Ochiltree County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Ochiltree County sits in the far northeastern corner of the Texas Panhandle - a sparsely populated agricultural region where wheat farming and oil and gas activity have long shaped the local economy. With a total population of roughly 8,698 residents, the county is anchored almost entirely by Perryton, which accounts for approximately 8,585 of those residents and carries an eviction risk score of 3.3/10. The two remaining incorporated places - Waka (3.1/10) and Farnsworth (3.1/10) - are very small communities with minimal rental housing stock. Countywide, the average eviction risk score is 3.1/10 (Low), placing Ochiltree 194th of 254 Texas counties - well into the lower-risk portion of the state.

The Low risk designation reflects a combination of market and legal factors specific to this part of the Panhandle. Ochiltree's average asking rent of $1,005 per month is modest relative to Texas metros, and renters here spend an average of 27% of household income on housing - a burden level that, while not trivial for the 17.1% of residents living below the poverty line, is lower than the stress levels seen in fast-growing urban counties. Renters represent about 27.9% of occupied housing units, a share typical of smaller rural counties where homeownership rates run high. A relatively contained rental market, stable agricultural employment base, and limited in-migration pressure all keep turnover and displacement rates lower than in Texas's major metros. Scores across the county's three cities run from 3.1 to 3.3/10, a tight spread that reflects genuine homogeneity - this is a place where the rental experience in one town closely mirrors another.

Texas state law (Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92) sets the floor for all landlord-tenant relationships in Ochiltree County, and that floor tilts toward landlord flexibility. Non-payment evictions require only a 3-day notice under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005(a) before a landlord can file in justice court, where filing fees run $54 to $125. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 30 days; contested proceedings extend to 45 to 90 days. Texas does not require just cause for non-renewal, does not protect source of income as a fair housing class, and under TX Local Gov Code §214.902 expressly preempts any local rent control ordinance - meaning Perryton and no other Ochiltree municipality can cap rents regardless of local conditions. For landlords, Ochiltree's combination of low tenant-protectiveness and a contained, stable rental market makes it one of the more predictable operating environments in the state.

Ochiltree County's 3.3/10 Low eviction risk score reflects a small, stable Panhandle rental market where agricultural and energy-sector employment anchors household incomes, average rents stay near $1,005 per month, and Texas eviction laws's landlord-permissive statutory framework applies without local modification. The county's lower-risk position among all 254 Texas counties confirms that 193 counties carry meaningfully higher displacement pressure than this corner of the Panhandle.