Navarro County, Texas Eviction Risk: Very Low

Navarro County scores 3.4/10 (Low risk) on average across its 20 incorporated places, but that headline understates where landlords actually stand relative to the rest of Texas. With a state rank of 3 out of 254 counties, only two Texas eviction laws counties carry higher eviction risk, placing Navarro firmly in the upper tier of landlord challenge statewide. The intra-county range runs from 2.1 to 3.5, meaning individual communities vary meaningfully in the tenant-stress indicators that drive eviction exposure. For investors evaluating southeast Texas, the county's low absolute score is a starting point, not a final answer.

The broader operating picture is shaped by a few structural pressures. Average rent sits at $1,077 per month, and renters spend an average of 27.3% of income on housing, a rate that leaves modest cushion before a household tips into delinquency. The poverty rate of 16.9% across the county adds to that underlying fragility. Roughly 39.2% of residents are renters, a renter share large enough that vacancy and tenant-quality risk are ongoing considerations rather than occasional ones.

The cities inside Navarro County

The highest-risk municipalities are Corsicana and Kerens, each scoring 3.5/10. Corsicana is by far the county's largest city with a population of 25,511, making it the dominant rental market in the county and the place where most landlord-tenant disputes will originate. Kerens, with a population of 1,778, carries the same score in a much smaller pool, which can mean faster local concentration of problem tenancies. Dawson follows at 3.4/10 with 1,322 residents.

On the lower end, Retreat scores 2.6/10 and Frost comes in at 2.9/10, and the county floor reaches as low as 2.1. That spread of more than a full point from the county floor to the ceiling at 3.5 illustrates how hyper-local eviction risk is: two properties in the same county, in different towns, can face notably different tenant-population dynamics. Investors should evaluate each city on its own numbers before committing capital.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Navarro County operate under Texas state law, specifically Tex. Prop. Code SS 91 and SS 92. The Texas eviction process begins with a 3-day written notice for non-payment of rent, lease violations, holdover tenants, and habitually delinquent tenants alike. For squatters and unauthorized occupants, Tex. Prop. Code SS 24.011 (as added by SB-38) allows a 0-day notice, meaning landlords can move directly to filing. Once a suit is filed, an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days; a contested case stretches to 45 to 90 days.

Texas eviction costs at the justice-court level run from $54 to $125 in filing fees, $50 to $175 for the sheriff lockout, and attorney fees ranging from $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity and whether the tenant contests. Texas requires no just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance under TX Local Gov Code SS 214.902, so no Navarro County municipality can impose rent caps independently. Source-of-income protection is not required under Texas state law, and retaliation claims are governed by Tex. Prop. Code SS 92.331.

With a poverty rate of 16.9% and a renter share of 39.2%, Navarro County's risk profile is driven more by economic fragility than by tenant-protection law; the city-by-city grid above shows where that pressure concentrates most.