Jeff Davis County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Jeff Davis County sits in the high desert of far West Texas, anchored by the county seat of Fort Davis and the remote rail community of Valentine. With a total population of just 948 residents, it ranks among the least-populous counties in Texas and in the country. The Eviction Risk Map rates the county at 2.1/10 (Very Low), placing it 227th out of 254 Texas counties - firmly in the lower-risk tier of Texas landlord risk. The statewide average is 2.6/10, which means Jeff Davis County presents substantially lower structural eviction pressure than the Texas norm.

The county's two incorporated communities paint a consistent picture. Fort Davis - home to 879 of the county's 948 residents and the seat of Jeff Davis County government - scores 2.1/10, in line with the county average. Valentine, a tiny community of 69 people about 35 miles south along U.S. Highway 90, scores 1.9/10, the lower end of the county's 1.9-to-2.1 spread. Neither community carries the dense renter-tenant dynamics that drive high eviction-filing rates in urban Texas counties. Renter-occupied units represent just 22.8% of the housing stock here - a share well below the state norm - which structurally limits the volume of tenancy disputes a landlord is likely to encounter.

That said, landlords in Jeff Davis County should not equate low eviction-risk scores with straightforward collections. The county's rent burden stands at 49.6% of income - meaning the average renter household spends nearly half of gross income on housing costs - and the poverty rate is 43.7%. Average asking rent of $1,248 per month is significant against a thin local wage base driven largely by tourism around McDonald Observatory, Davis Mountains State Park, and Fort Davis National Historic Site. Seasonal and short-term occupancies are common in this corridor, which can complicate lease structuring and notice delivery. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a landlord must deliver a written 3-day notice to vacate before filing any eviction suit - whether for non-payment, lease violation, or holdover - and must then wait out the justice-court docket, which in a county this small can run 21 to 30 days for an uncontested case and 45 to 90 days if the tenant contests. Court filing fees run $54 to $125; sheriff lockout costs add $50 to $175. Texas law under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331 prohibits retaliation against tenants who report habitability issues, and the habitability code at Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052 requires landlords to make diligent repairs. Texas does not require just cause for non-renewal, and the state preempts all local rent control under TX Local Gov Code § 214.902, so Jeff Davis County landlords operate under a uniform state framework with no city-level overlays to track.

Jeff Davis County's 2.1/10 eviction risk score reflects a small, owner-dominated housing market with limited renter density and no local tenant-protection ordinances layered on top of Texas eviction laws state law. The low score is driven primarily by the near-absence of concentrated rental stock and the county's geographic isolation, which limits the tenant-demand pressure common to metro-adjacent Texas eviction laws counties.