Jones County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Jones County sits in West Texas's rolling plains roughly 150 miles southeast of Lubbock, anchored by the county seat of Anson and the larger community of Stamford to the north. With a total population of about 8,302 residents and a renter share of 27.7%, the rental market here is modest in scale -- but that does not mean landlords can afford to be unprepared. The county's eviction risk score of 3.5/10 (Low) places it at rank 140th of 254 Texas eviction laws counties, putting it firmly in the middle of the state for eviction exposure. Roughly 139 counties across Texas carry higher risk than Jones County, while 114 counties sit at lower risk levels.

Across the five tracked cities, scores range from 3.2 to 4, which is a narrower spread than many Texas counties of similar size. The highest individual reading belongs to Lueders at 3.4/10 -- a small community of 271 residents where the combination of elevated poverty (the county-wide average sits at 18.2%) and a thin rental supply can compress landlord options quickly when a tenancy breaks down. Stamford, the most populous city in the county with 2,917 residents, scores 4/10, reflecting a more established rental base but still carrying the same 3-day notice timeline and Justice of the Peace court process that governs every eviction in Texas. Anson, the county seat and home to 2,531 residents, comes in at 3.2/10 -- one of the lower readings in the county and consistent with a tighter owner-occupied housing mix. Hawley and Hamlin round out the lineup at 3.2/10 and 3.2/10 respectively, with Hamlin representing the lowest risk floor in the county. Even at the low end, all five communities operate under identical Texas statutory rules, so a landlord in Hamlin faces the same procedural calendar as one in Lueders -- only the underlying economic conditions differ.

The county's average rent of $846 per month and a rent burden rate of 30.8% -- meaning the average renter household spends nearly a third of gross income on rent -- signal meaningful affordability pressure despite Jones County's position in the lower-risk band. When rent consumes that share of household income, even a single missed paycheck can trigger a default. Texas law provides no cure period for rent nonpayment beyond the statutory 3-day notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a), and Jones County has no local tenant protections to extend that window -- Texas state law (TX Local Gov Code § 214.902) preempts local rent control entirely. Landlords who understand this environment from day one -- and who screen carefully using the Texas Workforce Commission's guidelines -- are far less likely to find themselves filing at the Anson Justice of the Peace court than those who treat the county's low risk score as a reason to be less diligent.

Jones County's 3.5/10 average reflects a landlord-favorable statutory environment combined with a small, economically constrained rental base. The 18.2% poverty rate and 30.8% rent burden suggest tenant financial fragility that can translate to eviction filings even in a low-risk county -- keeping strong screening and lease documentation practices in place is essential regardless of the county's middle standing among Texas eviction laws's 254 counties.