San Jacinto County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

San Jacinto County sits in the Piney Woods of East Texas eviction laws, roughly 60 miles north of Houston eviction risk, and carries an eviction risk score of 2.6/10 (Low) -- placing it 44th out of 254 Texas counties, firmly in the higher-risk third of the state. Despite a relatively rural character and a modest renter population of approximately 5,516 tracked residents, the county's position reflects how even small, low-density communities inherit Texas eviction laws's landlord-favorable legal framework. Scores across the county's six tracked cities run from a low of 2.2 to a high of 2.9, a compact spread that signals fairly uniform conditions rather than sharp pockets of concentrated risk.

The county seat of Coldspring, with a population around 1,274, scores 2.8/10 -- among the higher readings in the county and consistent with a small-town commercial center where rental housing stock tends to be older and renter protections rest entirely on state statute, with no local overlay. Shepherd, the county's most populous city at roughly 2,189 residents, scores 2.6/10 and anchors the western edge of the county along U.S. 59. Point Blank and Cape Royale, both smaller communities along Lake Livingston, each score 2.6/10 and 2.6/10 respectively, reflecting the lake-area rental market that draws a mix of long-term residents and seasonal tenants. North Cleveland, the county's highest-scoring city at 2.9/10, sits near the Montgomery County line and represents the upper end of local eviction pressure despite a small resident count of around 376. Oakhurst, at the opposite end, posts the county's lowest reading of 2.2/10 -- a reflection of its very limited rental market and lower housing turnover.

The financial profile of renters here is telling. The average asking rent of $794 per month is well below the Texas eviction laws state average, but an average rent burden of 22.5% and a poverty rate of 19.1% -- nearly one in five residents -- mean that a significant share of tenants operate with little financial cushion. Only about 29.7% of county residents rent at all, so the renter population is a distinct minority in what is predominantly an owner-occupied, rural county. That dynamic matters: when eviction proceedings do occur under Texas eviction laws's 3-day notice requirement (Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005), there are limited local legal aid resources and no municipal tenant protections to slow the process. An uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 30 days, and court filing fees run $54 to $125 -- low enough that landlords face little procedural friction. The county's Low designation reflects these realities: a state legal framework that is structurally landlord-favorable, applied to a modestly burdened renter population with few local alternatives.

San Jacinto County's 2.6/10 score sits in the higher-risk third of Texas's 254 counties, with counties carrying higher scores and carrying lower ones. The county benefits from no local rent ordinances -- Texas eviction laws state law (TX Local Gov Code §214.902) explicitly preempts municipal rent control -- and no just-cause-for-eviction requirement, meaning landlords may decline to renew a lease at term without stating a reason. Renter households face a 3-day pay-or-quit notice for nonpayment under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, one of the shortest cure windows in the country.