Newton County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Newton County sits in the deep Piney Woods of East Texas, a lightly populated county of roughly 3,227 renters and residents along the Sabine River corridor. The county carries an overall eviction risk score of 2.8/10 (Low), placing it at 13th of 254 Texas counties -- a position in the higher-risk third of the state even while its absolute score remains low on the national scale. Twelve Texas counties score higher; 241 score lower. Within the county, individual city scores stretch from a floor of 2 to a ceiling of 2.9, a spread that reflects the uneven concentration of rental stock and economic pressure across this sparse rural landscape.

The county seat, Newton, is the dominant population center and the riskiest jurisdiction in the county at 2.9/10. Newton holds roughly 2,534 of the county's renters and is where the bulk of lease disputes and eviction filings concentrate. South Toledo Bend, a small lakeside community near the Louisiana eviction laws border, comes in at 2.7/10 -- elevated relative to its size, driven by seasonal rental dynamics and modest renter incomes. Deweyville, the smallest of the three tracked communities, scores 2/10, the lowest reading in the county and a reflection of its quieter, more stable rental base. Across all three, renters pay an average of $1,046 per month, absorbing about 28.7% of household income -- a rent-burden figure that sits below the 30% threshold typically flagged as a hardship marker, though 23.2% of the county population falls below the federal poverty line, meaning a meaningful share of renters here have almost no financial cushion when income disruptions hit.

Texas law governs all landlord-tenant relationships in Newton County under Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92. The state sets a firm 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment of rent (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a)), regardless of whether the tenant is a first-time delinquent or habitually late. The same 3-day window applies to lease violations and end-of-term holdovers. Texas requires no just cause to terminate a tenancy at lease end, and since 2017 state law under TX Local Gov Code § 214.902 has preempted any municipality from enacting local rent control -- meaning Newton County renters cannot look to city ordinances for additional protections that do not already exist under state statute. Court filing fees to initiate an eviction run $54 to $125 in Justice of the Peace courts, with sheriff lockout fees adding another $50 to $175. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 30 days; contested matters run 45 to 90 days. Statewide, the 2.6 average eviction risk reflects Texas's landlord-favorable legal framework, and Newton County's score of 2.8/10 tracks closely with that statewide baseline.

Newton County's rental market is small and rural, with only 28.4% of households renting and an average monthly rent of $1,046. The county's poverty rate of 23.2% means a substantial share of renters operate with thin margins, making even a single missed paycheck a potential trigger for a 3-day notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005. No local rent stabilization exists here -- Texas eviction laws's statewide preemption statute ensures that -- and no source-of-income protection applies, so Section 8 voucher holders can legally be turned away. The retaliation protection under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331 and habitability remedies under § 92.052 remain the primary statutory shields available to Newton County tenants.