Madison County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Madison County is a sparsely populated rural county in east-central Texas, home to roughly 5,635 residents spread across the county seat of Madisonville and two smaller communities. With an eviction risk score of 2.4/10 (Very Low), it ranks 115th out of 254 Texas counties - placing it squarely in the middle band statewide. That position means 114 counties carry more eviction risk than Madison while 139 carry less, a spread that reflects how thoroughly rural east Texas counties tend to cluster near the low end of the risk scale. Scores within the county itself range from 2.4 to 2.6, a narrow window that signals consistency across its three incorporated places rather than dramatic within-county variation.

The county seat, Madisonville, accounts for the vast majority of the renter population with a score of 2.4/10. At 4,552 residents it is the clear urban anchor of the county, and its score defines the county average. Normangee, at 826 residents, is the highest-risk community in the county at 2.6/10 - still firmly in Low territory but marginally elevated relative to Madisonville. Midway, the smallest incorporated place at 257 residents, sits at 2.4/10. The tight clustering of scores across all three communities reflects the shared structural conditions - low rental market density, limited institutional landlord presence, and an absence of local eviction-protection ordinances - that shape risk uniformly across rural Madison County. Average asking rent runs $1,017 per month county-wide, and the average rent burden of 29.8% sits a few points below thresholds that typically drive distress-related filings. The renter share of occupied housing is 29.4%, below the Texas statewide average, which itself means the absolute pool of active tenancies - and therefore potential filings - remains small.

Texas landlord-tenant law under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 grants landlords one of the shortest notice timelines in the country. A 3-day notice to vacate is sufficient for non-payment of rent, lease violations, holdover tenancy, and end-of-lease situations alike. Squatters and unauthorized occupants face immediate removal authority under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 as amended by SB-38, with no notice period required. Justice court filing fees in Texas range from $54 to $125, and an uncontested eviction case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days - far faster than states with mandatory mediation or extended cure windows. Texas also preempts local rent control under TX Local Gov Code § 214.902, meaning Madison County and its cities have no legal authority to cap rent increases or require just-cause eviction justifications. With a poverty rate of 16.4% among county residents, the gap between those structural protections and the economic vulnerability of the tenant population is real - but the thin rental market limits the frequency with which that gap translates into actual filings.

Madison County's 2.4/10 score (Very Low) reflects the combination of Texas eviction laws's landlord-favorable statutes, a small and dispersed rental market, and a rent burden level (29.8%) that has not yet reached the distress threshold. Scores across its three cities span only 2.4 to 2.6, indicating consistent low-risk conditions county-wide rather than concentrated hotspots.