Robertson County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low
4 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Hearne (2.9) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
Ranked #27 of 254 TX counties
8k residents · 4 cities · 6 tracts
Robertson County eviction risk score history
Key metrics
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Tenant beats landlord14.6%/ 100 outcomesIn court-decided eviction outcomes for Robertson County, TX, tenants prevail in roughly 14.6% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
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Timeline26dfiling → judgmentFrom the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Robertson County, TX until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 26 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
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Cost range$0.9–3.5klegal + lost rentA typical eviction in Robertson County, TX costs landlords $944 to $3,513 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
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Average rent$74039% stretched on rentAverage gross rent in Robertson County, TX is $740 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 39% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
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Renters42.2%of households42.2% of occupied housing units in Robertson County, TX are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
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Poverty27.6%12.0% unemp.27.6% of Robertson County, TX residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 12.0%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Scrub 50 years
Robertson County scores 2.7/10 (Low risk), with city-level values ranging from 2.1 to 2.9. The county's relatively low score reflects its rural scale and small renter population, though a 38.8% rent burden and 27.6% poverty rate keep risk elevated compared to wealthier rural Texas counties. Ranked 27th of 254 Texas counties - in the higher-risk statewide, with 26 counties carrying higher risk.
How Robertson County ranks in Texas
Landlord guides for Texas
| City↕ | Population↕ | Risk↕ | % income on rent↕ | Average rent↕ | Lean↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Hearne | 4,555 | 2.9 | 51.0% | $641 | Rep |
| 002 | Franklin | 1,530 | 2.6 | 22.3% | $889 | Rep |
| 003 | Bremond | 855 | 2.5 | 19.6% | $917 | Rep |
| 004 | Calvert | 760 | 2.1 | 21.0% | $833 | Rep |
County heatmap
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Robertson County sits in the east-central Texas Brazos River basin, covering roughly 854 square miles between Waco and Bryan-College Station. With a total population near 7,700 and an estimated 42.2% of households renting, the county's rental market is modest in scale but meaningful in stakes - particularly given that about 27.6% of residents live below the poverty line and average rents run around $740 per month. At that rent level, a single missed paycheck can tip a household toward eviction, and a rent burden of 38.8% (the share of renter income consumed by housing costs) means financial margin is thin for a large share of tenants. Against that backdrop, Robertson County scores 2.7/10 overall, a Low risk designation on the Eviction Risk Map scale, placing it 27th out of 254 Texas eviction laws counties - putting it in the higher-risk of the state, with 26 counties carrying higher risk and 227 carrying lower risk.
The four incorporated places in Robertson County span a range from 2.1 to 2.9 on the 10-point scale. Hearne, the county seat and largest city at roughly 4,555 residents, posts the highest city-level score at 2.9/10 - reflecting its denser rental stock, higher poverty concentration, and the faster court timelines that Texas eviction laws landlord-tenant law creates in urban-adjacent settings. Franklin, the second-largest community at about 1,530 residents, comes in at 2.6/10, a measurably lower figure that tracks with its smaller and more stable rental base. Bremond, a small agricultural community of roughly 855, scores 2.5/10, while Calvert - historically significant as a former cotton-shipping hub with a population near 760 - records the lowest score in the county at 2.1/10. The spread between Hearne and Calvert illustrates how much micro-level economic conditions and renter-population density can shift outcomes even across a rural county with a shared state legal framework.
That shared framework is worth understanding clearly. Texas operates under Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92, which set the baseline rules for all residential tenancies statewide. Non-payment of rent, lease violations, and end-of-term holdovers all carry a 3-day notice requirement under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005 before a landlord can file for eviction. Once filed, uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 30 days from filing; contested proceedings generally run 45 to 90 days. Court filing fees range from $54 to $125 depending on the justice of the peace precinct, with sheriff lockout fees adding another $50 to $175 after judgment. Texas does not require just cause for non-renewal, does not protect source of income as a fair-housing category, and - critically - the state explicitly preempts local rent control ordinances under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, meaning no city or county in Texas can cap rent increases regardless of local conditions. Robertson County's Low score reflects all of these realities layered against its relatively rural, low-income renter base.
Robertson County's 2.7/10 score reflects a rural east-central Texas eviction laws county where Texas eviction laws's streamlined eviction process, 3-day notice requirements, and a 38.8% rent burden among renters converge with a 27.6% poverty rate. The county ranks 27th of 254 statewide - squarely in the higher-risk - with city scores ranging from 2.1 in Calvert to 2.9 in Hearne, the county's most populous city.
Historical eviction filings in Robertson County
From 2000 to 2018, eviction filings in Robertson County increased 100%. The peak was 42 filings in 2018.1
- 212000
- 42Peak (2018)
- 422018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Robertson County compares
At 2.7/10, Robertson County lands below the Texas statewide average of 2.6/10, consistent with its rural character and small renter base. Its closest peers - Morris, Lee, Falls, Wilbarger, and Jackson counties - all carry similar Low designations and share the same statewide statutory floor: 3-day notice, no rent cap, no just-cause requirement. What distinguishes Robertson within this cluster is the gap between Hearne at 2.9/10 and Calvert at 2.1/10, a spread of 2.1 to 2.9 that is wider than most rural peer counties of comparable size, driven by Hearne's higher poverty density and larger renter share relative to the county's other communities.