38 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Fort Worth (2.8) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
In 2026
Risk score
2.5
LOW
Ranked #110 of 254 TX counties
2.1M residents · 38 cities · 449 tracts
1976–2026 · pop-weighted from cities
Tarrant County eviction risk score history
Min1.7Average2.1Now2.5
197619861996200620162026
Key metrics
Tenant beats landlord
12.2%
/ 100 outcomes
In court-decided eviction outcomes for Tarrant County, TX, tenants prevail in roughly 12.2% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
Timeline
27d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Tarrant County, TX until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 27 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
Cost range
$1.0–3.6k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Tarrant County, TX costs landlords $1,013 to $3,587 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
Average rent
$1,607
33% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Tarrant County, TX is $1,607 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 33% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
Renters
40.4%
of households
40.4% of occupied housing units in Tarrant County, TX are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
Poverty
11.1%
4.8% unemp.
11.1% of Tarrant County, TX residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 4.8%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Tarrant County's average eviction-risk score of 3.1/10 spans a range from 2.4 to 4.3, with Everman anchoring the highest-risk end of the county. Ranked 10th of 254 Texas counties by eviction risk (1 = highest risk).
How Tarrant County ranks in Texas
Lower number means more extreme, where #1 is the most
Eviction Risk Score
Elevated
#110of 254 TX counties2.5 / 10
#110 of 254 counties in Texas for landlord eviction risk.
Cost of living
Moderate
#25of 51 states (statewide)97.1 index
Texas ranks #25 of 51 states on overall cost of living (2.9% cheaper than the U.S. avg).
Housing services cost
Elevated
#20of 51 states (statewide)96.5 index
Texas ranks #20 of 51 states on housing services (3.5% cheaper than the U.S. avg).
Income spent on rent
Elevated
#109of 254 TX counties29.7% of income
#109 of 254 counties in Texas on % of income spent on rent.
Our eviction records directly track Tarrant County. In the past month, 3,948 filings were recorded, 1.13× the historical baseline (near baseline). YTD filings: 15,121; pandemic-era total: 230,8311
3,948Past month
46,894Past 12 months
1.00×vs baseline (12 mo)
$1,618Average rent
Last 36 months of filings2023-05-01 – 2026-04-01
Filings stayed roughly flat over the past 12 months.
Who is being evictedSame color = same group · May 2025
Evictions
Black 45%
Hispanic 20%
White 28%
Renters
Black 27%
Hispanic 25%
White 48%
Black · 1.66×
Hispanic · 0.80×
White · 0.59×
Other
Notice requirement: at least three days notice (in some cases more). Filing fee: $129 filing fee.
Tarrant County earns a county-average eviction risk score of 2.5/10, placing it in the Low risk tier across its 38 incorporated cities and a total population of roughly 2,087,817. In Texas, only 9 of 254 counties score higher, meaning Tarrant sits in the higher-risk third of the state, but its low absolute score still signals that the statutory and economic fundamentals here are workable for landlords who buy and manage carefully. Average rent runs $1,607 per month, rent burden averages 32.7% of income, and 40.4% of residents are renters, a meaningful pool of prospective tenants.
The county-wide average, however, obscures a meaningful spread. Individual city scores run from a low of 2.4 to a high of 4.3, a nearly two-point gap on a 10-point scale. That range matters because a city scoring 4.3 carries noticeably more collection and vacancy risk than a city scoring 2.4, even though both sit under the same county government and face the same state eviction statutes. Investors treating Tarrant County as a uniform market leave real risk on the table.
The cities inside Tarrant County
At the top of the risk list sits Everman at 4.3/10, the only city in the county to hit that ceiling score. Close behind are Bedford (4.2/10, population 49,085), Richland Hills (4.2/10), and Sansom Park (4.2/10). White Settlement, Forest Hill, Pelican Bay, and Pantego each score 4.1/10. These smaller, inner-ring communities carry higher poverty and rent-burden profiles that translate directly into elevated eviction risk for landlords.
The largest cities tell a different story. Fort Worth, with a population of 963,194, scores 2.8/10, and Arlington, at 397,742 residents, scores 2.7/10, making them two of the more landlord-friendly markets in the metro. Grapevine checks in at 3.2/10 and Keller at 2.5/10, right at the county average. Risk is genuinely hyper-local here: two adjacent zip codes can land in cities whose scores differ by more than a full point.
State-level laws that apply here
Every landlord in Tarrant County operates under Texas eviction laws state law, specifically Tex. Prop. Code §91 and §92. The notice period for non-payment of rent, lease violations, holdover tenancies, and habitually delinquent tenants is a uniform 3 days. Squatters and unauthorized occupants can be removed on 0 days' notice under Tex. Prop. Code §24.011 as added by SB-38. Understanding the full Texas eviction process is essential before serving any notice, because missteps reset the clock. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 30 days; a contested one can run 45 to 90 days.
On Texas eviction costs, the out-of-pocket bill covers a court filing fee of $54 to $125, a sheriff lockout fee of $50 to $175, and attorney fees ranging from $500 to $3,500 depending on complexity. Texas eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction and, under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, the state preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no city within Tarrant County can impose rent caps. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Texas eviction laws state fair housing law, though federal protections still apply.
With an average poverty rate of 11.1% and 40.4% of households renting, Tarrant County's aggregate numbers look stable, but the wide city-by-city score spread shown in the grid above is the number that actually determines your operating risk at the property level.
Reviewed by the NextGen Properties Research Team. Texas statute information is current as of 2026-05-29, referencing Tex. Prop. Code § 91 & § 92. City-level risk scores are derived from ACS 2023 5-year estimates, county court eviction-processing timelines, and 2024 county-level presidential election margins as a political-climate proxy.
Historical eviction filings in Tarrant County
From 2000 to 2018, eviction filings in Tarrant County increased 97%.
The peak was 28,853 filings in 2011.2
13,8762000
28,853Peak (2011)
27,3782018
Annual filings 2000–2018No filing data published after 2018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Tarrant County compares
Among the five major Texas counties benchmarked against Tarrant County, Denton County (3.29/10) and Dallas County (3.23/10) carry higher eviction risk, while Fort Bend County (3.01/10), Bexar County (2.87/10), and Harris County (2.83/10) are more landlord-stable. Tarrant County's 3.1/10 sits in the moderate portion of this peer group.
Within Texas as a whole, Tarrant County ranks 10th of 254 counties by risk (rank 1 = highest risk), meaning only 9 counties statewide carry more eviction risk, placing it in the higher-risk third of the state despite its Low-tier aggregate score.
Peer counties in Texas
Same state, closest by population and Eviction Risk Score
How is the Tarrant County eviction risk score computed?
Each of the 38 cities in the county is independently scored on nine sub-factors. The county-wide 2.5/10 average reflects a population-weighted mean of those municipal scores.
Q2
Does Tarrant County have rent control?
Rent control is determined by state law and city ordinance. Texas state framework applies. See the Texas eviction laws rent-control guide for details.
Q3
What is the political climate in Tarrant County?
Tarrant County voted Democratic by 0.2 points in 2020.