Somervell County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Somervell County sits at the southern edge of the Texas Hill Country, a compact rural county of roughly 3,623 residents anchored by the county seat of Glen Rose. On the Eviction Risk Map's 10-point scale, the county scores 3.2/10 (Low), placing it 176th of 254 Texas eviction laws counties when ranked from highest to lowest eviction risk. That position means 174 Texas counties carry a higher risk score and 79 sit lower - putting Somervell firmly in the lower-risk third of the state, well below the Texas average of 3.6/10.

Within the county, scores spread from 3.2 to 4/10 across its two incorporated places. Glen Rose, the county seat and by far the largest community with about 2,836 residents, scores 3.2/10 - the lower end of the county range. Walnut Springs, a much smaller community of roughly 787 residents to the northwest, scores 4/10 - the highest point in the county. That 3.2-to-4 spread is narrow, reflecting how similarly situated these two small towns are under the same county-level economic and legal conditions. Neither city approaches the kind of elevated tenant-protection scores seen in large Texas metros. The county's 34.2% renter share is notable for a rural area of this size, and the average asking rent of $818/month pairs with a 31.3% rent burden rate - meaning a meaningful share of renters here are spending a above the conventional 30% threshold even at relatively modest rent levels.

Texas law shapes the eviction landscape uniformly across all 254 counties. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, landlords must deliver a written 3-day notice to vacate before filing in justice court for non-payment of rent or lease violations. Texas has no statewide rent control, and under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, local governments are expressly preempted from enacting their own. Uncontested eviction cases typically resolve in 21-30 days; contested matters run 45-90 days. Court filing fees range from $54 to $125, with sheriff lockout fees adding $50-$175 on top. Source-of-income protections do not apply under Texas state law, and just cause for termination is not required - a landlord may decline to renew a lease for any reason or no reason provided proper notice is given. For Somervell County renters, the practical picture is a market where legal protections are limited compared to many other states, but where the low score reflects a combination of low eviction filing activity, below-average population density, and a smaller renter pool that tends to carry less systemic pressure than high-density urban markets.

Somervell County's 3.4/10 (Low) risk score reflects a genuinely low-pressure rental market by Texas eviction laws standards - 10.1% poverty rate, a modest average rent of $818/month, and a small renter population distributed between Glen Rose and Walnut Springs. The county's position at 176th of 254 in Texas eviction laws confirms it belongs among the state's more stable rental environments, though Texas eviction laws landlord-tenant law offers renters limited statutory protections regardless of local market conditions.