Limestone County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Limestone County scores 2/10 (Low) for eviction risk, placing it rank 100 of 254 Texas eviction laws counties, meaning 99 counties carry higher risk and 154 are considered more landlord-friendly. For investors scanning Central Texas markets, that middle-of-the-state positioning signals a workable operating environment rather than either an easy-money hotspot or a distressed outlier. Across the county's 6 incorporated cities, the average rent runs $887 per month, and the average renter household puts 28.8% of income toward rent, a burden level that keeps most tenants financially engaged without the severe stress that drives mass defaults.

The intra-county range runs from 1.7 to 2.9, a spread that matters more than the county average alone. With a total population of roughly 12,863 spread thinly across several small communities, Limestone County is a low-volume market where individual property choices carry outsized weight. Landlords who pick the right submarket can operate comfortably; those who rely on the county-wide average without looking at city-level data may be surprised by concentrated pockets of higher tenant-side pressure.

The cities inside Limestone County

Coolidge carries the county's highest risk score at 2.9/10, with a population of 754. Just behind it are Kosse at 2.5/10 (population 430) and both Thornton and Tehuacana at 2.4/10, with populations of 565 and 341 respectively. These four small communities share thin rental pools, which can translate to longer vacancy cycles and slightly weaker applicant queues when a unit turns over. Groesbeck, the county's second-largest city at 3,914 residents, scores 2.3/10, a notch below the higher-risk cluster but still above the county's floor.

Mexia is the clear standout for landlords prioritizing stability. With a population of 6,859, it is the county's largest city by a wide margin and scores 1.7/10, the lowest risk in the county. The combination of a larger renter pool and the lowest risk score in Limestone County makes Mexia the most defensible entry point for buy-and-hold investors. Risk in this county is genuinely hyper-local: the 1.2-point spread between Coolidge and Mexia reflects meaningfully different operating conditions within a county that looks uniform from a distance.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Limestone County operate under Texas state law. The Texas eviction process begins with a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment of rent (both first-time and habitually delinquent tenants), lease violations, and holdover situations under Tex. Prop. Code sections 24.005 and 24.005(b). Squatters and unauthorized occupants may be removed without any notice period under Tex. Prop. Code section 24.011 as added by SB-38. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days; a contested case can run 45 to 90 days. Texas does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts all local rent-control ordinances under TX Local Gov Code section 214.902, so no city in Limestone County can impose rent caps independently.

Texas eviction costs break down into three components: court filing fees of $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees of $50 to $175, and attorney fees ranging from $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity. Understanding the full Texas eviction costs before a problem lease arises is standard practice for landlords who want to price their risk accurately. For broader context on what tenants can legally expect from you in return, reviewing Texas tenant protections under Tex. Prop. Code sections 92.052 and 92.331 (habitability and retaliation) is equally worthwhile.

Limestone County carries an average poverty rate of 24% against a renter share of 39.1%, two figures that underscore why city-level scores vary as widely as they do; see the city grid above to compare individual markets before committing to a specific submarket.