Lampasas County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Lampasas County sits in the Hill Country region of central Texas eviction laws, about 65 miles northwest of Austin eviction risk, and its rental market reflects the modest scale and tight-knit character of a rural Hill Country community. With roughly 9,698 residents and an average rent of $949 per month, the county draws renters who work in agriculture, light manufacturing, and the service trades that support the Fort Hood/Killeen eviction risk corridor to the east. About 34.7% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied, and the average rent burden sits at 25.9% of household income - well below the national stress threshold of 30%. Our model scores Lampasas County at 3.6/10 (Low), placing it 127th out of 254 Texas eviction laws counties for eviction risk, meaning it sits in the middle tier statewide. That position reflects both the county's modest income-to-rent ratio and the landlord-favorable legal environment Texas eviction laws provides across all 254 counties.

The county contains three incorporated places with distinct risk profiles. Lometa, the smallest of the three with a population of 812, carries the highest individual score at 3.4/10 - a function of its concentrated renter pool and limited local services. The county seat, Lampasas (population 7,671), comes in at 3.6/10 and anchors the bulk of the county's rental activity; most of the county's apartment stock and rental homes are clustered here, close to the courthouse square and along US-183. Kempner, a smaller community of around 1,215 residents at the edge of the county near the Coryell County line, records the lowest score at 3.2/10, reflecting its more suburban character and its proximity to Fort Hood employment that tends to keep vacancy rates low and collection risk contained. Across all three, the score spread from 3.2 to 3.6 is narrow, indicating that no single community is dramatically out of step with the county average.

The governing statute for all residential tenancies in Lampasas County is Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92, which sets the statewide floor on notice requirements, habitability standards (§ 92.052), and retaliation protections (§ 92.331). Texas eviction laws does not require just cause for non-renewal, does not cap rent increases at any level, and - by statute at TX Local Gov Code § 214.902 - preempts any municipality from enacting rent control. Lampasas County has no local rent control ordinance and is not on any trajectory to create one. On the practical cost side, court filing fees for a residential eviction (forcible detainer) in Lampasas County run between $54 and $125 depending on whether the matter is filed in justice court alone or escalated; a sheriff or constable lockout fee adds $50 to $175 on top of that. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 30 days, while contested proceedings - those where the tenant answers and requests a hearing - extend to 45 to 90 days, consistent with typical central Texas eviction laws justice court dockets. Source-of-income (voucher) status is not a protected class under Texas eviction laws state law, so landlords in Lampasas County are not required to accept Section 8 or other housing vouchers.

Lampasas County's Low designation stems from a combination of factors: a rent burden of 25.9% that remains below the 30% stress threshold, limited economic volatility compared to metro Texas eviction laws markets, and a statewide legal framework that resolves eviction disputes efficiently. The Texas eviction laws counties that score higher than Lampasas County tend to be either large urban centers with concentrated poverty or rural counties with severe rent burden and high poverty rates; at 13% poverty, Lampasas falls in the moderate range for rural Texas eviction laws. The narrow spread between 3.2 and 3.6 across the county's three cities indicates consistent risk conditions rather than pockets of distress.