That means 143 counties carry more risk and 110 are more landlord-friendly, so Hockley sits in genuinely moderate territory, not the easiest market in Texas eviction laws but far from the most contentious. For landlords and investors scanning the South Plains, the county's low average rent burden of 25.5% and an average rent of $823 suggest that most renters here are not financially stretched to the point that drives chronic nonpayment.

The county spans 7 cities with a combined population of roughly 16,161, and risk scores range from 1.5 to 2.9 across those communities. That 1.4-point spread matters: investors treating the whole county as a single risk profile will misjudge individual markets. Roughly 31.2% of residents rent, and a poverty rate of 13.7% is worth watching as a leading indicator of future lease-stress cycles.

The cities inside Hockley County

The lowest-risk city by a clear margin is Levelland, the county seat and by far the largest community at 12,466 residents, with a score of 1.5/10. Its size gives the local rental market enough depth to absorb turnover without the concentrated stress that drives scores higher in smaller towns. Levelland accounts for the bulk of the county's rental inventory, so if you are deploying capital across Hockley County, the gravitational pull of the data points here.

The elevated end of the range is led by Opdyke West at 2.9/10, the highest score in the county, followed by Anton at 2.7/10 (population 1,053) and Ropesville at 2.6/10. Sundown (2.5/10, population 1,374) and Smyer (2.5/10) round out the upper tier. None of these scores is alarming on an absolute scale, but in smaller towns with thin rental pools, a single difficult tenancy can have an outsized effect on an owner's cash flow. Risk is genuinely hyper-local inside this county, and the gap between Levelland and Opdyke West illustrates why address-level due diligence outperforms county-level averages.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Texas state law, specifically Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, landlords in Hockley County are required to serve only a 3-day notice to vacate for nonpayment of rent, lease violations, and holdover situations. Squatters and unauthorized occupants can be addressed without a notice period under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 as added by SB-38. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days; a contested matter extends to 45 to 90 days. Understanding the full Texas eviction process is essential before the first filing, since total out-of-pocket costs, including court filing fees of $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees of $50 to $175, and attorney fees of $500 to $3,500, can vary widely depending on how a case unfolds.

Texas state law does not require just cause for nonrenewal, and the state preempts any local rent-control ordinance under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, so no city inside Hockley County can impose rent caps. Retaliation against tenants is prohibited under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331. Landlords should review Texas security deposit limits and Texas tenant protections as part of standard lease setup, since habitability obligations under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052 carry meaningful repair-and-remedy rights that a well-drafted lease needs to address explicitly.

With a poverty rate of 13.7% and roughly 31.2% of residents renting, Hockley County's risk profile is shaped more by its smaller satellite towns than by Levelland; the city grid above breaks down each community's individual score so you can target acquisitions at the right level of precision.