Palo Pinto County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Palo Pinto County, Texas eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 3.2/10 (Low), placing it 7th out of 254 Texas eviction laws counties by risk, meaning only 6 counties statewide are riskier for landlords and 247 are more landlord-friendly. That ranking puts this rural county in the higher-risk third of the state, a counterintuitive finding given how small the population is. Across the county's 8 incorporated places, the average rent runs $1,049 per month against an average rent-burden rate of 29.7%, indicating that a meaningful share of renters are already stretched thin before any financial shock arrives.

The intra-county score range, 1.9 to 3.3, is compressed by statewide standards, but even a 1.4-point spread across a county of roughly 17,900 residents signals that location choice within Palo Pinto County matters. A landlord operating in the county seat faces a noticeably different risk environment than one holding units in a smaller outlying community. Renter share sits at 38.2% of households, leaving plenty of room for a rental portfolio, though a poverty rate of 20.2% is a persistent stress factor that landlords in smaller markets here should price into their underwriting.

The cities inside Palo Pinto County

Mineral Wells is by far the county's largest city, with a population of 15,244 and a risk score of 3.3/10, the highest in the county. Because it holds the vast majority of the county's rental housing stock, Mineral Wells effectively drives the county average. Mingus follows at 3/10 and Strawn at 2.9/10, both small communities where a single contested eviction can represent a significant share of annual rental income.

At the lower end of the risk spectrum, Santo scores 1.9/10, the lowest in the county, and the city of Palo Pinto itself scores 2/10. Gordon, at 2.6/10, and Graford, at 2.8/10, round out the middle tier. The lesson for investors is straightforward: risk in Palo Pinto County is hyper-local. A multi-unit acquisition in Mineral Wells requires a different due-diligence posture than a single-family rental in Santo, even though both fall under the same county-level numbers.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Texas state law, specifically Tex. Prop. Code SS 91 and SS 92 (Residential Tenancies), landlords can serve a 3-day notice to quit for non-payment of rent, a lease violation, or a holdover situation. Squatters or unauthorized occupants face a 0-day notice under Tex. Prop. Code SS 24.011 as added by SB-38, one of the more aggressive squatter-removal tools in the country. Understanding the Texas eviction laws eviction process from notice to writ is essential before placing tenants in any Palo Pinto County property, because even an uncontested case runs 21 to 30 days once it enters the court system, and a contested matter can stretch 45 to 90 days.

On the cost side, court filing fees range from $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney fees typically fall between $500 and $3,500 depending on complexity. Landlords budgeting a potential eviction should plan for the full component range rather than a single round number. Texas security deposit limits are set at the state level with no local overrides, and Texas eviction laws imposes no just-cause eviction requirement and no rent-control authority at the local level. TX Local Gov Code SS 214.902 explicitly preempts any municipality from enacting rent control, giving landlords statewide pricing flexibility. Texas tenant protections around retaliation (Tex. Prop. Code SS 92.331) and habitability (Tex. Prop. Code SS 92.052) still apply, so compliance with notice-and-repair obligations is not optional.

With a poverty rate of 20.2% and renters making up 38.2% of households, the financial stress profile of Palo Pinto County tenants is real, and it varies meaningfully across the 8 cities listed in the grid above.