Reagan County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Reagan County sits in the Permian Basin of far West Texas, home to roughly 2,990 residents and one incorporated place -- Big Lake, the county seat. As an oil-patch community, Reagan County has an economic profile quite different from urban Texas eviction laws: average asking rent runs just $746 a month, and only about 24.7% of households rent rather than own. Those dynamics -- modest rent loads and a predominantly owner-occupied housing stock -- flow directly into an eviction risk reading of 3.2/10 (Low), positioning the county at 226th of 254 Texas counties on our risk scale. That rank places Reagan County squarely in the lower-risk of the state, with 225 counties carrying higher risk and 28 carrying lower risk.

Big Lake, the only tracked city in the county, scores 3.2/10 -- identical to the county average, since its 2,990 residents make up essentially the entire county population. The score spread across the county runs from 3.2 to 3.2, reflecting that single-city reality. Rent burden here is low by Texas standards: at 15.2%, the average renter household spends far less of its income on housing than the national benchmark of 30%, which reduces the financial pressure that typically drives eviction filings. The poverty rate of 11.7% is moderate, and the local economy's oil-field wage base tends to support relatively stable tenancy even during commodity-price cycles -- though energy downturns can shift that picture quickly.

Texas landlord-tenant law governs Reagan County without any local overlay. The state preempts local rent control entirely under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, so no city or county in Texas -- including Big Lake -- may cap rent increases or require just-cause eviction. Landlords must serve a 3-day written notice to vacate before filing for eviction under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, whether the ground is non-payment, a lease violation, or end of term. Unauthorized occupants (squatters) may be removed without any notice period under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 as amended by SB-38. Court filing fees run $54 to $125 in Justice of the Peace court, and an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days; a contested hearing can extend to 45 to 90 days. Those timelines are consistent with the broader Texas low-risk profile relative to coastal states where contested evictions regularly run six months or more. Habitability obligations fall under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052, and landlord retaliation is prohibited by Tex. Prop. Code § 92.331 -- but source-of-income protections (covering housing vouchers, for example) are not enacted at the state level, leaving voucher-holding tenants without that layer of protection. Fair housing complaints route through the Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division.

Reagan County's 3.2/10 Low score reflects low rent burden (15.2%), a small renter population (24.7% of households), and a landlord-permissive Texas eviction laws statutory framework -- no rent caps, no just-cause requirement, and 3-day notice periods across all eviction grounds. The county's 226th-of-254 ranking puts it in the lower-risk of Texas, meaning most counties in the state sit on either side of it risk-wise.